“I don’t know. I made it clear to him that I don’t want to talk to him ever again after we broke up.”
“Is he harassing you?”
I shake my head. “It’s nothing that serious. He probably just wants to talk it out one last time so he doesn’t feel like the bad guy.”
Nick’s gaze hardens. “What did he do to you?”
I stare up at him, surprised by the growl in his voice. Before I can say anything, the barista calls out our orders. We walk over and grab our coffee cups.
I glance past Nick’s shoulder, and my eyes go wide. Brody is walking into the student union.
A second later, he sees me.
“Shit,” I mutter.
“What’s wrong?” Nick asks.
“My ex Brody just walked in and saw me. He’s walking over right now.”
Nick’s square jaw bulges as he bites down. He turns around, moving in front of me. The move is almost…protective. Like he’s using his body as a buffer against Brody.
I swallow hard, thrown off by how much I like it.
“Want me to get rid of him?” Nick asks as he eyes Brody.
“No, it’s okay.”
“Want me to kick his ass?”
I roll my eyes. “Seriously?”
“I’ll do it.”
“I’m not cool with fighting, Nick.”
He turns back to me, his gaze softening. “Okay, no fighting, but Poppy, if this guy makes you uncomfortable, you don’t need to be around him. I’ll make sure he leaves you alone.”
A warm feeling puddles in my chest at how protective he is of me.
I shake my head. “It’s fine. I’ll see what he wants, and then I’ll be rid of him once and for all.”
Nick’s jaw tenses as he nods. I can tell he’s not happy about the decision I’ve made, but he doesn’t push.
“I’ll be sitting over there if you need me, okay?” He nods to a stool against the wall, by the big window overlooking the campus quad.
I offer a small smile. “Okay. Thanks.”
Nick walks off. A second later, Brody comes up to me.
“There you are. Finally.”
I stare up at Brody, annoyed at how exasperated he sounds.
He glances over at Nick, who’s sitting on the stool, staring intently at Brody and me.
Brody frowns. “Is that Nick St. George? The hockey player?”
“Yeah. We were talking a second ago.”
