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Her hand went to her flat stomach and she couldn’t help but think ahead to the future about what life would be like with a child...and if the man beside her would be part of it.
“You sure you’re ready to do this?” she asked when he pulled up in the circular drive and stopped near the front entrance.
Nash pulled their joined hands up to his lips, kissed the back of hers and gave her a big squeeze. “More than ready.”
“What reason will you give them that I’m still here?”
Nash shrugged. “What do you want me to say?”
Lily prided herself on the truth, but she still wasn’t ready to disclose her pregnancy to the world, yet. She also didn’t want this to be about her or the baby at all. This was Nash’s moment to possibly connect with a family he hadn’t known existed.
And she was still unsure if she would be part of his family once they really sat down and talked about the future.
One monumental moment at a time.
“We can just tell them we met when I first started filming and became friends and I decided to hang around for a while and take a mini-vacation since the shoot was done.”
Nash shot her his signature naughty grin. That sexy smile never failed to arouse her because she knew firsthand what that smile looked like as he rose above her just before he joined their bodies.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll know we’re more than friends,” he told her.
“That’s fine,” she said with a shrug, realizing she truly didn’t care.
She trusted this family to keep things private. They understood the way the media worked, considering they were celebrities in their own right with the Barrington sisters making history with their wins. Besides, she’d come to consider them friends and if she wanted to pursue something more with Nash, she needed to get used to opening herself to those that could quite possibly be a big part of his life.
“I’m just not adding any more information than that and I’m not bringing up the pregnancy. Besides, when you tell them the news, I’ll be all but forgotten.”
“You could never be forgotten.” He smacked a kiss on her hand. “I’m not ready to let our little secret out, either. I like having you and this baby to myself for now.”
Nash leaned across the center console, slid a hand along her jawline and captured her lips. Those soft, talented lips had been all over her body, yet when he kissed her with such tenderness and care, she couldn’t help but wonder if he held back feelings and emotions he was afraid to express out loud.
Because his silent actions were screaming that he was falling in love with her. Heaven help her, she wanted him to be just as torn as she was. She wanted to know that as she entered into this unknown territory of what she felt could be true love, that she wasn’t alone.
“Let’s go,” he murmured against her lips.
Nine
Nash couldn’t let his mind drift to the conversation he had with Lily about her career and he sure as hell couldn’t think about how his emotions regarding her were tying him up in knots. He was here for one reason and one reason only—to figure out what Damon Barrington would do with the paternity bomb Nash was about to drop.
“Well, we’re all here.” Damon smiled, crossing an ankle over his knee in his wingback leather chair in the living room as though he hadn’t a care in the world. “I’m anxious to hear what you have to say.”
Cassie and Tessa sat on the sofa, their matching bright blue eyes locked on his. Didn’t they see it? Hadn’t they noticed how they all had the exact same shade of cobalt-blue eyes? He’d purposely not worn contacts when he’d come to the estate, perhaps in hopes that someone would mention his eye color.
Nash sat next to Lily on the other sofa across from Tessa and Cassie. A rich mahogany coffee table sat between them, adorned with a perfect arrangement of summer flowers. The Barrington home was just as lavish and beautiful as his own...a home he was itching to get back to. A home he wanted to show Lily.
The Barrington clan had been surprised to see Lily, but had bought the friend story...or at least they hadn’t questioned any further.
Even though Lily wasn’t touching him, just her presence beside him was all the support he needed. Lily was his rock right now.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time working here,” he began, fighting off the nerves that threatened to consume him. “I’ve gotten to know all of you and was able to witness history firsthand when Tessa won the Triple Crown. I celebrated even though I was here and not at the race. Being on the ranch during filming was pretty amazing, too.”
