AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lily tipped her head, kissed him slightly on the lips. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
“I didn’t bring you,” he replied, hugging her tighter against him. “Your movie brought you here.”
She ran her hand along his arm. “You know what I mean. You’ve included me in your life, in your new family even though we’re still new ourselves. I feel like I belong here, like I belong with you. You don’t know how much that means to me.”
Yeah, he did. He knew she valued family just as much as he did. He knew she wanted their baby to have that special bond.
But would Nash sever that bond once he revealed himself?
Nash kissed the end of her nose and squeezed her tight again. “You deserve this.”
And he just had to find a way to convince her he wasn’t purposely deceiving her and that she belonged there. She belonged with him.
Fifteen
Taking the first step in getting his life back under control was long overdue. He loved Lily. There was no denying the fact anymore. Now with her in Arizona visiting her mother, he was at the Barrington estate about to confront his father and put one hell of a kink in their newfound relationship.
He should’ve let this out earlier, but he’d just not been ready. Since falling so hard for Lily, Nash knew putting it off any longer would be an even bigger mistake. Starting now, he was going to set things straight and take control of his life.
Here all this time he’d thought he’d been in control. He’d only been controlled by his own lies and selfishness.
Nash paced the living room. He’d already gone into the kitchen and said hi to Linda, who was washing up dishes from breakfast. She’d invited him to stick around for lunch, but Nash didn’t make any promises. He highly doubted he’d be welcome at that point.
Nerves curled deep in his gut and a vulnerability he hated to admit he had threatened to consume him. But he wouldn’t back down. He wouldn’t take the coward’s way out.
“Nash, I was surprised to hear from you today.” Damon crossed the room and Nash came to his feet. “Not that you aren’t welcome anytime. What brings you here on a Saturday morning? Is Lily with you?”
Nash shook his head. “She went to visit her mother in Arizona. I needed to talk to you about something important.”
Damon laughed and smacked his hand on Nash’s shoulder. “Last time you said that you announced you were my son. What else could you have to tell me?”
Raking a hand through his long hair, hair that he couldn’t wait to cut off so he could get back to looking like himself, Nash gestured toward the chair. “You may want to have a seat.”
Damon’s smile faltered. “Is something wrong with your mother?”
“No, no. She’s fine.” Nash sank to the sofa, resting his elbows on his knees. “I actually drove down to see her yesterday after Lily’s plane took off. She’s excited about the baby.”
Nervous chitchat would only postpone the inevitable for so long. He’d come here on a mission and he refused to let nerves take over.
“I actually came to tell you that I can’t accept Don Pedro from you.”
Damon’s silver brows drew in as he eased forward in the leather chair. “If you’re concerned about the money I could make by selling him, don’t be.”
Shaking his head, Nash clenched his fists. Damn it, he hated this. “I know you’re not concerned with the money. I know this because I’ve been offering to buy him for nearly three months now.”
Confusion settled onto Damon’s face as the elderly man drew his brows together in confusion. “I’m not following you.”
“You’ve been getting phone calls from Barry Stallings.”
Damon’s back straightened. “How do you know this?”
Holding firm to his courage, Nash leveled Damon’s gaze. “Because Barry is my assistant.”
Damon stared, studied for a minute, then gasped as realization dawned on him. Jerking to his feet, he started shaking his head.
“How can this be?” he whispered, as if to himself. “You—you’re...what the hell game have you been playing? The long hair, the beard. You’re a bigger man than I remember. Then again I haven’t seen you in person in years. How long have you been planning to come here and spy on me? Was the son angle just a convenient reason? Or are you even my son?”
For once in his life, Nash remained seated, wanting Damon to feel in control. Nash had never relinquished power to anyone before, and certainly not to his longtime rival, but right now, rivalry was gone and this was about so much more.
