Valaquez Bride (11 page)

Staring at the house with great misgivings, Juliet gulped
as she parked the car on the circle drive. "I don't see why we had to
bring everything we own," she muttered to Rosita as she cut the engine.
"Señora Valaquez will probably faint when she sees all this luggage.
She'll think we've decided to spend the rest of our lives here."

"Is not so much," the housekeeper argued with a careless
wave of her hand. "Is just Señor Will's clothes and yours and mine. Why
you worry?"

"Who's worried?" Juliet retorted wryly, then shrugged.
"Well, I suppose we might as well get this over with. Why don't you go
knock on the door?"

As Rosita hopped spryly out of the car and disappeared
into the shadows beyond the fretted arch entrance, Juliet got out also
and began taking suitcases out of the back. She was halted in her task
by a manservant dressed all in black.

"Allow me, señorita," he murmured without smiling. "I will
see to your luggage. The señora awaits you inside."

Just my luck, Juliet thought with a wry smile as she
reluctantly walked across the mosaic tiled patio supported by fluted
columns festooned with trailing bougainvillaea vines laden with
fragrant scarlet blooms. Going on beneath the fretted arch, she entered
the inner courtyard and stopped for a moment to admire the central
stone fountain and the hanging baskets of brightly colored flowers that
decorated the wrought iron railing of the second floor balcony. An
orange tree in each corner of the courtyard provided shade and a sweet
citrus fragrance and Juliet appreciatively inhaled the faintly perfumed
air.

At that moment, paneled double doors that opened onto the
huge main hall of the house were opened and Señora Valaquez stepped
into the courtyard, forcing her patrician features into a stiff smile.
"Welcome to Casa Valaquez, Señorita McKay."

Juliet stepped forward hesitantly. "My uncle and I
appreciate your hospitality, señora."

"
De nada
," the señora said with a
grand, dismissive wave of her hand. "It is nothing.
Mi nieto
,
my grandson, thought that the fresh air here would hasten your uncle's
recuperation. I hope that it will prove so. Now, if you will come
inside, I will show you to your room."

Juliet gestured uncertainly. "Uh, our housekeeper,
Rosita…"

"She is being shown to her room by our house-keeper. We
have put her next to Señor McKay down here on the first floor, where he
can move around easily in his wheelchair."

"A good idea," Juliet agreed in a murmur as she stepped
past Raul's grandmother into the immense main hall. Marble tiles of
white and gold covered the floor and the white plastered walls were met
with intricately carved mahogany wainscoting. The ceiling was domed and
embellished with plaster moldings. Ancient brass lamps were mounted on
the walls beside huge gilt framed mirrors on each side of the hall that
reflected the foot of the marble staircase that curved upward to the
second floor. A tracery of delicate wrought iron comprised the
balustrade and banister and stepping up along the staircase, narrow
window embrasures in the wall were covered by more wrought iron, shaped
into a matching scroll design.

Though Juliet had seen it all before, she looked around
again with a certain amount of awe. Then she caught a glance of sharp
jet black eyes sweeping over her denim skirt and casual yet neat pale
blue knit shirt but she pretended not to notice the slight distaste
those eyes conveyed. "You have such a beautiful home, señora," she said
instead. "I've always admired it."

Alicia Valaquez acknowledged the compliment with only a
curt nod. "Now, señorita, I will show you to your room. It is upstairs."

"Oh, but I thought I'd be close to Uncle Will," Juliet
blurted out, then gestured apologetically. "I mean, since his room is
on the first floor, shouldn't mine be too?"

"I thought that too," Señora Valaquez informed her coolly.
"But Raul insisted that you would be more comfortable upstairs. He said
your uncle would be fine with the maid and the nurse."

"Nurse?" Juliet exclaimed softly. "I didn't realize Raul
intended to hire a nurse for Uncle Will. Was that really necessary?"

The señora stroked her thick silver hair which was coiled
into a smooth coronet on her crown and stared down her thin
aristocratic nose at Juliet. "If my grandson did not think a nurse was
necessary, I am certain he would not have hired one. If you do not
agree with his decision, then you should speak to him."

