Carrying the Lost Heir's Child (3 page)

Lily refrained from groaning because here she was, just discovering her pregnancy and already having to choose between her career and her personal life.

How would she juggle this all when the baby came? Eventually the world would know she was pregnant, then she couldn’t keep Nash a secret any longer—couldn’t keep her feelings for him a secret. Sooner rather than later, their relationship—whatever it became—would be out front and center.

How would he cope? How would they get through this? As a couple? As two people just sharing a child? With the depth of her feelings only growing stronger, Lily worried she was in for a long road of heartache.

Three

I
t was after midnight and Lily hadn’t come to him. He’d spent the night in her trailer, in her arms. So why wasn’t she here?

Turning off the lights in the stables, Nash kept to the shadows of the property and headed toward the back of the estate where Lily’s trailer sat. He told himself he just wanted to check on her to make sure she was feeling okay. Nash refused to believe he was developing deeper feelings for her. He couldn’t afford to be sidetracked right now, not until his plan was fully executed.

He climbed the two steps and glanced over his shoulder to double-check he was alone before giving her door a couple taps with his knuckles. When she didn’t answer, he tried the handle, surprised it turned easily beneath his palm. Even with security, keeping the door unlocked wasn’t smart. You never knew what length the crazies would go to in order to snap a picture of a celebrity. Money held more power than people gave it credit for.

“You need to keep this locked,” he told her as he entered. “Anybody could walk right in.”

Lily sat hunched over the small dinette table, papers spread all around her. When she glanced up at him, tear tracks marred her creamy cheeks.

Fear gripped him as he crossed the small space. “Lily, what happened? Is it the baby?”

Raking her hands through her long, dark hair, she shook her head. “No, no. The baby is fine.”

A slight sense of relief swept through him, but still, something was wrong. He’d never seen such fierce emotions from the woman who always appeared so flawless, so in control...except when she surrendered herself to him and she unleashed all of that pent-up passion.

“Then what is it?” he asked, sliding in beside her on the narrow booth.

Her hand waved across the table. “All of this. I’m looking at the future of my career, yet I have no clue what way to go. I’m at a crossroads, Nash, and I’m scared. There’s no good answer.”

Nash wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against his side. He’d grown used to the perfect feel of her petite body nestled next against his. What he wasn’t used to was consoling a woman, delving into feelings beyond the superficial. This was definitely out of his comfort zone and he absolutely hated it. Hated how he’d allowed himself to get in this position of being vulnerable with the threat of being exposed before he was ready.

More than anything else, he hated lying to Lily. She didn’t deserve to be pulled into his web of deceit and lies, but now that she was pregnant, there was no other option. He’d already put his plan in motion and he wasn’t leaving until Damon Barrington gave up the horses and Nash disclosed his real identity to the man. Nash couldn’t wait to see Damon’s face when the truth was revealed.

But now he had Lily and a baby to worry about. He sure as hell didn’t want innocents caught in the mix. Things had been so simple before, when Lily planned to wrap up filming and go on her way. Everything in her life from this moment on would revolve around their child and he had to figure out a way to make this right...he just had no clue how.

Angst rolled through him at the thought of his own mother feeling even an inkling of what Lily was going through. And his mother had been all on her own. No way would he ever let Lily feel as if she didn’t have him to lean on. He wasn’t looking for that traditional family, but he wouldn’t abandon what was his.

For so long it had been just Nash and his mother. She’d always put his needs first, rarely dating, never bringing a man to the house until Nash was in his late teens when she got engaged and eventually married. She’d always made sure her two jobs covered their bills and a few extras.

In short, she worked her ass off, purposely setting her own needs aside until Nash was old enough to understand and care for himself.

He didn’t want to see Lily struggling as a single mother, juggling a career and a child.

Added to that, she was pregnant with
his
child. It would take death to tear him away from what belonged to him. Did he love her? No. Love wasn’t in the cards for him, wasn’t something he believed in. That didn’t mean he didn’t already love this child they’d created. Now Nash had to make sure once she discovered the truth, she wouldn’t shut him out.

