Page 20 of His Unexpected Heir

But now, seeing the message, he knew what he needed to do. Before he could reply, the phone rang. Answering it, he closed his eyes briefly, knowing who was on the other end. “Si!” he snapped in place of a greeting.

Listening, he nodded, then agreed to the meeting that was inevitable. “I agree to your terms,” he replied, satisfaction rolling through him at the higher than expected price. “I’ll be at my office in an hour and we can sign the contracts.”

He heard the soft footsteps before Astra spoke. “You’re leaving?” she asked and she looked as if he’d just slapped her.

“Si. I have a business meeting in,” he glanced at his watch, “less than an hour. I will have to hurry if I’m going to make it.” He started for the door, reaching for a set of keys, then paused. “Was there something you wished to speak to me about? I thought we’d gone over most of the details last night.”

Astra reached out, her delicate fingers touching the chair in front of his desk as if she needed the support.

“No,” she replied quickly, shaking her head and causing that lustrous cascade of dark hair to shimmer in the overhead lights. “Nothing that can’t wait.”

Still, he paused, looking into her eyes. “Are you sure?”

She gave him an overly bright smile that seemed false, but shook her head again. “I’m sure. Go to your meeting. I’ll have several of the events scheduled by the time you get back.”

He nodded, then wondered if he should cancel the meeting. But this was about the last of his father’s businesses that he wanted to sell off. Once that was done, he could come back here and start getting the castle ready to sell. He wanted everything from his father’s illegal businesses out of his life.

“Bueno,” he said with a firm nod. “I’ll see you in a few days then.”

And then he turned, forcing his feet to carry him out of the kitchen. Instead of into her arms. She didn’t want his attentions, he reminded himself. She’d proven that repeatedly. Even last night, Astra had kept her distance from him, never once straying from the topic of the various events she’d planned. Thankfully, she wasn’t one of those people who thought that her ideas were superior to others and she was more than willing to shift direction once he gave her more information about his vision for the village.

Still, he sat in his car, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white, fighting against the urge to head right back into his office and demand to know what was bothering her.

None of his business, he told himself. If she had a problem that was outside of their business relationship, she could confide in her assistant. He knew she had several good friends back in Philadelphia. So she could call one of them for advice if she needed help.

Setting the car into drive, he forced himself to leave the garage. Once out on the open road, he pressed the accelerator harder than was necessary, needing to get away from Astra as quickly as possible. Because her pull was nearly stronger than his self-control.

Astra watched as Antonio sped off down the road, biting her lip with concern as he drove faster than she thought wise. He wasn’t going to die, she reminded herself. The man was strong and healthy and powerful and he couldn’t die. Not in a car crash, not…ever! The thought of not having Antonio in the world somewhere was too painful a future to contemplate.

Turning, she nearly bumped into Eldora. “Oh!” Astra gasped, stepping back so as not to run over the older woman. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“You’re overwrought,” the dour housekeeper declared. “I will make you some tea.”

Astra was startled by the offer. “That’s…very kind of you. But I don’t want to put you out. I’m just going to gather my notes and work out the details with Macie so she can start her programming magic,” she said with a playful smile. No response from Eldora. Astra tried again, attempting to be friendly despite the housekeeper’s sullen demeanor. “We won’t get in your way.” Astra didn’t mention breakfast. After last night’s horrible dinner, she didn’t want to eat anything that the housekeeper cooked. She was a horrible cook!

Eldora turned, ignoring Astra’s protests. “It’s no problem. I’ll bring tea out to the terrace in a moment.”

Then Eldora headed to the kitchen and Astra followed, not sure why. But she opened her mouth to protest even as the housekeeper lifted a heavy teakettle, filling it with water.

Astra watched the woman for a long moment, not sure what to say. She didn’t want any tea. She just needed water in order to help counter the jet lag. Plus, she couldn’t drink caffeine. Touching her stomach gently, she walked out of the kitchen. In the great room, Astra found Macie chewing on a protein bar.

“Where did you get that?” Astra hissed.

Macie chuckled and pulled a protein bar out of her other pocket. “Here. Last night’s dinner was horrible. I’m not eating anything else that woman cooks.” She handed over several oranges as well. “I’d rather survive on fruit and protein bars instead of endure another meal from that sourpuss.”

“I’m with ya,” Astra replied, ripping open the protein bar packaging. “The pub down the street is fantastic. Just put everything on the company credit card and we’ll consider it a business expense.”

Macie beamed. “Have I mentioned that you’re a wonderful boss?” she teased.

Astra rolled her eyes. “Flattery will get you everything,” she replied. “Come on. Let’s go out onto the terrace and work out the details for the first few events. Over dinner last night, Antonio and I discussed the events and he wants to take things in a slightly different direction.”

“Ooh! A challenge!” Macie grabbed the tote bag with her laptop from the chair where she’d dumped it. “Let’s do this!”

They found an ornate, iron table at a corner of the terrace and spread out their computers and notes and started planning.

At some point, Eldora came out with a tray filled with two tea cups and a pot of tea. But as soon as Astra poured a cup, she nearly gagged at the smell. “I swear, that woman is trying to poison us!” she hissed, keeping her voice low so that they wouldn’t be overheard.

“Just dump that vile stuff into the flowerbed,” Macie urged. “There’s a coffee shop down the street from the pub. We’ll go there later and I can fill up on caffeine while you can get some herbal tea.”

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