Make Your Move (Aston Archers Hockey #1)

7. Nova

CHAPTER SEVEN

NOVA

L ast night, Lincoln and Nash left for a few away games they have on the road. It’s only for preseason, so the games aren’t necessarily as important as the ones during the regular season. But I know the boys enjoy the warm-up before their home opener in a few weeks. Before that, they’ll have these few away games and a couple at home.

I’ve gone to some of the preseason games before, but Nash asked me to stop coming to them. He uses those to work out any kinks he may have and doesn’t want anyone he personally knows to be watching him. I always thought it was strange, but he thinks it will jinx the season for him, so I’ve learned to respect his wishes and just wait.

They will be back in a week, so I have the house to myself now. Well, just Posey and me.

I’m not a fan of being there by myself. I’ve spent enough time living with my brother to know the house makes weird creaking noises, and sometimes it sounds like someone else is inside. The house was built in the 1800s. Even though it’s been redone and appears more modern inside, it’s still an old house. And old houses typically come fully equipped with lingering spirits.

One day I told Nash about it when I found a picture turned around on my nightstand, and he laughed in my face. When we were kids, horror movies always scared the shit out of him, so he refused to watch them. I think he just prefers to be ignorant of the possibility of a spirit being around. If he laughs it off and pretends I’m making it up, he’s able to convince himself that it isn’t real.

Even if we have no concrete proof of any spirits, it still freaks me out being alone sometimes. Perhaps I should have followed Nash’s lead and skipped out on watching all those movies when I was younger.

Posey sits on her bed, waiting for me as I grab a book from the shelf. She’s wearing a pair of pink pajamas with little white hearts all over them. Her unruly blonde hair is wet from the bath, but the curls are already forming in her locks. As I sit down on the floor beside her toddler bed, she looks over at me with a smile breaking out across her face.

“Mommy, in,” she says as she gets under the blanket and holds it open for me.

Laughter escapes me, and I brush her hair from her face as I shake my head at her. “I can’t get in there, baby. I’ll end up breaking the bed.”

Posey giggles as she nestles against her pillow. “Otay,” she says with simplicity. Two weeks ago, we were in the middle of the terrible twos where she was saying no to everything. She’s become much more agreeable the past week or so, and it’s been enjoyable.

I know the terrible twos are just a phase, but sometimes she is just a little monster. Defiant and challenging. She’s a free spirit, just like I was as a kid, and she refuses to let anyone or anything get in her way. Thankfully we haven’t had any real bad behavior. Just little tantrums and arguments—nothing I can’t handle.

“Are you ready for your story?” I ask her as I open up the book. Posey nods eagerly and wraps her hands around my forearm as I rest it on her bed. I start reading, flipping through the pages as we look at the illustrations. It’s not a long book, and it only takes her three minutes to fall asleep.

I peel her soft little hands away from my arm, and she stirs before getting comfortable again. I stare at her for a moment, watching her sleep before I force myself to get off the floor. Time feels like it’s moving so fast. It seems like only yesterday I came home with a newborn and no idea of what the hell I was going to do with her.

Now I have a little opinionated two-year-old who loves everyone she meets. Even though having her was unexpected, she is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Giving her one last look from the doorway, I smile at my little girl and flip off the light and close the gate in her doorway. I always leave her door ajar, just in case she wakes up in the middle of the night and needs to get my attention. She hasn’t figured out how to unlock the gate, but she can at least call for me.

As I start to walk down the stairs to the first floor, there’s a soft knock on the front door. It comes into my line of vision just as it opens up. Riley steps into the house, and she looks up at me as I reach the bottom step.

“Where the hell did the summer temperatures go?” she asks as she removes her bag from her shoulder and drops it onto the bench by the front door. She pushes the door shut behind her and locks it.

Riley and I have been best friends since we were in high school. She moved here during our freshman year, and we hit it off immediately and have been inseparable since.

“I know, it feels like summer flew by so quickly,” I agree with her as she hands me a bottle of wine. I walk through the foyer and into the kitchen as she follows after me. “I’m not sure I’m ready for the winter months.”

“Seriously,” she says with a huff as she takes her sweatshirt off. “I might have to find someone to keep me warm if I want to survive this year.” She stares at me with the most serious look on her face before she busts out laughing. “I’m kidding.”

Riley and I were both living the single life. She dated the same guy through high school and college before they broke up. She was the one who ended things with him after he told her he wanted to have an open relationship. Riley was never the girl to do casual like that, and it really hurt her after they were together for as long as they were.

At first, she didn’t want to date anyone. I think the experience with Darren really scared her off. Riley is the type of girl who wants to be brought home to meet a guy’s family. She doesn’t want to be a fling or to only share a passing moment. She wants to be someone’s everything.

It’s not an unreasonable thing to want, in my personal opinion.

