Page 37 of His Unexpected Heir

“He was really that bad?” she asked, touching him as if she could somehow reach the tormented, little boy she could see in his eyes.

“He really was,” Antonio admitted in an emotionless voice.

Astra snuggled up against him, resting her cheek on his chest. The steady thud of his heart soothed her and she wished that there was some way that she could help.

Chapter 12

“The sun also rises!” Matteo teased as Antonio came down the stairs that night for dinner. He would have stayed in bed all night, making love to Astra, but she needed food. And a warm bath. He’d left her dressing but even as he descended the stairs, Antonio wanted to turn right around and go back upstairs to make love to her all over again. The only reason he didn’t was because she said that she was sore from the marathon afternoon of making love.

Eldora stepped into the great room with cocktails, offering him…he had no idea. She set the tray down on the large coffee table, saying, “I’ll be back with appetizers.”

He remembered a conversation with Astra earlier today and followed his housekeeper. “Eldora, could I have a word?”

She stopped, eyeing him warily. “What can I do for you, my lord?”

Why she persisted in calling him ‘my lord’, he’d never understand. His father was the marquesso and Antonio would refuse the title even after Ricardo’s death. He wanted nothing to do with the title.

“Just a word in my office, please,” he said, then held the door to his office open. When Eldora walked into the room, there was a wariness about her that spoke volumes.

“I was under the impression that you preferred to remain working at the castle. But I’ve been told that’s incorrect, is that true?”

She looked around as if she was searching for an escape. When she looked up at him, she shrugged. “I will work for as long as you require, my lord.”

“How old are you, Eldora? Isn’t it time that you found a place to live, maybe a cottage by the beach where you could relax and enjoy life?”

She stared at him, her mouth falling open. “But…you pensioned off the others.”

“Yes,” he stated firmly with a nod. “I didn’t offer you a pension because I was told, I suspect incorrectly, that you wished to remain here at the castle.” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I should have considered the source and asked you directly about your wishes for the future. That was my error.”

Eldora’s eyes widened even more and she shifted on her feet. “Well, if you are offering, I’d love to…” she paused and shook her head. “No, my lord. I don’t deserve a pension. Or a cottage by the ocean.” She sighed and turned towards the doorway. “I’ll get dinner on the table. Give me a moment and I’ll bring out some tapas.”

Then she was gone, shuffling down the stone corridor. Antonio watched her, wondering why she felt she didn’t deserve retirement. Everyone deserved to have a few good years when they didn’t need to worry about anything. He wasn’t sure he could remember a time when Eldora wasn’t here, working at the castle. She’d started off as a member of his father’s housekeeping staff, and had worked her way up to the cook and housekeeper. Normally, that was a high title within a household. But Antonio had been selling off every asset of his father’s, which was why he’d pensioned off so many of the staff, or found new employment for them. The plan had always been to sell off the castle as well as the businesses. But selling a castle was harder than a company.

He watched as Matteo and Edward entered the dining room and he thought to speak with them about the issue.

Astra smoothed the sweater over her belly and nodded to her reflection in the mirror. “You know what you want,” she told her reflection. “It’s time to figure out how to get it.”

With those words, she gave herself a firm nod, then turned away from the mirror and left her bedroom. Well, the bedroom in which she’d been staying while working at the castle. It wasn’t “her” bedroom. And after yesterday, it wasn’t the bedroom she wanted long term. After spending the day in Antonio’s arms, she wanted to be in his bedroom for the rest of her life.

Unless he snored.

She chuckled at that thought. The man didn’t snore. At least, not that she’d noticed thus far.

The idea of spending the next several decades finding out if Antonio started snoring gave her a happy glow as she walked down the hallway. She knocked on a door and Bailey opened it with a grin.

“You okay?” she asked, her smile widening. “You and Antonio disappeared earlier. We all had to fend for ourselves.” Bailey stepped out of the bedroom dressed in a pair of leggings topped with an oversized shirt unbuttoned at the front with a camisole underneath. If Astra were to wear that outfit, she’d look frumpy, but Bailey had an air about her that made the outfit look stylish.

Astra rubbed her belly again, groaning. “You’ve had two children, Bailey. How do you look so glorious?”

Bailey laughed. “My two hellions are with Tim and Raven, who took them camping for some reason.” She smoothed a hand over her stomach. “I keep the weight off because I’m constantly running after those two little demons.”

“You love your babies,” Astra argued, laughing at the image of her two rambunctious children running through the woods. “And the reason Tim and Raven took your kids camping is because they heard about Sean and Kennedi’s tikes doing the same thing with their adopted grandparents.”

Bailey leaned a shoulder against the wall. “I do adore them,” she sighed, her face going all dreamy. “Especially when they are sleeping. And I miss them when I’m away from them.”

Astra watched Bailey’s face enviously. She wanted that with Antonio. She wanted the happy family and the wonderful future together.

Straightening, she reminded herself that she was going after it. Starting today!

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