Page 8 of His Unexpected Heir

The heads of state would have flight priority today, so the airport would be busy. Many of the guests would be required to wait until later in the afternoon for their private jets to take off. Hence the games and entertainment. By this evening, everyone was scheduled to depart. Even she had an evening flight back to Philadelphia. But she would be the last to leave. At least, she hoped she would be the last.

Still, it was going to be a busy day. She didn’t have time to linger in the arms of a man, even if he was the most virile, amazing man she’d ever met.

Yeah, he’d irritated her when they’d first met, but…!

Sighing, she slipped silently out of the suite. Rushing, Astra hurried to her room, grateful when one of the guards let her into her room. She showered, changed clothes, then hurried to get on with her responsibilities.

Antonio woke up and looked around. Immediately, he reached for Astra, wanting to make sure that she was okay. But when he reached out, he found only cold sheets. No warm, soft woman to pull into his arms.

Looking around, he listened carefully, trying to hear if she was in the shower. Nothing. There was only silence.

Looking around, he realized that her clothes were gone too. She’d slipped away? Diablo! Infiearno!

And yet, Antonio remembered that Astra still had responsibilities this morning. And even worse, he had a meeting in Madrid later today. He didn’t even have time to find her and talk to her.

Maybe, if he hurried, he could find her in the kitchens, talk to her for just a moment. Maybe coax a smile from her? And perhaps, if she wasn’t too busy, they could meet up for a genuine date. He’d love to take her out to dinner, to talk with her without the pressures of her job distracting her.

After showering and pulling on a pair of charcoal slacks with a white dress shirt, he walked out of the suite, instructing his assistant to make sure that his clothes were packed and ready to go. His pilot had sent a text message that their scheduled departure was for eleven o’clock this morning. Glancing at his watch, Antonio realized that he didn’t have much time. He had to hurry if he wanted to find Astra.

But after searching for her for over an hour, he realized that she wasn’t anywhere to be found. Not in the kitchens, the dining room, which was still filled with guests and dignitaries, nor was she in her room. Damn it, he muttered.

“We are ready to depart, sir,” his assistant announced, tapping on a damn tablet. “Your pilot has texted twice, reminding me that there is only a small window for takeoffs due to the number of others who are trying to leave Sidrina today.”

“Right,” he muttered, still glancing around. Why had she left so early? Why hadn’t she woken him?

He resolved to call her. As soon as he was in the air, he’d call her and ask her if she’d be interested in…in what? Flying to Estridia, Spain for…? He had nothing to offer her. His future was still uncertain. Until he’d dispensed with his father’s past businesses, his life was in chaos. And no one was safe until he’d cleared out the criminal activities. He had three more businesses to sell off before he could even begin to think about his own future.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked around. As soon as he was ready, Antonio resolved to figure out how to build a future with Astra. Already, he couldn’t imagine a future without her. Not after last night!

Chapter 4

Four months later…

“Pregnant?” Astra hissed, staring at the test. “How is that possible?”

Memories of that night with Antonio flashed through her head. “Right!” she whispered, leaning her head back against the bathroom wall. Her apartment wasn’t very large. She was rarely here since her business reputation had taken off after the wedding in Sidrina. Over the past three years, she’d enjoyed helping clients all over the world with their event needs. She’d worked in most of the capitals of the world, but always came back to Philadelphia to unwind after each assignment. But after the royal wedding, people all over the world had been interested in hiring her.

There had been so many phone calls by the time she’d landed in Philadelphia. Plus, there had been phone calls from Antonio as well. Astra remembered the calls and the short, clipped messages from him. He’d called her in the wee hours of the morning, at times when she was sound asleep. She’d called him back, trying to be sure that she’d dialed his number during the daylight hours in Spain. But he’d never returned her phone calls at a time when she could answer them.

Finally, she’d decided the bizarre call times were Antonio’s way of avoiding her.

And now she was pregnant? This…no! It couldn’t be possible!

And yet, the plastic strip on her bathroom counter mocked the impossibility.

Her phone rang and Astra looked at the caller. Macie. With a groan, Astra answered the call. “What’s up?” she asked, closing her eyes as she tried to tamp down on the nausea that threatened to send her right back to bed.

“We won!” Macie whispered, barely controlled excitement lacing her words.

Astra couldn’t seem to rouse her enthusiasm at the moment. It might be the morning sickness, or perhaps it was the exhaustion that never seemed to fully leave her these days.

Smothering a yawn and looking away from the softness of her bed, Astra forced herself to concentrate on Macie’s words. “What did we win?”

“The Spanish contract!” she whispered.

Spanish contract? Immediately, an image of Antonio popped into her head. But just as she’d done so many times over the past several months, she pushed thoughts of him away. Their night together had been a one night stand. A beautiful, wonderful, life-altering one night stand. But nothing more.

Still…!

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