Make Your Move (Aston Archers Hockey #1)

Epilogue

LINCOLN

One Year Later

T he bell on the door dings overhead as I push it open and hold it for Posey to step inside. Her strides are short, but she does her best to scurry inside to get out of the heat. Her eyes light up as she looks around the space covered with different flowers and plants.

Riley ducks her head out from behind an arrangement. “Well, there’s the man of the hour.” She lets out a soft chuckle. “Give me a second to finish this one up, and I’ll be right with you guys.”

I follow Posey around the flower shop as she stops to smell them, her smile widening at the ones that smell good. She’s easily entertained and amused, and I’ve found I enjoy taking her places with me. On the days I don’t have practice or a game and Nova has to work, it just makes the most sense if I watch her.

At first, Nova was a little weird about it, thinking it was burdening me, but she quickly realized that Posey has become my little sidekick.

Nova was supposed to be off today, but I made a call last week for them to ask her to come into the museum for some bullshit reason. Before she left this morning, Nova said there was something wrong with one of their displays, so she had to go see what was going on. I have no idea if there’s any truth behind it or not, but either way, it gives me a few hours to get things ready.

Posey begins to walk back over to the counter where Riley is. She puts the other arrangement away and carries out another one to us, setting it down in front of me.

“Stargazer lilies and roses.” Riley smiles at me, rearranging two of the flowers. “Just like you asked.”

My eyes scan the arrangement, my heart thumping in my chest as I realize this is it. I’m actually doing this tonight. “It’s perfect.”

Posey walks over to Riley, and she lifts her up, setting her down on the counter. Grabbing the strap of the backpack on my shoulder, I remove it and hand it to Riley. She sets it behind the counter.

“That’s all of her things for the night,” I tell her, a smile touching my lips as I watch Posey put her hands on Riley’s growing stomach. She’s only a few months along and Nova’s been doing everything she can to help her. “Thanks again for doing this.”

“Anything for Poe and Nova.” Riley pauses as she studies me for a moment. “Nova deserves to be happy. She deserves the world, and it’s been refreshing seeing someone doing that for her.”

She deserves more than the world.

She deserves the entire fucking universe.

“Make sure you keep her happy, Lincoln.”

I stare at Riley for a beat, feeling her words as they sink into my bone marrow. After bidding both of them farewell and planting a kiss on Posey’s head, I head out to my car, grab the car seat, and put it in the back of Riley’s before I leave.

It’s already late in the afternoon when I arrive at the museum. I send a text to Maggie, one of Nova’s coworkers, and she lets me in through a back door on the opposite side of where Nova is. Maggie leads me to the planetarium, and I get things ready while Nova finishes up her work for the day.

After ordering food from Nova’s favorite restaurant, I get everything in place and set up before it’s time to meet the delivery driver out back. As I’m walking down the hallway, heading back to the planetarium, I see her, and I stop in my tracks, my eyes watching her as she speaks animatedly to another employee. Her face lights up as she talks about something, and I quickly duck out of the way, sneaking back to the planetarium before she sees me.

There’s a blanket set up in front of the first row of reclining chairs. I set the food in the center of the blanket, laying out two plates, silverware and two wineglasses. The flower arrangement from Riley sits beside the food. Using the remote Maggie gave me, I turn off the lights, letting the moon and the stars above be the only lighting in the room. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my phone and find her name as the first one in my messages.

Lincoln: What time will you be done working?

Nova: I’m getting ready to head out in a few minutes.

Lincoln: Stop by the planetarium before you leave.

Nova: Why?

I close out of the messages and tuck my phone back in my pocket as I feel it vibrate again. Rising to my feet, I stand by the blanket and things I set up, not bothering to check my phone as I know it’s Nova demanding an answer. If she wants to know what’s going on in here, she’s going to have to come see for herself.

It’s not even two minutes later when the door opens, and the light behind her illuminates her silhouette. Her heels give her an added two inches of height and her flowing dark red dress hangs just beneath her knees. “Lincoln?” she asks, her voice tender as she realizes it is me. “What are you doing here?”

“Come in and find out, Nova baby.”

She hesitates for a moment before closing the door behind her. She pauses by the door, kicking off her heels as she bends over and picks them up. My stomach flips inside my abdomen, and my heart pounds to its own melody as I watch her walk toward me, her curled blonde hair drifting behind her.

“Are those stargazer lilies?” Nova stops two feet away from the blanket, her eyes dropping down to it and back up to me. “What is this?”

“It’s for you.”

Her eyebrows momentarily scrunch before her face relaxes. “How did you even do this?”

A smile lifts the corners of my lips. “I had some help from some friends.”

I watch her face transform as a grin dances across her mouth, and she closes the distance between us. Her arms are instantly around the back of my neck, and she leans back, peering up at me. “This is amazing,” she says softly as she lifts onto her toes to kiss my lips. “You’re amazing.”

Emotion wells in my throat, and it constricts as I reach up to grab her wrists. This wasn’t exactly my plan, but my self-control seriously lacks when it comes to Nova. I set out for this entire thing to be perfect, but fuck that. I’ve waited long enough to do this, and I don’t want to waste another second.

I peel her away from my neck, my hands still holding both of hers as I look down at her. “When I first met you, I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. At the time, I knew I couldn’t pursue you. I knew your brother would never approve, and honestly, we were too young. You’re a forever kind of love, Nova. Your love is soft and slow, yet it creeps into your heart in unsuspecting ways, until you’re nestled deep within the fibers of someone’s soul. I never stood a chance against you, Nova Simmons.”

The stars above shimmer within the depths of her irises, and I glance up, watching a shooting star. Nova’s gaze follows mine and I don’t miss the way she stares in amazement at the fake sky.

“I feel like I’ve waited an eternity for you, but I wouldn’t change a single thing about it,” I tell her with nothing but honesty. “When we were younger, neither of us were ready for something like this. An all-consuming, life-changing love. I knew then that you were it for me. You’re all I want, Nova. Today, tomorrow, yesterday. For the rest of my goddamn life.”

Her eyes widen as I begin to lower myself onto one knee. I release her hands, reaching into my pocket as I pull out the small black velvet box. Tears spring from the corners of her eyes, and she gasps as she lifts her hands to her mouth. “Lincoln.”

“Yes, baby?”

“Yes,” she says eagerly, tears falling as her face lights up. “The answer is yes.”

A chuckle rumbles in my chest, and I shake my head at her. “Let me ask the question first.”

Nova laughs softly, the sound like the sweetest fucking melody as it slides across my eardrums, warming my soul. “Right. Sorry,” she snorts. “Please continue.”

“I want to fall asleep with you every night and wake up to you next to me every morning. I want to see you in those stupid aprons cooking dinner with me. I want Posey running around the house insisting I dress up and have a tea party with her.” Tears prick the corners of my own eyes. “I want every moment with you, Nova. I want every lifetime with you.”

I pause, letting out a ragged breath, feeling the emotions consuming me completely. My heart soars as I stare up at the woman I love, watching the reflection of the growing moon dancing in her irises.

“Will you marry me, Nova Simmons?”

She reaches for me, pulling me to my feet as she links her arms around the back of my neck once more. “Yes, Lincoln. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

The ring doesn’t make it to her finger before my mouth collides with hers. Nova kisses me with an intensity that rocks me to my core. A tenderness that has my heart feeling like it’s melting. She pours her love into me, my cup overflowing with her, and I’ll spend the rest of my life drinking from that cup.

Nova Simmons has always been more than everything to me.

She’s the entire universe.

Want more of Lincoln & Nova?

Keep reading for the first chapter in Make Your Play, the second book from the Aston Archers series.