"Could I? I mean, it's not that I
disagree
,
exactly. I just think I should discuss the matter with him. Is he here
right now? Could I speak to him?"

"He is here, yes, but he is very busy in his office. I
would suggest you wait until dinner tonight to speak with him. He is
working now and you would not wish to disturb him, would you?"

"That's the last thing I wish to do, I assure you," Juliet
answered with a wry smile that unfortunately wasn't returned. Heaving a
silent sigh then, she followed the señora up the marble stairs and
along a wide carpeted hall into the north wing of the house.

Raul's grandmother stopped at last and opened double doors
to the most beautiful bedroom Juliet had ever seen. As she stepped
inside, her espadrilles sinking down in thick white carpet, her eyes
widened in pleasant surprise. Though the furniture was heavy and dark,
typically Spanish, the room's overall decor was light and airy.
Aquamarine silk drapes billowed in the breeze that drifted through the
French windows that led to the flower-bedecked balcony and they matched
the quilted satin coverlet that covered the high wide bed. Cut-glass
vases containing fresh red rosebuds graced the gleaming tops of the
bureau and ivory-inlaid vanity.

"How lovely," Juliet said softly. "It is magnificent,
señora."

"I am pleased you like it," Alicia Valaquez responded with
another of her stiff unenthusiastic smiles. "Now, I will leave you.
Fernando will be up with your luggage in a moment and I will send your
maid to help you unpack."

Juliet nodded, then sighed with relief as Señora Valaquez
went out and closed the double doors behind her. Without her dampening
presence, Juliet felt free to explore her new accommodations and after
a quick look at the original painting of an orange grove that hung on
one wall, she wandered out onto the balcony which overlooked another
larger courtyard. Potted palms lined the tiled apron of a huge swimming
pool, with its azure waters sparkling invitingly in the sunlight.

"Is nice here, eh,
niña
?" Rosita
asked as she stepped onto the balcony to join Juliet. "You like to
swim, si? Maybe you wear a teeny little bikini and catch Señor Raul's
eye, eh?"

As Rosita cackled gleefully, Juliet dodged the elbow that
tried to poke her ribs, then shook her head admonishingly. "You're
impossible, Rosita. I don't have a teeny little bikini and even if I
did, I wouldn't wear it to catch any man's eye, especially Raul's."

"But you would like for him to see you as a woman, eh,
niña
?"
Rosita persisted too perceptively. "If you do not wish to wear the
teeny bikini, then you will have to catch his eye in another way. Si?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Juliet lied,
spinning around on one heel to walk back into the room. Spotting her
luggage sitting on the carpeted floor, she used it to temporarily
divert Rosita's attention.

Unpacking was the perfect diversion. During the next
twenty minutes, Rosita was far more concerned with shaking wrinkles out
of Juliet's dresses than she was in discussing Raul Valaquez. When the
last pair of shoes had been tucked neatly into the vast closet, she
placed her gnarled hands on scrawny hips and smiled with satisfaction.
"Now, Señor Will is settled in; you are settled in. So I will go
downstairs and unpack my own clothes."

"And I think I'll go visit Uncle Will. Maybe he'd like for
me to push his chair out into the courtyard. I'll walk downstairs with
you and you can show me exactly where his room is."

"Señor Will is sleeping," Rosita informed her. "The nurse
say the ride here tired him."

"Oh. Well, he needs all the rest he can get." Staring out
the balcony doors, Juliet tapped her forefinger thoughtfully against
her cheek. "I think maybe I'll take a walk then, until he wakes up from
his nap."

After walking down the balcony stairs with Rosita, Juliet
strolled across the flower-studded courtyard, past the swimming pool,
beyond the far border of verdant cypress trees. As she walked across
the drive, the glaring sun bore down relentlessly on her bare head so
it was a pleasure to reach the shade provided by a sprawling chestnut
tree growing by the paddock fence. Leaning on the railing, Juliet
rested her chin on her hands and smiled at the lanky yellow dog chasing
an equally lanky, long-legged black colt around the grassy paddock, a
game both animals seemed to enjoy immensely.

