“You said that about Damon being your father,” she told him. “Is there another secret you’ve kept from me?”
“I need you to know I never meant for you to be affected by this.”
Wrapping her arms around herself to ward off the tremors overtaking her body, Lily held her ground. She didn’t move, didn’t blink. Whatever this was, it was bad.
“You also need to know that I love you,” he continued. “I fell in love with you before you told me about the baby. I’ve wanted to tell you, wanted you to know.”
When he stepped forward and reached for her, Lily took a step back, holding her arms out to her side. “Don’t. Don’t preface whatever bomb you’re about to drop with love and think that will fix this. You’re picking an awfully convenient time to express the feelings I’ve tried to get you to share for a while now.”
Nash nodded, drawing in a shaky breath. “You’re right. You deserve more than what I’ve given. Just promise you’ll hear me out before you make any decisions regarding us, our baby.”
“Just tell me!” she yelled, fear spawning her outcry.
The lights flickered, but came right back on as thunder and lightning filled the night. How apropos for everything that was taking place inside this house, inside her heart.
“My real name is Jacob Nash Roycroft. I’m known as Jake to nearly everybody.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m not a groom, I’m a horse owner myself. All of this was a setup to spy on Damon.”
Air left Lily’s lungs as she stared at the man who was quickly becoming a stranger right before her eyes. “Why?” she whispered.
“Damon Barrington has been my rival for a couple of years now.” Nash glanced down, raking a hand over his head before he lifted his tormented eyes to meet hers again. “We both own racehorses and I knew he and his girls were retiring. I wanted to go undercover so I could see how to get some of his prizewinning horses because he wouldn’t sell them to me. I also wanted to see him as a man outside of the business world. I didn’t even know going in if I would tell him about being his son. Every single day I battled this and before I knew it, we were in an affair and by then I was in too deep.”
Everything he told her weighed heavily on her heart. He’d lied to her from the beginning. He had his own horse farm, he was a racehorse mogul.
Which meant he had money. Plenty of money and he was used to getting his way. Which would explain his take-charge attitude, his beautifully appointed home, the doctor who made house calls, no doubt because Nash had paid her a hefty sum.
There was no way to describe the level of hurt that spread through her, leaving her cold, empty. Everything she’d known...no, everything she’d felt had been a lie based on nothing but a man who was only looking out for himself. Anything she felt was for a man who didn’t even exist...except in her heart.
“You bastard,” she whispered, hugging her midsection. She refused to look at him, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her broken.
“My name may be different and my bank account bigger than you thought.” Nash’s bare feet shuffled across the hardwood floor as he came closer. “But I’m still me, Lily. I’m still the man who wants to be with you. I’m still the man who fathered that child.”
His palm cupped her chin, lifting her face so she had no choice but to look him in the eyes. “I’m still the man who loves you.”