scenarios, endless questions all swirled through his mind. What on earth did he know about babies or parenting? All he knew was how hard his mother worked to keep them in a meager apartment. She’d never once complained, never once acted worried. She was the most courageous, determined woman he’d ever known. Traits she’d passed down to him, which gave him the strength to carry on with his original plans, even with the shocking news of the baby. He would not let his child down, but he had to follow through and take what he had come for.
“I don’t expect anything from you, Nash,” Lily went on as if she couldn’t handle the silence. “But I wasn’t going to keep this a secret, either. Secrets always become exposed at the wrong time and I felt you deserved to know. It’s up to you whether you want to be part of this baby’s life.”
Secrets, hidden babies. Wow. The irony kept getting harsher and harsher as if fate was laughing at him. This hurdle she’d placed in front of him really had him at a crossroads. What started out as a fling had now escalated into something personal, intimate...anchoring him in for the long term. Because now he couldn’t keep pretending to be someone he wasn’t, unfortunately he couldn’t come clean with his identity, either.
He wanted to give his child, and Lily, the absolute best of everything. Even though Lily wasn’t financially strained, Nash would be front and center in his child’s life in every single way. How the hell could he do that without her discovering his identity?
Damn it. He’d never, ever intended for her to be hurt, but he’d passed the point of no return and now the inevitable heartbreak lay in the very near future.
She was never supposed to know who he really was. She was supposed to be gone well before he revealed himself. But now she would be part of his life forever and there was no escaping that hard fact.
“I would never leave you alone in this, Lily.” He stepped forward, sliding his hands up over her smooth, bare shoulders. His thumbs caressed the edge of her jaw as an ache settled deep within him, knowing he would cause her even more pain. “How are you feeling? I assume the pregnancy is why you passed out?”
“I’m feeling okay. I’ve been very nauseous for several days, but this is the first time I’ve fainted.” Her eyes sought his as a smile tugged at her unpainted lips. “I’m glad you were there to catch me.”
“Me, too.”
He still craved her, ached for her, even with the stunning news. Nash slid his mouth across hers, needing the contact and comfort that only she could provide. When he’d go back to his small rental cottage at night, he’d long for her even though he’d just been intimate with her. Nash had never been swept into such a fast, intense affair before.
And his attraction had nothing to do with her celebrity or her status as one of Hollywood’s most beautiful leading ladies. Lily was genuine, not high maintenance or stuffy. Nash honestly admired her. The fact that she was sexy as hell and the best lover he’d ever had was just a bonus.
Her lips moved beneath his, her arms wrapped around his neck as her fingertips toyed with the ends of his hair. Even though they’d been secretly seeing each other for a couple of months, their passion had never once lessened. This woman was so responsive, so perfectly matched for him that he simply couldn’t get enough.
Right now they had more pressing issues to deal with...not to mention the ones he had to face on his own.
Damn it. He’d wanted to keep her out of his own sordid affairs and keep things strictly physical. But now Lily discovering the truth about him was unavoidable. There was no way he could avoid the crushing blow that would eventually come down. He could delay the bombshell, weigh his options, because he didn’t just have Lily and a baby to think about...he had another family to consider.
Stepping back, Nash studied her, processing just how vulnerable she was right at this moment and knew the end result of his lies would be the same. Once she figured out who he was, she would want nothing to do with him. There was no way in hell he’d be absent from his child’s life, though, which meant Lily couldn’t be rid of him no matter how much she would come to hate him.
“I’ll walk you to your trailer so you can pack your things.”
Lily jerked back. “Pack my things?”
“You’re coming to stay with me.”
Lily completely removed herself from his touch and crossed her arms over her chest. “Stay with you? Why on earth would I do that?”
“So I can take care of you.”
Laughing, Lily shook her head. “I’m not dying, Nash. I’m having a baby.”
“My baby,” he corrected. “I want you with me, Lily.”
“How am I going to explain why I’m living with you and not in my trailer? Nobody knows about our affair.”
Nash shrugged. “I don’t care what they think. I care about your health and our baby.”
“Well I care,” she all but shouted, throwing her hands to the side. “The media is just waiting to publish something juicy on me. Don’t you understand that I have a career, a life, and I can’t throw it away because you want to take charge? I’ve worked too hard to overcome the reputation Hollywood first gave me. I’m no longer the wild child of the industry. I’m respected and I’d like to keep it that way.”
Fine, so he was thinking selfishly, but still, he refused to let her go through this alone. Just the thought of his mother being in this position once upon a time had his stomach tightening. Besides, this was Lily. She was a drug in his system and having her close by at all times would only feed their sexual appetite even further.
Maybe he needed to rein in the testosterone. But only for now and only because he refused to back down. He would still find a way to keep her close whether she liked it or not. Yes, he wanted the sex, but now that there was a child involved...he wanted to be right there every step of the way for his son or daughter.
“Fine. I’ll come stay with you.”
Lily raised a brow and tilted her head. “Seriously, Nash. I’m fine. I’m not going to do anything but sleep and work.”
“That’s what concerns me,” he retorted. “You’re getting tired and you’re pushing yourself because the film is almost finished. You passed out, for crying out loud.”
“I can’t stop working.”
Moments ago he’d been ready to take her up to the loft. Now he was struggling with how many more lies he would have to tell before this was all over.
Horses shifted in their stalls behind him, the sunset cast a bright orange glow straight through the wide-open stable doors. The setting epitomized calm and serenity...too bad the storm inside him was anything but.
“What about after you’re done filming? What will we do about the baby?”
And there it was. The ultimate question that wedged heavily between them, but he had to throw it out there. He had to know what her plans were. He wasn’t ready for a family by any means, but considering he and Lily lived on opposite sides of the country, they needed to figure out how they could both be in this child’s life.
Lily smoothed her hair away from her face, turned away
