Unfinished Ex (Calloway Brothers, #2)(83)

He runs a hand along the side of my jaw, down the cord of my neck, under the V of my shirt. And then he gives me two of the best orgasms I’ve ever had.





Chapter Thirty-five



Jaxon




Nicky pulls my duffle bag from the closet. “You are not canceling. We promised we wouldn’t change our lives for each other and fall back into old habits. Plus, you already found a sub for today and tomorrow.”

“It’s a weekend camping trip with my brothers, Nic. Not a meeting with the Pope. I think they’ll understand.”

“First it’s a canceled trip, then we’re bending over backwards to fit our careers into each other’s lives. Then before you know it, we’ll be back to resenting the situation. Jaxon, I’m fine. You need to go.”

“We only have a few more weeks together as it is.”

“A few more weeks and our whole lives. Yes, it looks like I’ll be leaving to go… somewhere.

We knew that was a probability.”

“Oklahoma,” I say bitterly. “Nicky, you could be so much closer. You’ve turned down a half dozen offers.”

She sits and runs a hand across her burgeoning bump. “Oklahoma is what’s best for now. I’m established there. The pay isn’t as good, but the hours aren’t nearly as long as the jobs I’ve been offered. And Marty is willing to go to bat for me.”

“Marty knows? I thought we weren’t telling anyone yet.”

“I had to find out my options. If I go back there, he’s sure they’ll give me four months of maternity leave. Think about it, Jaxon. I’ll return to WRKT after the holidays, work through the end of April, then I’ll come back here until August.”

“Through the end of April. During tornado season.”

“I’m not stupid. And they aren’t going to put me in the field when I’m nine months preg—” She stops talking suddenly, and her whole demeanor changes. Both hands cradle her belly.

I race to her, worried. “Nic?”

“Jaxon, she’s moving.” Her words come in a whisper as if she doesn’t want them to jinx it.

I drop the clothes in my hands, fall to my knees, and put a hand near hers, desperately needing to feel my daughter inside her. “What does it feel like?”

“Like gas bubbles dancing in my stomach. Small flutters.” She grabs my hand and repositions it.

“Here.”

I close my eyes and concentrate on feeling something. I don’t. But when my eyes open, I know it doesn’t matter, because she can. And the look on her face is everything. In all my life, I’ve never seen her look so breathtaking. So completely wonderstruck. So utterly at peace with herself. And I can tell when she feels another kick. She inhales and I swear it’s like she’s seeing God at the gates of heaven.

“Did you feel it?”

“No. I’m sure I will soon. And then you’ll have to live with my hand affixed to your belly for the next twenty-four weeks.”

“Jaxon, I’ve never been so excited, yet terrified at the same time.” She rubs her pendant. “I want this. I want her so badly. I want you. A few months ago, if anyone had told me I’d feel this way, I’d have called them crazy. How has my life completely changed so quickly in ways I didn’t even know I wanted?”

I pull her to me. “All of this—every bit of it—is like a dream come true. I was a shell of a man, going through the motions of living my life, trying to find moments of happiness here and there. You were always what was missing.” I touch her belly again. “This was what was missing. We’re going to be a family, Nic, in whatever way we can be. And I’ve never been happier.”

The doorbell rings.

I stand. “Excuse me while I go thump whoever just ruined one hell of a moment.” Like I even need to look to see who’s there. Only one person would come over at seven in the morning. I open the door. “What is it now, Calista?”

“Good morning to you, too,” she says, plowing past me with a bag of food. “The baby is craving eggs and my stovetop isn’t working.”

“Sure it isn’t.” Part of me wants to kick her out. I’m tired of her invading my personal space all the time. She has all the control here. If I push her too far, she could hold my baby prisoner from me.

If I keep her too close, it could jeopardize my relationship with Nicky. It’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation that keeps me up more nights than I care to admit.

Calista turns and glares at me. “Do you really think I’m so desperate as to fake a stove emergency just to see you?” She laughs. “I’m hungry. Coming here is quicker than going to Goodwin’s. End of story.”

Nicky comes around the corner and quickly grabs a blanket off the couch, wrapping it around her to conceal her small baby bump. She raises her brows at me. I know she’s asking me what the hell Calista is doing in our kitchen.

“Oh, hey, Nicky,” Calista says. She holds up the egg carton. “Sorry, I only have enough for two.”

“I don’t need any,” I say. “Nicky can eat.”

Calista giggles and rubs her belly. “I was talking about me and the baby. But if you have more eggs, I can cook for all of us if you want.”