Unfinished Ex (Calloway Brothers, #2)(71)

“What is it?” I ask.

“Nic, is there any chance you could be pregnant?”

I cough. “Hardly. Why would you ask such a thing?”

“Because I swear Heisman is acting the same way around you as he started acting when he was near Calista right around the time we found out she was pregnant.”

I ruffle Heisman’s tuft, not wanting to hold it against him that he likes her too. “I told you my doctor said it was unlikely.”

“Unlikely but not impossible?”

“I suppose, but Jax—”

“When was your last period? I can’t even remember you having one.”

“They’ve been unpredictable due to the Asherman’s.”

He’s out of bed now, pacing the room. “Has there been anything? Cravings? Anything at all?”

I laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Then I stiffen.

He freezes. “Tell me.”

“It’s nothing, I’m sure. Just me dealing with our situation.”

“What is it?”

“I guess I’ve been off. Not wanting to eat as much. And I suppose I’m more emotional.”

“Have you felt sick at all?”

I think back over the past week or so and look up, my expression tense.

“Oh, shit, you have.”

“Jaxon, there’s no way.”

“But you said yourself, it’s not impossible. And we’ve had sex like fifty times since you’ve been back. Without protection.”

“Still…”

He pulls on clothes in record time. “I’m going to get you a test.”

“You’re being ridiculous. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Heisman says otherwise. I’m going. Be back in twenty.”

I spend the next twenty minutes throwing up.



~



Jaxon sets his phone timer for three minutes.

Tears run down my face.

He cups my chin. “Hey, it’s okay.”

“It’s not. You don’t understand. Even if I’m pregnant, it could be risky. Scar tissue can complicate things.”

“You’re pregnant. I don’t have to see the test. Your boobs have changed.” He smirks. “I thought I was imagining it.”

“Jaxon, how can you joke about this? Even if I was and everything was okay, do you realize what that means? You’d have two babies within, what, a month or two? It would be crazy.”

He kisses the side of my head. “It would be perfect.” He checks the timer. One minute left.

“Move in with me.”

“Aren’t you being a little premature?”

“I was going to ask you on Friday, but I didn’t want it to seem like I was only asking because Calista was moving in next door.”

“Yeah, but now you’re asking because of this.”

“Nic, I don’t care if you’re pregnant or not. I mean, I do care. I want you to be.” He laughs. “It’s crazy, but I want it so badly. But either way, I want you to live here. Even after you go back to Oklahoma, I want this to be the place you call home when you’re in town.”

“If you’re serious—”

“As serious as the heart attack I might have if I’m having two babies.”

His phone timer goes off, and I get off the bed. He pulls me back down. “Can I get an answer?”

“You need an answer now?” I motion to the bathroom.

“Yes. Move in with me, Nic. I love you. I’ve always loved you. And no matter what that test says, or what happens in the future, nothing will change that. You and me, we’re unfinished. We have so much more left.”

Tears cloud my vision. “How can a girl say no to that?”

He pulls me into his arms. “It’s going to be great. Trust me. Now let’s go see if I’m about to have a coronary.”

I race ahead of him and look at the stick. My heart flips. I’m terrified and ecstatic at the same time. “Well, then, we’d better call 911.”





Chapter Twenty-nine



Jaxon




I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous. The past eight hours have been stressful. I’m tied in knots researching this condition she has: Asherman’s syndrome. The scarring in her uterus may have made it harder for her to get pregnant, but that’s not the only obstacle. It could also cause a miscarriage, hemorrhage, placenta previa, and other things I can’t even think about.

As soon as she told the doctor her condition, they were able to squeeze her in as the last appointment of the day. We pull up to the same medical building as Calista’s doctor, and I get a sick feeling. “Nicky, if you tell me Hudson McQuaid is your doctor, I’m going to throw an actual fit right here.”

“God no. I know better than that. I spent all morning on the phone finding the best doctor for high-risk pregnancies.”

High risk. My gut twists.

“It’s the same building.”

“Jaxon, there are only five obstetricians in Calloway Creek, and they’re all in this building.”

I glance around the parking lot. “I don’t even want to see that prick.”