Page 33 of His Unexpected Heir

“Tell them what kind of flowers you put on top.”

Everyone was already laughing, but they held their breath for the next part. “They won’t understand.”

He chuckled, then grabbed both of her wrists when she tried to cover his mouth to stop him from telling the rest of the story. “She topped the cake with foxglove flowers.”

Macie and Astra gasped, both covering their mouths as they stared at Bailey in shock. “You didn’t!”

Edward was still chuckling, but he gave the group a confused glance. “What’s wrong with foxglove?”

Astra turned to the handsome duke and explained. “Foxglove is in the digitalis family. It’s highly toxic and is used to make a very strong heart medicine.”

Edward looked over at Bailey, then threw his head back, laughing at the idea of putting a lethal flower on top of a birthday cake. Everyone was laughing, delighted with the story and Astra was relieved that her baking mistakes weren’t the worst of the night.

When Astra couldn’t hold back her yawns any longer, Antonio stood up, interrupting another humorous story and took her hands. “Time for bed,” he announced. He turned to the others and said, “If you need anything, you’re on your own.” Then he turned and led Astra out of the great room and up the stairs.

Although Astra was grateful for the escape, because she was seriously tired, the tension seemed to sizzle as they walked out of the room and up the stone steps to the second level. Astra was painfully conscious of Antonio beside her, his big, muscular body so close. She ached to touch him, to feel the warmth of him again. But she also knew that Antonio was completely off limits.

Which was a good thing. Right?

Yes, definitely good. She needed to ignore that awareness and focus on getting a good night’s sleep. She had several errands to run tomorrow to be ready for the graffiti art contest. Sleep was the top priority now.

And yet, Astra didn’t turn. In fact, she wanted to let her fingers slide over his chest.

No! Absolutely no staying and definitely no finger sliding on anyone’s chest! Astra didn’t have time to experience the magic of Antonio’s kisses tonight.

Still…! Her breath caught as she remembered his intoxicating kisses. And all of the places he’d kissed her!

Astra forced her feet to turn and walk away.

At her bedroom door, she paused, her heart racing. When she looked up at him she noticed that he’d removed his tie and released several of the buttons on his shirt, exposing a part of his tanned chest and a spattering of the dark hair.

Astra licked her lips, her mind racing with possibilities. She wanted to release more of the buttons and explore the man, but…she couldn’t. She wasn’t his lover. She was simply the mother of their child.

“Are you okay?” Antonio asked, releasing the buttons on the cuffs of his white dress shirt.

Was she? No, Astra definitely wasn’t okay. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones that were making her crazy, but with every inch of skin he revealed, Astra was definitely not okay.

Mentally shaking herself, Astra forced her lips to speak, hopefully to disrupt the crazy thoughts running through her mind. “Dinner was much better tonight,” she stated, trying to break the awkward silence. “I wonder what prompted the improved culinary offerings from Eldora tonight.”

“I don’t know,” he replied, his voice husky. “Will you go for a walk with me tomorrow morning? We need to talk.”

Astra thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Yes. That would be good. What time?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t want to upset your schedule. So, when would work best for you?”

Biting her lip, she tried to remember her schedule. “I’m meeting with several of the village ladies tomorrow to discuss starting book clubs. You’re buying the books, by the way.” She grinned up at him, but the expression was short lived. “Until the library is refurbished. Apparently, there were a ton of books that were thrown out over the past several years.”

He nodded, compressing his lips in disgust. “I’ll ask my assistant to start ordering assortments of books to restock the library. And I would be delighted to supply the books for however many book clubs you can initiate.”

What an incredibly generous man, Astra thought, her heart beating faster at his munificence. “Thank you. The ladies are the only ones interested in a book club at the moment, but I thought it might be a good idea to start a World War II book club to spark some interest in the men.” She peered up at him, unaware of how her lashes fluttered invitingly. “And maybe a bit of Spanish history?”

He nodded sharply, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. “I know several men who would enjoy that,” he told her. “Thank you for thinking of it.”

She tilted her head slightly. “Would you be interested in joining that kind of book club?” she asked. Before he could reject her idea, she continued, “It might help bring the men together. They tend to be the crankier members of the village. I don’t know for sure, but it’s possible that they endured more abuse under your father’s tyranny than the women and children.”

He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure. I guess I could sit in on the first few book meetings, just to get the ball rolling.”

Her smile brightened and she bounced slightly. “Thank you.”

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