Page 24 of His Unexpected Heir

Of course, she knew that her father was watching from the window. Her father was a proud, man that would never allow his reputation to be smirched by the neighbors gossiping about Maria going off with Antonio un-chaperoned. So Maria was careful not to allow any of the small-minded gossips to have anything to say about her.

No, she did all of her naughty activities away from prying eyes. Smiling, she thought about the previous night. It had been…wonderful to let herself go like that. Her lover had been inspired! She nearly laughed as the memories flooded back but…!

There! Antonio’s car just appeared on the road from the castle! Yes, he was driving to the village.

Maria rushed over to the mirror, pinching her cheeks to ensure that they were extra pink. Maria vowed to leave Antonio and her father alone for an extra five minutes this time, as punishment for that chubby bimbo residing at the castle. Antonio must learn that he couldn’t invite another woman to live at the castle without telling her what was going on. It was insulting! She would be his wife very soon and Maria felt that it was just common courtesy to inform one’s significant other when another woman would be in her man’s proximity.

And the parties that drab woman was organizing? Good grief, they were ridiculous! In fact, they weren’t even parties! They were just…work efforts! Inspired, Maria made a mental note to bring Antonio down to the river and show him what that perra had forced everyone to do while he’d been in Madrid. It was beyond insulting. The villagers had actually been digging! In the dirt! How ridiculous!

Of course, most of the villagers had balked at first, but as soon as the beer and ale was brought out, along with the food, they’d all started…digging!

She huffed a bit and looked at her nails. The soft pink wasn’t really her color, but she needed to appear demure. Spanish men were so ridiculous in their need for their women to be perfectly lovely at all times. But for her, Maria knew that it wasn’t a problem. She thrived on her beauty. Flicking her hair back, she straightened her shoulders and glanced out the window. The sedan was nearly here. She would pace in her room for the extra five minutes, just to prove her point.

“Over there,” Astra directed, pointing towards the river. “You can park here.”

Antonio parked in one of the new gravel spaces and gazed out at the grassy area that flanked the river. “What…what are they?” he asked, not sure he understood why Astra had organized a stick digging “party”.

Her soft laughter had his body tightening with the memories of their night together. No, not just that night. He remembered the sound of her laughter many times over that week before his friend’s wedding.

“They don’t look like much now,” she said, interrupting his pleasant memories, “but come with me. I’ll show you.”

They got out of the sedan and walked over to one of the arched structures. “These are willow branches.” Her slender, delicate fingers traced over the arched, olive-green twig. “Willow trees love water, so these branches will grow roots. Then the pretty green leaves will emerge,” she explained, sliding her hand along one of the arched structures.

“And the platforms?” he asked, nodding towards the flat, table-like surfaces that were connected to the inner area of each group of arched twigs.

She smiled and walked alongside him. “The branches will grow leaves and will provide shade for anyone who wants to just sit by the river and watch the water go by. The platforms are tables and benches.”

Antonio looked down at her, stunned by the creativity. “This is what you’ve been doing while I was in Madrid?”

She beamed, proud of herself. “Instead of parties, like you’d originally hired me to organize, I’m creating beautification opportunities.” She laughed at his confusion. “Don’t worry. There was beer, ale, and lots of your wonderful Spanish wine. I had a catering company bring in sandwiches as well as decadent desserts. Everyone who showed up initially was confused, but as soon as I explained what the area would look like once the branches sprouted,” she shot him an amused glance, “and after the alcohol was distributed, everyone was fully on board.”

Astra pulled a notebook out of her tote bag. “Here,” she said, flipping to one of the drawings. “This is the original vision.” She pointed to the picture she’d drawn of benches and tables that were shaded by willow branches. “We also planted wildflowers over here,” she explained, pointing towards the riverbank. “That will improve erosion control. We only used native plants, so there are no worries about invasive species messing with the river.”

“This is what it will look like?” he asked, staring at the drawing, then at the newly erected arched branches. “It will look like a fairy tale,” he muttered.

Astra’s heart bloomed with pride at the amazement in his voice. “Exactly,” she whispered. “I got the idea from a man who does this to small areas in Germany along the river. I thought it was a brilliant plan.”’

He nodded, still looking around at everything. “And how much did this cost?”

She clapped her hands together. “About half of what a regular party would cost. So I actually saved you money, beautified the village…plus, the villagers were surprisingly enthusiastic about the project. In fact, once it was finished, several people gathered together to make plans to keep expanding it. So, I’ve already met your objective.”

Startled by that news, he looked down at her. Antonio couldn’t smother the chuckle at her triumphant gaze. “I’m impressed, Astra,” he admitted honestly. “This is fantastic.” He looked around, nodding as he fisted his hands on his hips. “I hadn’t…expected anything like this, but it’s brilliant, actually.” He looked down at her and the finality and pride in her eyes had his gut tightening. “So does this success mean that you’re off to your next event?”

Her eyes widened and Astra vehemently shook her head. “Absolutely not! You hired me to bring everyone in the village together. One event isn’t going to do the trick.” Her grin transformed to something…almost mischievous. “Come with me,” she ordered. Astra grabbed his hand and pulled him two blocks over to the set of abandoned stores that surrounded the previously quaint town square. Actually, she led him to the alley between the stores. It was just a blank wall. Some of the stucco that had been plastered to the wall had come loose, making the alley seem dangerous and added to the abandoned air of the area.

“What’s this?” Antonio asked, looking around in confusion. “Why did you bring me here?”

She smiled, unaware that she was absolutely vibrating with enthusiasm.

However, Antonio was very aware of that fact and his body reacted. He was painfully conscious of the sparkle in her eyes and in the excitement radiating from her.

“This…!” she said, gesturing with her arms swinging wide, “is going to be filled with graffiti very soon!”

What? “Graffiti?” he echoed, fighting to pull his eyes away from her breasts. Were they larger than before? Or did they seem so because of the bulky sweater?

Astra laughed and the sound made his body tighten. Damn, was she torturing him on purpose?

“Yes! Graffiti!” she repeated, then pulled her phone out. “We’re dividing the sides of each building into sections. In two weeks, there is going to be a competition.” She grinned delightedly up at him and Antonio fisted his hands in his pockets in order to keep himself from pulling her into his arms.

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