Unfinished Ex (Calloway Brothers, #2)(94)

She throws her good arm around him. “It feels right to me, too. But are you sure? In five months, you’ll have to share me with a crying, pooping tiny human.”

He chokes up. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.” He pulls her up. “Come on, let’s go give notice on my apartment before you change your mind.” As they walk away, he tosses me a look over his shoulder. “Good luck with the steamroller. Whatever it is, it’ll work itself out.”

What he doesn’t know is that it won’t. It can’t. XTN will hire someone else, and we’ll be right back where we started as soon as she gets that itch again. Why can’t she understand that?

“Wow,” I say to my dog. “So in a matter of an hour, I’ve kicked out my soul mate and Eric has moved in with his.”

I text my brother.



Me: Meet me at Donovan’s?



Tag: On a Wednesday? What did you do?



Me: It’s not what I did. More like what Nic didn’t.



Tag: Give me thirty.



I spend the next half hour wondering how I can fix this. But I’m not sure it can be fixed, or at least that I can be the one to fix it. This is something Nic needs to figure out on her own. If she can’t, maybe she’s not the woman I thought she was.





Chapter Forty



Nicky




The past few days have been torture. I thought he’d come around. I figured he’d show up at my parents’ house with a dozen roses and thank me for the sacrifice I’m making for our family.

But nothing. And tonight was the night we were supposed to tell our families about the baby.

I pick up the phone and call Makenna Kendall.

“Nicole Forbes,” she answers happily. “I was hoping I’d hear from you. But I have to say I’m a little surprised to find out you won’t be the new weekday weather anchor. Better offer? Did NBC

pick you up or something?”

“Makenna, why did you decide to come back to work?”

She sighs. “I see. You were hoping for my job.”

“No. It’s not that. I mean, maybe it’s that. But that’s not why I’m asking. I’m um… pregnant.”

“Oh, wow. I did not see that coming.”

“Neither did I. And nobody knows yet. Not even my family.”

“Is that why you turned down the job?”

“Yes. So can you answer the question?”

“Ryan is a wonderful baby. Everything I ever wanted in a son. Two months with him wasn’t enough, but four… I love him more than anything, but I’m not the kind of person who can be fulfilled by being a wife and mother. I know a lot of women are, and in many ways, I envy them, but personally —”

“You need more.”

“I need more. I’m guessing you do too, and that’s why you called.”

I lean back in bed and put her on speaker. “Have I made a huge mistake?”

“Not one that can’t be undone. Word around town is you’ve had a lot of offers.”

“But none that will give me everything I want.”

“Which is what?”

“I suppose to eat my cake and have it too. To have a family and my dream job. But also the time to give to each. To have a man who won’t let me make stupid decisions because I’m a raging ball of hormones.” I sink into my pillow knowing I already have that one. Or had. “I’ve ruined everything.”

“As someone who knows where you’re coming from, I can tell you it’s best to make decisions with your head, not your hormones.”

A baby cries in the background. My heart lurches. “You’d better go and enjoy him while you can.”

“Haven’t you seen my dressing room, Nicole? I plan to enjoy him even when I’m at work. You know, so I can eat my cake and have it too. Bye now.”



~



A second crash of thunder has Jaxon removing his lips from mine, grabbing the blanket, and tugging me toward the dugout.

“What’s the rush?” I ask. “It’s not even raining yet.”

“Haven’t you ever heard that lightning can strike from seven miles away?”

“It’s not that close.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I can count.”

“Oh, right. What is it, like a second for every mile?”

I shake my head, still resisting as he’s urging me away from our adolescent make-out spot in the outfield of Calloway Creek High School’s baseball field. “Not exactly. If you count the seconds between the flash of lightning and the thunder, and then divide by five, you’ll get the distance in miles. Five seconds equals one mile. Fifteen seconds equals three miles.”

“I didn’t know that. Did you learn it in Mr. Henderson’s class?”

“I read it.”

“Okay then.” He spreads the blanket out again, pulls me down on it, and we make out some more, listening to the distant sound of thunder as it mixes with our heavy breathing.

A bolt of lightning flashes, illuminating the entire field momentarily. We stop kissing, both of us silently counting. By the time I hit twelve, droplets of rain pepper my face and thunder crackles.