Carrying the Lost Heir's Child(52)

                “I don’t mind if we tell them,” she said, pleased when his mouth split into a wide grin.

                “Seriously?”

                “Sure. That will give everyone something positive to discuss, something that takes the edge off the intensity of you shocking them with your identity.”

                The smile on his face faded, the muscle in his jaw clenched. Something she couldn’t identify passed over his eyes.

                “You all right?” she asked, wondering what she’d said that had him so worried.

                He blinked, and an instant transformation had his smile returning. “I’m good. Just thinking about how I’ll fit into Damon’s life now, I guess.”

                Framing his face in her hands, Lily held his gaze. “You’ll fit in perfectly. You all already have a love of horses, it’s in the blood. Things will all work out, you’ll see.”

                His dark brows drew down as if some worry still plagued him. “I pray you’re right.”

                * * *

                “That was wonderful,” Lily declared as she sat her napkin on the table. “Thank you.”

                “My pleasure,” Damon replied with a smile.

                Nash hadn’t known what to expect when coming for lunch today, but so far he was pleasantly surprised at how easily he and Lily had slid into the family role...as if they were a real couple coming to his parents’ for a gathering.

                With Ian, Cassie and Cassie’s little girl on one side of the long table and Tessa and her husband, Grant, on the side with Nash and Lily, Damon sat at the head like the grand patriarch he was.

                The confident man had no clue he’d just hosted his rival.

                Nash wished more than anything he and Damon weren’t at odds in the business world. Nash hated lying, hated being someone he wasn’t just to get the prizewinning horses to complete his breeding program. He hadn’t worried about this when he’d first come onto the scene.

                He had Lily to thank for that bout of conscience. When he’d set out to get the inside scoop on Damon’s plan after the racing season, Nash had been ready to steal, lie and cheat to get what he wanted. But Lily made him want to be a better man.

                Nash had also gotten to know Damon on a more personal level and the elderly man wasn’t too different from Nash. They both knew what they wanted, and both went after it full force...how could Nash fault that? Damon wasn’t the man Nash had originally thought.

                Damon had a passion for the sport, just like Nash. The man cared for his family, would do anything to protect them. Nash hadn’t seen that side of him years ago in the circuit. All Nash had known was how ruthless Damon could be. And, honestly, Nash had actually recognized how alike he and his father were.

                Trouble now was, Nash was already wrapped so tightly in his own lies. He still wanted those horses, still needed desperately to breed them with his own back on his estate. He’d not had the best seasons lately and he had to do something.

                Lily’s hand slid over his leg under the table. “You okay?” she whispered.

                Pushing away thoughts of business, Nash patted her hand. “Yeah.”

                “Nash, I’d like to talk with you a moment if you don’t mind taking a walk down to the stables with me,” Damon said, not really asking. A man like Damon Barrington didn’t ask.