Unfinished Ex (Calloway Brothers, #2)(14)

Five minutes later, I find myself at the Forbes’ front door contemplating whether to knock or go home and drink a bottle of whiskey. Before I can decide, the door opens.

“Hey, Mr. Calloway.”

Even though she’s a student of mine, it still surprises me every time I see Victoria. Her eyes, her mannerisms, her voice—they’re exactly like Nicky’s. I believe it’s some kind of cosmic torture, or perhaps karma, that she’s been in one of my classes for the past two years.

“Victoria, I told you to call me Jaxon when we’re not at school. We’re fam—” Shit. “Well, you know.”

She gets down and lets Heisman tackle her. “How are you, you big furball?”

I stand not so patiently and wait for her to finish fawning over my dog.

She looks up. “I assume you’re here for Nicky?”

“Is she here?”

“No.”

“Is she coming back tonight?”

She pulls out her phone. “She was on until ten, so maybe soonish. Can you believe it? XTN!”

“Yeah, that’s pretty impressive. Listen, I think we’ll wait out here.”

“You can come in.”

“Are your parents home?”

“In bed.”

“I’ll wait outside.”

“Suit yourself. See you Monday, Mr. Calloway.”

“You won’t be so cheerful when you see what you got on your test.”

She stiffens.

“I’m kidding. You’re one of my brightest students.”

“Us Forbes girls excel at a lot of things.”

“That you do.”

“Okay, see ya.” She shuts the door.

I sit on the bench by the front door. Heisman circles around and lies down at my feet. Trying to relax is a futile effort. I weed through the texts. The ‘ Did you see Nicky?s,’ the ‘ OMG s,’ the ‘ Bro— your ex is on fucking TV s’ (yeah, both my brothers said the exact same thing), the ‘ What are you going to do?’ from my sister, Addy.

What am I going to do?

Before I can answer the question, Heisman’s tail thwap-thwaps against my leg, a sure sign someone is approaching. Nicky appears on the sidewalk and then comes toward the front door. She stops dead when she sees me. For a moment, the earth stands still. I don’t know what day it is. What year. Hell, even my goddamn name escapes me. She’s ten feet away—closer than we’ve been since the day she walked out sobbing, telling me what a terrible person she was. And I let her.

Heisman greets her like a long-lost relative even though they’ve never met. Traitor.

She regards him. “You got a dog?”

Her voice sounds different than it did on TV. More like the old Nicky I once knew. Is she still in there somewhere? Or did she die along with every dream I had about us living happily ever after?

I’m silent, still figuring out what to say to the only woman who could ever destroy me.

“What’s your name, handsome?” She looks at his collar. “Heisman.” Nervous laughter dances out of her. “You named him after a football trophy? He’s gorgeous.” She locks eyes with me. “Hi, Jaxon. I was wondering when we’d run into each other.”

She seems so blasé about seeing me. As if her world hasn’t been upended like mine has. Like it’s no big deal that we’re standing face to face like we had a million times before. Only now we’re exes.

It occurs to me why she’s not having the same reaction I am. I’ve done such a good job of putting her out of my mind that I hadn’t even given a thought to if she had moved on. Maybe with him—the nameless, faceless guy who ended our marriage. Did he follow her to Oklahoma? A sadness I haven’t felt in years runs through my soul.

I get off the bench and pace the front porch. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

“We haven’t spoken in almost two years.”

“Still, you could have warned me. I was blindsided. I was having dinner with”—I shake my head—“it doesn’t matter. My point is, everyone at Donovan’s saw your broadcast. And they all saw my reaction. I looked like a goddamn idiot.”

“You were at dinner?”

She looks upset. Jealous, even. “Yes, dinner. Now why the hell didn’t you warn me?”

“I wasn’t aware we had to keep each other apprised of our career changes and whereabouts, especially after this week.”

“Jesus, Nicky, the papers just came yesterday. You picked a hell of a time to show up in Calloway Creek.”

She’s rubbing her necklace absentmindedly like it’s a nervous habit. “I’ll agree it was unfortunate timing, but I have to take the opportunities as they come along.”

“Of course you do. Nothing’s changed there, Nicky.”

She looks hurt but does a good job of hiding it. “Actually, it’s Nicole now.”

I huff out an exasperated sigh. “Nicole. Right. Because nothing about this place was ever good enough for you. Not your job. Not your man. Not even your goddamn name.”

“Is there a point to this conversation? Because I’ve had a long day and have to be up again in five hours.”

I duck past her and snap my fingers. “Come on, Heisman, let’s go.” The little fucker looks like he’s considering staying with her. Then he must remember who gives him treats and reluctantly follows.