Page 43 of Your Second Chance
Nova shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes. “Don’t say things like that,” she whispered. “You won’t be here that long. You’ll find someone else. You’ll find another person and have your own baby.”
“I don’t want anyone else, Nova,” I said firmly. “What don’t you understand about that?”
“I don’t get it. In the last year, I lost my mom, my job, and my relationship. I’m sad more days than not, and then there’s this constant, gnawing guilt that I’m not a good enough friend to Luna. That I’m not enough for anyone.”
“I don’t get it either. I don’t know how you like your coffee in the morning. I don’t know your favorite food, your favorite color, or even what kind of music you listen to,” I murmured. “But I know all the shit that weighs you down, the things that run circles in your mind, and somehow, I’m drawn to you. Attracted to it. Toyou.”
Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t pull away, so I continued. “I see how you work for the team, how much effort you pour into everything. And yeah, I hate when you take my players out of training sometimes—it drives me nuts—but I also know it’s because you work so damn hard. You care so much.”
I shook my head again, a small, disbelieving laugh escaping. “You’re a mess, Nova. But you’re also brilliant and strong and fucking beautiful. And for whatever reason, I can’t stop seeing all of it.”
“I, uh, I like my coffee with a lot of milk and sugar. I obviously like black.” She gestured to her clothes, and I chuckled. “Are you not weirded out that I’m pregnant? Like it’s a lot?”
“Nah. It’s an extension of you. Plus, Mum will kill me now that she’s invested if I don’t take the baby around the Cotswolds in the summer.”
The corner of her lip trembled into what could be deemed as a slight smirk.
“Are you scared when I touch you?”
She shook her head. “It only scares me because I... like it.”
I leaned in slightly, catching her gaze, and let my hand move upward, hesitating only briefly before I reached for her face. My fingers brushed along her temple, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear.
“Do you like my hair like this?” she asked shyly.
“I like it any way you wear it, Nova,” I said truthfully. “There’s nothing I’m not attracted to when it comes to you.”
Her lips twitched, but instead of a smile, her expression shifted into something pained. “I’m fat and ugly now,” she muttered.
“Ha,” I barked, far too loud, the sound bursting out before I could stop it. “That is hilarious.”
“I am!” She lifted her shirt slightly, revealing the tiniest bump, the one I’d caught a glimpse of earlier. “Look at me.”
My hands moved instinctively to her stomach, to the soft, slight swell. My fingers grazed the warm skin.
“Nova, love,” I crooned, brushing my thumbs along the delicate curve. “You’re stunning.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, only watched me, her breath uneven.
“I’ve thought about touching you since last time,” I admitted, my voice low, my gaze locked on hers.
“Me too,” she whispered, so quiet it seemed like a secret for us.
“I want to kiss you so badly, Nova,” I murmured, tucking another strand of hair behind her ear and cupping her cheek with my other hand. My knees touched hers, the space between us impossibly small, yet it still seemed like too much. “I’ve been thinking about it. Realized where I went wrong last time. I neverkissed you, and of course, it came across as impersonal. But I’m going to fix that. I’m going to kiss you now.”
I kept my fingers on her face, my thumb tracing the line of her jaw. “You have to tell me if that’s okay.”
Her lips parted slightly, her breath warm, her chest rising and falling with every shaky inhale. Her hands dropped from her shirt, letting it slip, covering the bump I’d touched. Little did she know how desperately I wanted to see more of her skin. Touch more of her.
“I need you to kiss me, Ollie,” she breathed.
That was it. My last thread of restraint snapped, unraveling completely. Game over.
I closed the distance, crashing my lips to hers. She was soft, and her taste was intoxicating. As she gripped my shoulders, I deepened the kiss, pulling her closer, needing more.
Without thinking, I lifted her so her thighs straddled my lap, and I erased any remaining space between us. She didn’t hesitate, threading her hands into my hair, pressing her lips against mine with the same urgency burning through me.
Sliding my hands to her waist, I curled my fingers into the soft fabric of her shirt, holding her to me. The world outside didn’t exist. It was her—her warmth, her breath, her kiss. She tasted like something I’d been craving for longer than I could admit, and I realized there was no coming back from this. She wasn’t simply under my skin. She was all I wanted.
