Page 5 of Make Your Move

“Absolutely,” I tell him as I grab the deck of cards and reshuffle before dealing them. Nash pops the tops off the bottles and hands me one of the beers before we cheers. I lift the rim to my mouth and swallow back a large gulp of the liquid while Nash does the same.

I need something to make me forget the memory of how his sister’s lips feel.

And the fact that we’re now living under the same roof.

CHAPTER TWO

NOVA

Standing by my bedroom window, I stare up at the moon as it shines down upon the city. Nash’s house is tucked away in the suburbs, but it isn’t far from the city. It’s on a nice little quiet street. The perfect place for Poe and me.

She loves it here, and she especially loves having Nash around all the time. He’s the perfect uncle who is completely smitten and obsessed with his little niece.

Nash was the first person I told when I found out I was pregnant. I was dating Dane at the time, and Nash never liked him. He wasn’t the nicest and was a bit of a douchebag, but I was trying to get over someone I could never have.

Lincoln Matthews.

My feelings for him were something I never got the opportunity to explore. He kissed me that night and then went away for years without a single word. I didn’t blame him because there was never anything definitive between us. Just fleeting feelings and passing moments.

That didn’t mean I felt any better about him leaving.

I didn’t meet Dane until after I finished grad school. We were both interns at the Aston Space Institute at same time and after a few months of working together, Dane finally asked me out.

Getting pregnant was never part of the plan, and he was less than thrilled when he found out about it. It drove a wedge between us, creating even more distance than there already was. We hadn’t even gotten to the point of defining our relationship. He decided we should give it a try, and we were officially dating then, but it never did truly work out.

We didn’t live together. We didn’t take any of the normal steps most couples did after they found out they were expecting a child. It wasn’t good for us, and Dane was never really interested in having a child. I think there was a part of him that never wanted one at all.

That’s exactly why it didn’t bother him when his job transferred him across the country. He didn’t care that it meant he wouldn’t see Posey. He was never really involved in her life anyway. He didn’t bat an eye when I told him I didn’t want her traveling back and forth to stay with us.

Instead, he washed his hands of both of us. He signed over his rights and left on a one-way plane without looking back.

It broke my heart for Poe, but she never knew anything differently. It was over two years ago now since he moved, and she has never once asked for him. Thankfully, with her being two, she doesn’t have many memories as it is. When she gets older, she’ll never remember him, but I’m afraid of what it might do to her mentally.

The last thing I want is her questioning her worth because of a man who didn’t want to be involved in her life.

My eyes scan the sky, and I watch as a small speck grows brighter before it goes shooting across the sky. There’s a trail of light following behind it, burning brightly before it abruptly fizzles. Even though they aren’t actually shooting stars, it’s fun to pretend they are. My heart beats a little harder, and my stomach feels like it’s floating as I absorb the moment.

I let my eyelids fall shut, and I tip my head back as I stand in the silence of my bedroom, feeling my mind beginning to swirl. Posey is tucked away, asleep in her bed, and Nash is downstairs with Lincoln, finishing the poker game the two of us had started.

Lincoln Matthews.

What an uncanny surprise he was tonight.

Nash failed to mention anything about Lincoln returning to Aston. It really is nice to see him. I’ve been following his career from afar since he left, and it’s been amazing watching him transform into one of the best professional hockey players in the league. He was a little bit of a late bloomer compared to some of the other players, but it worked out in his favor.

There are some who reach their peak at an earlier age. At the ripe age of twenty-nine, he’s in his prime right now.

I always knew he would go on to do great things, and it has been nothing short of amazing watching him. There were many times I fought the urge to reach out to him. Lincoln made it clear that he didn’t want to have any contact with me, and I wasn’t going to press that issue.

All I could do was hope that one day our paths would cross again. That the moon would pull him home like the tide to the shore.

There’s a soft knock on my door, drawing my attention away from the night sky. “Come in,” I call out, quiet enough that Posey won’t hear me, but loud enough that the person on the other side of the door will.

I glance over my shoulder, watching the doorknob as it begins to turn. The door is gently pushed open, and my brother stands in the doorway. He tilts his head to the side before he comes inside, leaving the door ajar. Turning away from the window, I move over to my dresser and begin to tuck some of my folded clothing into it that I hadn’t finished putting away earlier.

Nash drops down onto the end of my bed. “I’m sorry I forgot to tell you about Lincoln,” he says with an apologetic tone. “It happened out of nowhere, and it honestly slipped my mind with everything going on.”

Practice started about a month ago for the Archers, and Nash was having a bit of a rough time. He hit his head weird when he got checked into the boards and managed to lose the temporary tooth in his mouth all in the same day. He had to wait a few more days until he could get in to see the dentist about a replacement, and he’s been recovering from his concussion.

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