Page 41 of His Unexpected Heir

Astra gaped at her assistant. “Movers?”

Bailey and Macie laughed, hugging her a moment before they headed back out for the rest of their supplies. “Let’s get this sorted out. The big plastic bin is still in the car. I’ll go get it,” Macie said and disappeared.

Matteo poked his head into the room. “May I have a moment of my wife’s time?” he asked.

Bailey looked up, startled. When she noticed her husband, she smiled. “Of course.” She looked over at Astra and said, “I’ll be right back.”

Alone, Astra looked around. She wanted to get this project finished. Yes, she should be working on the wall competition that was coming up in three days, but this…getting the “package” ready was a priority at the moment. It would hopefully never be used, but that wasn’t the point.

Thirty minutes later, she and Macie had the plastic bin filled with essentials.

“Let’s get this down there,” Astra said.

“I’ve got it,” Macie replied, then lifted the heavy box into her arms. “Goodness, this is full!”

Astra led the way down the “hallway of misery”, then down the dank, stone stairs. They had to drag the bin down the steps because it had gotten too heavy for Macie to carry by that point.

“What the hell is going on?” a male voice called out.

Macie turned with a welcoming smile but her expression soured when she saw the tall, handsome man coming down the stairs. “Go away, Your Grace,” she snapped. The last two words had been spoken with a twinge of sarcasm.

Of course, Edward ignored her, walking over and picking the heavy box up as if it was filled with feathers. “Where are you taking this?” he asked.

“Down to the dungeon,” Astra explained, then pointed towards the damp hallway. “It’s this way.”

He followed behind Macie and Astra down the hallway, then shoved the plastic bin into the darkest corner of the first cell. “What’s in this?” he asked, straightening and slapping his hands together as if to dust them off.

“It’s a secret,” Macie told him, then left the cell.

Edward stared after her for a moment, then turned to look at Astra, his eyebrows lifted in query.

“It’s more symbolic than anything else,” Astra explained. “I can’t explain more than that.”

Edward nodded, then looked around at the age-darkened walls and damp cells. “This place is horrible.”

She agreed but changed the subject, asking about where he lived in England as she led the way back up the stairs. He told her about his ancestral home in Bristol and the small village.

Once upstairs, they ran into Antonio and his eyes darkened. “What’s going on?” he demanded, glancing towards the door. “Why were you down in the dungeon?”

Astra waved to Edward and Macie who both moved on down the hallway. When they were alone, she looked at Antonio. “Do you have a moment to discuss a new idea I had?”

He looked down at her, his hands fisted on his hips. “What were you, Macie, and Edward doing down there?” he demanded.

She laughed and moved closer. “I was hiding something in the dungeon,” she told him honestly.

There was a moment of stunned silence as he stared down at her. “What were you hiding?”

“It doesn’t matter. It won’t ever be used.” She moved closer again, resting her hand on his chest. “I was…um…thinking about last night,” she told him.

He sighed, looked over her shoulder to the dark door that led to the dungeon. “I don’t want you going down there alone, Astra. If you fall, no one would know and we wouldn’t be able to hear you if you called for help.”

“Okay,” she replied. “Now about last night,” she whispered, feeling nervous since he wasn’t encouraging her flirting. But she wasn’t going to give up. She’d given up five months ago. She was different now. She had a baby to care for. And she wanted a father for that baby.

He hesitated, then put his hands on her waist. “What about last night?” he asked.

She started to pull away, discouraged by the tone. “If last night was a one off, you just need to say so.” She stepped away, but he pulled her back into his arms.

“It wasn’t a one off for me,” he growled. “And I’m not going to wait until you get away and then have you return my phone calls at odd hours.”

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