He knew how she loathed liars, how she’d been betrayed by a man in her past. Surely she would see this situation was completely different.

“What are all these papers that have you so upset?” he asked her.

Lily rested a hand on his thigh, tapping a stack with her finger. “Scripts Ian gave me to look over for the next film. He’s so excited because this will be our first film together, but everything here would be impossible for me to do until after the baby is born and that’s if I get my body back. Hollywood is ruthless when it comes to added pounds.”

He kept his opinion about Hollywood and their warped sense of “beautiful” to himself. Not all women needed to be rails to be stunning and added pounds didn’t take away from a woman’s talents. Lily was a petite woman, but she had curves in all the right places.

“Why don’t you tell Ian that none of these will work for you?”

Lily lazily drew an invisible pattern over his jeans with her fingertips. “I need to tell him about the baby. This has to be my sole focus. My career will have to come second for a while. I only hope I’m not committing career suicide.”

Nash smiled and stroked away a strand of hair from her eyes. “I highly doubt this will kill your career. Ian will understand, I’m sure.”

Lily scrubbed her hands over her face. “This is my life. I don’t know anything else. What do I know about being a mom?”

About as much as he knew about being a dad.

She slid out the other side of the booth and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Nash watched as she twisted off the cap and took a long drink. An overwhelming sense of possession swept through him. This sexy, vibrant woman would soon start showing visible signs of their secret affair.

“You can’t keep pushing yourself right now, Lily. It’s best you relax.”

Her eyes darted to his. “I don’t need you coming in here and telling me how I should be reacting. My life is mine alone, Nash. Yes, you’re the baby’s father, but I need to figure out what to do here. Even if I take some time off, I’m still in the spotlight. I don’t want...”

She bit her lip and glanced away. In the soft light casting a glow in the narrow space, Nash saw another fresh set of tears swimming in her eyes. Damn it.

“You don’t want the media to know,” he murmured.

After a slight hesitation, she nodded, but still didn’t meet his gaze. He climbed out of the seat and came up behind her, cupping her shoulders and easing her back against his chest.

“They’re going to find out, Lily. What you need to do is make sure you always stay in control.” Sliding his arms down, he covered her flat stomach with his hands, still in awe that a life grew inside there. “Don’t let them start the gossip. I’m sure you have TV interviews scheduled. Make a big bombshell announcement then. You’ll take the wind right out of the press’s sails.”

Lily turned in his arms. Her eyes met his as she blinked back tears. “That may be the best plan of action. But, I need to tell my mother first.”

Her mother. They’d never discussed their parents. That topic usually meant a relationship was building. He and Lily hadn’t planned on building on anything. They were enjoying their time together, not thinking of tomorrow.

Tomorrow, however, had caught up with them and smacked them in the face with a good dose of reality.

The fact they were bound forever now sent a bit of uncontrollable fear sliding through him. Whether either of them liked it or not, they were about to delve into personal territory.

Lily could talk about her mother all she wanted. That was most definitely an area in his life he wasn’t ready to reveal.

“Does your mother live in LA, too?”

“No, she lives in Arizona in a small, private community that’s run by an assisted living facility. She has her own home on the grounds and she’s very independent, but if her health gets bad or as she gets older and needs care, she’s already set.”

Lily stepped back and crossed her arms. “I don’t tell people where she is because I want her to have a normal life and not be hassled by the media.”

Nash didn’t want another reason to be drawn to Lily, but damn it she was protective of her mother. How could he not relate to that? Nash would do anything for his mother...which was why he was still harboring his secret instead of bursting through Damon’s front doors and laying it all out on the line.

Part of Nash wished he’d never kept this secret about his life, wished he’d just confronted his past immediately and moved on. But he’d wanted to protect his mother and wanted to move cautiously without making rash decisions. Lily was a different story. He’d seen her, he’d wanted her. Now, here they were, pregnant and discussing parents.

