Robert Miller wrote:
"If space were to expand the distance between objects would remain exactly the same"

No it wouldn't. Look again at the definition of length.

Length: the meter (m) defined as the distance traversed by a wave of light in a vacuum over 1/299 792 458 s (This definition fixes the speed of light at exactly 299 792 458 m/s).

If light traveled at a different speed in the past then distance, by definition, has changed but nothing has actually moved.

DA Morgan