Page 13 of Make Your Move

I lean across the table and pretend to pour some tea into her cup. She smiles at me brightly in her pink frilly dress. They have a whole set up in her bedroom for afternoon tea, and Posey made sure her favorite stuffed animal got to sit in the fourth chair at the small square table.

“Watch your crown, Linc,” Nash tells me as it almost falls off my head. I wasn’t lucky enough to get a wig, but Nash insisted I needed to put my hair in a ponytail. It wasn’t long enough so I have two sticking up two inches on the top of my head like antennae.

I adjust my crown and settle back in my seat as the three of us pretend to sip our tea. Posey has Teddy sitting close enough to her that she grabs the other cup and holds it up to him like he’s drinking it.

Nash tosses the fake hair over his shoulder. “We should have made finger sandwiches or something.”

“Do you guys normally do that when you have a tea party?” I question him as I watch Poe straightening Teddy in his seat.

“No, but I’m fu—freaking starving.”

The door behind Nash suddenly opens, revealing Nova standing in the doorway. Her makeup is subtle, and her hair is in tamed curls falling down her back. Her expression is soft, and a smile drifts across her lips as she looks at the three of us sitting around the small table. The chairs are so goddamn little, my knees are by my chest.

“Well, what do we have here?”

Posey spins around when she hears her, and her face lights up. “Mommy!” She hops up from her chair and goes running across the room to Nova. Her dress isn’t closed in the back, and she trips over the fabric around her feet.

Nova catches her before she falls, laughing as she scoops her into the air. “Are Uncle Nash and Lincoln having tea with you?”

“And Teddy!” She giggles as she squirms in Nova’s arms to get down. Nova sets her back on the floor, and Posey grabs her hand as she pulls her over to where we’re sitting at the table. Nash sits there, sipping his pretend tea, while Nova sits down on the floor next to Posey.

“The two of you look dashing.” She smiles as she looks between Nash and me. Her eyes rest on mine for a moment before she speaks. “That crown really suits you, Lincoln.”

Lifting my hand, I touch the gold plastic on top of my head. “Thank you. Posey picked this one out for me.”

“Well, she has excellent taste.”

“Winky, more tea,” Posey says, breaking through the conversation as she holds up her tea cup. She takes the one from Teddy and hands it to Nova.

Nash snorts before he lets out a loud laugh. “Winky?”

Posey nods, smiling the biggest goddamn smile as she waves her cup at me. “Winky!”

Nova covers her mouth, trying to swallow back her laughter, but she can’t fight it as she starts to laugh with her brother. It’s the first Posey has tried to say my name, and her translation was not expected at all. It’s cute, but I also know Nash is going to take this name and run with it now.

“Oh man, this is great,” Nash chuckles as he shakes his head. “You know this name is going to stick forever, right?”

“I hate you.”

“We’re waiting for our tea, Winky,” Nova adds with a wink as our eyes meet.

I stare at her for a moment, giving myself passage into the depths of her blue eyes before I let out a sigh. Rolling my eyes, I bite back my grin and pour the fake tea into her cup and Posey’s. Posey giggles and pretends to sip her tea, but I’m too busy staring at her mother.

Nova lifts her plastic cup to her lips and watches me from over the edge of it. A pink tint creeps across her cheekbones, and she smiles sheepishly at me. She diverts her attention to her brother, commenting on his wig, but I don’t miss the way she keeps stealing more glances at me.

If I wasn’t fucked before, I most definitely am now.

CHAPTER SIX

LINCOLN

“What are you guys doing this evening?” Rowan asks Nash and I as we head out to the parking lot after practice. Today was our last practice before we have to go on the road for a few preseason games. We have to be on the road for two, back home for two and then on the road for one other before it’s officially the home opening game for the actual season.

Preseason games don’t count toward our record for the season, but I still enjoy them. It’s almost like a warm-up to help get us ready for when things really get serious.

Nash lifts a shoulder. “I don’t have any plans.” He looks over at me. “What about you, Linc?”

I shake my head, agreeing with him. Outside of Nash and the guys on the team, I don’t have much of a family or a group of friends. “I wasn’t planning on doing anything.”

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