Irony shot at him from so many angles he could hardly keep up. He had been a secret baby, and Lily was expecting a baby that had to remain a secret for now. The best course of action for him would be to complete his original plans and confront Damon.

“Are you going to see your mom as soon as you’re done filming here?” he asked.

He needed her gone. He needed her away so he could have a face-to-face with Damon and not have Lily right there witnessing his confession of every single lie he’d told since meeting her. There was no way he could avoid the outcome, but he could at least soften the blow if she weren’t present for the bomb he would drop.

He wanted so much, from Damon, from himself...from Lily. In the end, he would have it all. He hadn’t gotten this far in his life by sitting idly by and watching opportunities pass. He reached with both hands and took what he wanted.

“I just need to think.” She rubbed her head and sighed. “I need to find a doctor. I have no idea where to go. Obviously I should look in LA, but I won’t be back there for a while.”

“I’ll find you one.” When she quirked a brow, he added, “I know people in the area. You need a checkup and then you can see a doctor when you get home.”

Assuming she went back home after filming wrapped up. Hell, he had no idea what her plans were. Honestly, all they’d managed to work out was how well they fit together intimately. Any discussion beyond that would be a vast change of pace.

“Just get me a name,” she told him. “It’s going to be nearly impossible to get in and out of a doctor’s office here without word getting out about my condition.”

Nash’s mind was working overtime. He couldn’t say too much or she’d know something was off about him and who she believed he was. She had to keep thinking he was just a groom until he could tell her otherwise. The last thing he needed at this point was her, or anyone for that matter, getting suspicious. Still, money talked and he’d use any means necessary to get her the proper care she needed while she was here.

“I bet we could get a doctor to come here, secretly,” he offered. “People can be silenced for a price.”

Lily’s eyes widened. “You’re not paying someone to keep quiet. I know how this works, Nash. We just need to find someone who can be discreet.”

From her tone and the worry filling her eyes, Nash knew she didn’t like the idea of him spending his money on her health care. Little did she know how heavily padded his accounts were. Even if they weren’t, even if he did only make groom’s wages, he’d spend every last cent if that meant proper care for his baby.

“I’ll take care of it,” he assured her. “You won’t have to worry about a thing.”

Lily leaned her shoulder against the narrow kitchenette cabinet and stared at him. “There are so many layers to you,” she muttered. “You’re all casual and laid-back, yet sometimes you’re all business and take-charge. Makes me wonder who the real Nash is.”

She’d barely scratched the surface. All too soon those layers would be peeled back one at a time, revealing things that would change lives forever.

Forcing himself to relax, he hooked his thumbs through his belt loops, intending to keep playing the part of groom. “Which Nash do you think I am?”

With a shrug, Lily continued to stare. “I’m not sure. You just seem more, I don’t know, powerful and composed than I thought you’d be about the baby.”

In one stride he’d closed the space between them, snaked his arms around her waist and leaned over her so her back arched. “You saying I wasn’t powerful when we were in the loft?”

Lily’s hands slid up his chest. “Oh, you were powerful, but you didn’t have that serious tone you just used.”

Nash eyed her mouth, then traveled back up to her eyes. “Trust me, when it comes to someone I care about, I’m very serious.”

Lily’s tremble vibrated his entire body. He couldn’t let her know anything about his real life, but at the same time he had to use his influences to keep her near, keep her and the baby safe. Everything in his life was at stake—things he hadn’t even considered a possibility were now major markers on his journey. He’d started down this path with one vision, now suddenly there were forks in the road. Still, he had to stay on track because no matter which way he went, hearts would be ripped apart. Two life-altering secrets would shatter the trust he’d built with everyone around him over the past couple of months.

Even with the odds drastically stacked against him, with the devil in the corner mocking him, Nash had no intention of failing. He’d have it all: the horses, a family, his baby.