Riley dipped her feet into the dating pool and she’s been bouncing back and forth between dating and swearing off men forever.

“There are no good men out there, I swear,” she says with an exasperated sigh. “I think I’m going to go on a break from trying again.”

“What happened to the last guy? Alexander?” I grab two wineglasses from the cabinet and set them on the counter before popping the cork from the bottle. “I thought you were enjoying seeing him?”

Riley picks up one of the glasses after I finish pouring some of the wine into them. “He was really nice, and I was trying to like him, but it just wasn’t like that.” She pauses and takes a sip of the deep red liquid. “He just felt more like a friend. I didn’t find myself really interested in him anymore than that.”

“The right one will come around eventually,” I tell her as I walk around the island and start to walk into the living room. We head into the room, and Riley sits down on the sectional couch. I walk over to the fireplace and grab the TV remote from the mantle before sitting on the opposite side of the couch.

Riley shrugs with indifference. “I don’t know if I’m that worried about it, honestly. I don’t want to waste my time with someone who is going to be temporary. I want someone who is going to be forever, you know?” She shrugs again. “Speaking of men…we have some things we need to discuss.”

I flip on the TV and find the movie we talked about watching. “Like what?”

“Like the fact that Lincoln Matthews is living here, and you barely even told me.” She stares at me with her eyes wide. “When you said he was back, you failed to mention he moved in with you and Nash.”

Riley was in Europe when Lincoln showed up, and we hadn’t had much time to catch up when she got back over the weekend.

“Did I forget to tell you that?”

Riley narrows her eyes at me. “I had to find out from your damn brother.”

My expression matches hers as I lower my eyebrows. “When did you talk to him?”

“He came by the flower shop to get an arrangement made for your birthday.” Riley stops talking, her face falling before she frowns. “Well, fuck me.”

My face relaxes, and I laugh as Riley makes a face. “Way to ruin that surprise.”

“Let’s be real, it’s not that big of a surprise.” She waves her hand with her palm facing the ceiling. “He got you the same thing last year.”

“I know.” I laugh, shaking my head. My brother lacks creativity when it comes to buying gifts for people. “It’s okay. I’ll just act surprised when he gives it to me.”

“Good idea,” Riley agrees as she grabs a blanket from the back of the couch and pulls it over herself as she tucks her feet up on the cushion. “Let’s get back to the real discussion here. Does Lincoln look as good as he does in all the professional pictures I’ve seen of him?”

Blush instantly creeps up my neck and spreads across my face. I lift my wine glass to my lips, swallowing back a mouthful of the dry liquid. “He looks better,” I tell her in a hushed voice as if he were here and could hear us.

“Thank god,” she lets out a sigh of relief. “Is he single?”

It takes my brain a second to catch up with her. “Um, I don’t know? I haven’t seen him with anyone, but he could have a girlfriend where he used to live.” I lift my wineglass back to my lips, needing a goddamn drink now. “I didn’t ask.”

“Why the hell not?” Riley gives me an incredulous look, as if I just sprouted a second head.

“Because that is too forward, Riley,” I tell her, widening my eyes at her. “It is none of my business. He’s my brother’s best friend and my new roommate. I don’t need to know anything about his dating life.”

“You had the biggest crush on him when we were younger. The universe is giving you an opportunity here.”

I sigh as I look at my best friend. “I’m perfectly content by myself, and I have Posey to worry about. Just because I had a crush on him back then doesn’t mean I feel the same way about him now.”

Riley just stares for a second. “So you’re telling me you feel nothing for that man?”

“Well—I don’t know. He’s good looking, and he’s always been nice to me. That doesn’t mean I have romantic feelings for him.” I narrow my eyes on her. “Can we just watch this movie now?”

Riley half snorts and half laughs. “Okay, fine. You can put it on, but that doesn’t mean I’m done bugging you about this.” She gets more comfortable on the couch and turns to face the TV above the mantle. She turns her head to look at me once more. “You should really find out if he’s single, though.”

“You’re impossible.” I laugh, shaking my head at her. “Do you want to know if he’s single for yourself?”

Riley gives me a look before she shakes her head. “No, girl. That man is all yours.”

“He is not.”

She clicks her tongue at me as she looks back at the TV. “We shall see…”

I direct my attention to the movie and try to immerse myself in it, but I can’t follow the story. My brain decides to go through all the times I’ve been around Lincoln since he has been here, looking for something that may indicate he has a girlfriend.

I can’t remember anything I’ve noticed, but that doesn’t mean anything. Even if he is single, that still changes nothing. He may have kissed me when we were young, but that didn’t mean he ever had feelings for me. Things are so different now—so much more complicated. Lincoln has his entire career and life ahead of him. I have a child and a life I built here.

As much as I wish we were written in the stars, we aren’t.

Lincoln will always be like the moon—so close, yet just out of my reach.