Unfinished Ex (Calloway Brothers, #2)(68)

My entire body tingles from head to toe. Did we somehow just declare that we’re in love?





Chapter Twenty-seven



Jaxon




I adore watching Nicky sleep. I think I’ve missed it most of all over the past two years. My eyes follow the edge of the sheet until it meets the top of her breast. Okay, maybe second most.

She starts stirring. I push a chunk of hair off her forehead and kiss her. “Morning.”

Sleepy eyes gaze at me. The edges of her mouth curve into a slow smile. These first moments when she wakes are the best. She’s happy. Carefree. These are the moments I cherish. The small sliver of time between her dreams and our reality. Before she wakes and remembers I’m going to be a father to someone else’s baby.

Because it happens. Every time she’s slept over in the past two weeks, I see it. I watch the realization cross her face.

And it breaks me.

“Morning.” She snuggles into me. She quickly drifts off to sleep as I rub her back.

“Nic, you’ll be late.”

Waking again, she pouts. “Why can’t I have the day off, too?”

“The perks of being a teacher,” I say. “A four-day weekend for Fall break. We’ll get to spend the whole day together on Monday.”

When she doesn’t respond, I chuckle and nudge her. “Babe, wake up.”

“I’m up, I’m up,” she says sleepily.

Heisman jumps up on the bed and lies behind her, his head propped up on her hip—something he used to do to me every morning. The more Nicky stays over, the more attached he’s become to her. He stares at me and whines. “All right, bud, let’s take you outside.” I pull on my sweatpants, then lean over and plant a kiss on Nicky’s lips—the lips that did all kinds of amazing things to me last night.

“Nicole, get up. Seriously.”

While Heisman is out back doing his stuff, I make coffee. I fill two mugs and take one to the bathroom for Nic. But she’s not in the bathroom. She’s still in bed. And she’s staring at my phone.

She looks green. “She texts you with updates on the baby?”

I set down the mug and scoot in next to her. I read the text that just came through.



Calista: Baby is the size of a lime! Can you believe it? It’s 1.6 inches long, almost 3x what it was at the ultrasound. Fingers and toes will no longer be webbed.

Nipples on the chest will be visible. OMG, Jaxon, only one more week and we’ll be in the second trimester!



Tears coat Nic’s lashes. “Your phone vibrated so I looked. When I saw the text was from her, I couldn’t help myself. And then… well, you never changed your code. I read all of them. She texts you every week?”

I put down the phone and pull her against me. “Nicky, I can’t help what she does. You saw my responses, right? All I do is tell her that’s great.”

She nods, fingering the pendant. Tears fall. It kills me that this is killing her. I’d give anything to be going through this with Nic instead of Calista. It would be like a dream come true.

“I don’t want to go to work today,” she says.

“Now that’s something I’ve never heard come out of your mouth before.” I lift her chin. “You can’t let her texts bother you. We’ve been good, haven’t we? These pasts weeks when we’ve been out together. The nights you’ve slept over. It’s been amazing.”

“It kind of has.”

Heisman’s bark reaches all the way to the bedroom. “Hit the shower. I’ll make breakfast.” I grab my phone, kiss Nicky’s head, and run out to let him in.

Making breakfast, I talk to my dog. Sometimes I wonder if other people talk to their pets as much as I do. But when you’re a bachelor living alone, it seems perfectly normal. “Do you like having Nicky here?”

He momentarily glances up from the bowl of kibble he’s devouring.

I stir the eggs. “I like it. You know you’d permanently lose your sleeping spot if—”

“Who are you talking to?” Nic says, rounding the corner.

“Heisman and I have deep, intimate conversations. Didn’t you know?”

“What do you talk about?”

“Mostly sports.”

She giggles.

I split the eggs between two plates, throw on some bacon, and set them on the table. “And you.

We talk about you sometimes.”

As if Heisman knows we’re talking about him, he trots over and puts his head in Nic’s lap.

“What do you tell Jaxon about me?” she asks him. “You promised you wouldn’t say anything about the piece of steak I slipped you the other night.”

“You better not turn my dog into a beggar,” I say, pointing my fork playfully.

“I thought you liked it when people beg.”

My dick stirs. I pull her chair closer. “People—no. Dogs—no. You—hell yes and back for more.”

Vibration comes from my phone. Nicky looks at it wearily. I check the text.

“It’s my mother confirming lunch today.”

She pushes away her plate. I’ve never known her not to finish breakfast. She’s really upset about Calista’s texts. I can’t blame her. If the tables were turned… Fuck, I can’t even imagine if the tables were turned. I try to put myself in her shoes. Every text from Calista is a reminder of someone I slept with. Every time she sees her is a devastating reminder of her own loss. I don’t even want to think about what will happen when Calista is visibly showing. No wonder she’s lost her appetite. I’ve sure as hell lost mine.