Page 4 of His Unexpected Heir

“Si. The people of my village suffered under my father’s abuses. The money from the sale of his business will be funneled back into the village. The houses need repairs, the road into town needs to be widened, and the bridge reinforced. The villagers hate each other now because my father sowed distrust among neighbors.” He sighed heavily. “I can fix the physical problems, such as the damaged houses and poorly maintained schools, but I don’t know how to fix the anger among the villagers. The distrust is…pervasive.”

The three men sat silently for a moment, contemplating the problem. A moment later, Edward appeared and headed in their direction. “You mates look like you’re trying to solve world hunger.”

The men laughed and Edward leaned against a tree, the women he’d been pursuing nowhere to be found.

“In a way, that’s exactly what we’re trying to do,” Levi explained, then went on to summarize their conversation.

It was Sean who broke the silence with an outrageous suggestion. “Throw some parties,” he blurted.

All three men turned to stare at the Irishman in confused silence.

Sean chuckled. “Think about it,” he urged. “What forces people to come together and talk? Is there anything that will lure people into a conversation better than free food, booze, and a live band?”

Levi tilted his head slightly, considering the idea. “He has a point.”

Edward nodded. “I think it’s an excellent idea, mate. And stop looking gob smacked,” he teased with his upper class, British accent coming out in full force. Edward continued, ignoring their laughter. “Sean is right. Gather everyone together for a party and they’ll drink and dance until they are all best mates again.”

“Or they’ll drink enough to kill each other,” Antonio replied sarcastically.

Sean laughed, nodding. “That’s definitely a possibility.”

A moment later, all four men turned to watch as Astra walked through the now-empty reception area. The crowd had left the dining room in favor of the ballroom. There were about two dozen palace staff members cleaning up, some collecting dishes, others collecting chairs and putting them onto long, rolling trolleys so that the chairs could be cleaned, polished, and stored .

But they weren’t watching the cleanup. They followed Astra as she glided through the area. She touched one person’s shoulder, spoke quietly to another, and smiled at a group that were collecting the gold table clothes to be dry-cleaned. Everyone who received one of her smiles or touches seemed to appreciate her acknowledgement of their efforts and worked harder to please her.

“She’s incredible,” Sean pointed out. “If anyone could pull your people together, it would be Astra Phillips.”

The others nodded their agreement. It was only Antonio who could barely move as he watched the woman that made his body ache.

Yes, the idea was good. It would solve many problems. But the issue was that he wanted her in his bed. He wanted to make love to her over and over, to hear her scream his name as he gave her so much pleasure, she was drunk with it.

He did NOT want to employ her! Employment would mean that she was off-limits.

A slap on his back interrupted his spiraling thoughts, bringing him back to the present. “Now that your problem is solved,” Edward commented, “how about if you tell me more about this village and how there are some old buildings I might be able to re-tool for my new factory.”

Chapter 2

Exhaustion didn’t even begin to describe how she felt. Astra trudged through the kitchens one more time, surveying the space to ensure that everything was cleaned up and put away. There were a few dishes lingering in the massive, industrial sink, but those could wait for tomorrow morning.

It was well past midnight. The kitchen staff had left for home about half an hour ago. They had been working since well before dawn to prepare the delicacies for the wedding feast. Zahir and Mandy had already left for their two week honeymoon. Mandy had appeared deliriously happy while Zahir had looked…determined. Yes, that was the best way to describe the expression on the man’s face. And there was no question as to the purpose of his determination. The man wanted to be alone with his new bride.

What would it feel like to be wanted that badly?

The image of Antonio del Campo popped into her head. Did she want him in the same way? No, probably not. She remembered watching Zahir whisper something into Mandy’s ear earlier in the evening. Mandy had blushed hotly, but her body language indicated that she liked whatever he’d said.

Astra couldn’t imagine that kind of passion. She’d dated in the past, but none of the men she’d been with had ever inspired that kind of…need? Hope? Desire?

All of the above!

Nope, her boyfriends had been…meh. They’d all been nice. But none had made her feel…!

“You’re wearing two different shoes.”

The deep, accented voice interrupted her contemplation. Astra spun around, startled to see Antonio del Campo striding towards her with a determined expression in his eyes. “And you’re wearing a different dress than what you’d donned earlier.”

He didn’t stop until he was less than an inch away from her. Suddenly, Astra wasn’t tired anymore. In fact, she felt…oddly energized.

Tilting her head back, she stared up into the dark gaze of the man who had confused her since the first moment she’d met him. Antonio could infuriate her one moment, then charm her the next. He was a perplexing man.

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