Page 18 of Your Second Chance
“Luna,” Nova snapped.
A laugh echoed from another part of the flat, and Nova rolled her eyes as she headed for the front door.
I stood there for a second, flabbergasted. This entire interaction had been a whirlwind. I’d walked in on a joke, found a woman who had clearly been crying, and she was snapping at me, her energy flipping like a switch.
“Are you coming or not?” she barked from the doorway, giving me an impatient glare.
My brain was on fire, trying to catch up to her mood swings, her intensity, her everything.
Fuck,I thought, watching her with a mix of confusion and awe.I think I’m in love.
7
nova
I wasn’t about to let my coworker know I was in the middle of the world’s biggest panic attack over my divorce papers when he walked—no, barged—into my flat like he owned the place. I wasn’t about to let this man become privy to my deepest breakdowns, so it was easier to get dressed and do what he wanted to do than argue with him.
Plus, it pacified Luna, who was begging me to get out of the house and go on a walk to get fresh air. At least my pregnancy nausea had subsided. The rice kernel was the size of a peach, and although I was still pretty tired, I was starting to feel better physically. Emotionally, I was still a wreck.
When the divorce papers arrived finalized, it hit harder than I’d expected. It wasn’t that I didn’t want it to be over—Idid.I needed it to be over. Seeing it written out, stamped, and legally done was like watching the last piece of my old life crumble to ash.
And yet, the peach rooting itself in my stomach whispered that I couldn’t escape my past completely. I still hadn’t told him—not even after Luna came with me to the last appointment. Not even when the doctor told me that at the next visit, I’d be able to find out the baby’s gender.
I stepped outside, Ollie trailing behind me. He looked especially good today. Well, to be fair, he looked hot as fuckmostdays. That was part of the problem—why I avoided him like the plague. I couldn’t handle being around him, not with how ridiculously attractive he was on the pitch. His body was a masterpiece of muscle and raw strength, all sharp edges and power. His legs alone could...
Nope. Nope.
Fuck.
The peach had also made me incredibly horny—like, embarrassingly so. At one point, the thought of Clive flashed through my mind as a desperate solution to my unspeakable need, and the sheeryuckof it had me gagging.
Still, fleeting as it was, the thought rattled me. I wasn’t myself. This peach, this pregnancy, thiseverythingwas messing with me in ways I wasn’t prepared for. And walking in front of Ollie, knowing how good he looked today, wasn’t helping. Not one bit.
“Where are we going?” I grumbled.
“Your roommate seems to think you need a walk.” Ollie slipped his hands into his jacket pocket.
“What do you think I need?”
Ollie grinned. “Fun.”
He wasn’t wrong, but I didn’t know where or how to even start finding it.Fun.The word felt foreign, like it belonged to someone else’s vocabulary.
I was so lost in thought that Ollie surprised me when he grabbed my hands, pulling me to a stop.
“Want to talk about it?”
We stood outside my neighborhood, but it felt like the world around us had disappeared. Just him and me, facing each other. I studied Ollie’s face—his sharp jawline and his deep, warmbrown eyes. Without thinking, I reached up and pressed a hand to his cheek. It was warm and steady, like him.
The moment hung heavy between us, and I hesitated, realizing what I’d done. I pulled my hand away quickly. “Shit. Sorry.”
He smiled softly. “It’s okay, love.”
He leaned down, so slowly it felt like time itself stretched out, and rested his forehead gently against mine.
I froze.
I’d forgotten what this felt like. Companionship. Connection. The simple, grounding touch of another person.