Suddenly, heavy hands descended on Juliet's shoulders and
turned her and found herself staring up into a dark face, similar to
Raul's and perhaps more classically handsome, though not nearly as
intriguing. "Hello, Pablo," she murmured with a gentle smile. "How have
you been?"

"How can you ask me that,
mi amante
?"
he answered in a dramatic whisper, his black eyes reproachful and heavy
lidded. "You have broken my heart and you ask me how I've been. I have
been miserable this past year; that is how I have been."

Juliet fought a smile. "I bet your misery didn't stop you
from taking out other girls the past eleven months, did it?"

"There have been girls, yes," he admitted with a careless
shrug. "But I only went out with them to help me forget you, help me
forget how you hurt me by leaving the way you did."

As his hands went down to clamp around her waist, Juliet
sighed and placed her own hands on his arms. "Look, Pablo, I think
maybe you're exaggerating how much I hurt you last year," she said
kindly but firmly. "I
had
told you often enough I
wasn't interested in a romantic relationship and frankly I think you
only wanted me because I didn't fall at your feet and worship you the
way all the other señoritas seem to do."

"That isn't true,
mi amante
," he
muttered, releasing her to turn and rake his fingers through his hair.
After adopting a tragic pose by bending his head and staring morosely
at the ground, he glanced sideways at her as if to see if this
performance was being taken seriously. "I loved you,
querida
.
And now that you're here again, I realize I still do. I'll love you
forever."

"You're being overly dramatic again," she said flatly.
"You've tried all these tricks on me before and they've never worked. I
know you're not in love with me because you're too much a playboy to be
in love with anyone. Why don't you just admit that you want me because
I'm the first girl you've ever met who wasn't eager to marry you? If I
accepted your proposal, you'd run like a scared rabbit but since I
refuse, you find me intriguing."

"Try accepting and see what I do,
amada
,"
he bluffed outrageously, turning swiftly to haul her into his arms.
"See how fast I run if you say you'll marry me."

Juliet had to laugh up at him. "Pablo, you're impossible,"
she said, spreading her hands open against his chest to maintain a
protective distance between them. Then when an answering smile tugged
at the corners of his mouth, she reached up to pat his cheek
affectionately. "Even if you do drive me crazy sometimes, I can't help
but like you. So why don't we stop all this silly nonsense and just be
friends."

"Because it isn't friendship I want from you," he
muttered, his smile fading to be replaced by a petulant downcurving of
his lips. Throwing her off-balance momentarily by yanking her closer,
he proceeded to clamp his mouth down over hers.

Since she had been the unwilling recipient of his kisses
before, Juliet knew just what to do. She held herself stiffly in the
circle of his arms, her lips pressed firmly together until her lack of
response made him so impatient that his kiss became furiously rough, in
his vain attempt to use sheer force to part her lips. Infuriated,
Juliet dragged her lips away from his, her eyes glittering with
irritation as she glared up at him. "Enough is enough,", she said
tersely. "Let me go right
now, Pablo."

Amazingly, he did. But his black eyes conveyed a sullen,
almost childlike stubbornness as they met hers. "I don't understand
you," he muttered sulkily, thrusting his hands deep into his trouser
pockets and kicking at the exposed root of a tree with his toe. A cloud
of dust rose, then settled on the highly glossed leather of his Gucci
shoe but he didn't seem to notice. "Why are you being so difficult?
Other girls don't mind my kisses."

He looked so much like a spoiled little boy who had
dropped his candy that Juliet almost felt sorry for him. "Other girls
are romantically interested in you but I've told you and told you I
don't feel that way," she said gently. "If you'd just stop pretending
you're madly in love with me, maybe we could be friends."

"No, never," he retorted peevishly. "I won't give up until
you agree to marry me. If you'd just give me half a chance, I know I
could make you forget that stupid singer you ran off with last year.
You've been wasting yourself on him, Juliet. He's a no-talent,
impoverished…"

"You happen to be talking about someone very dear to me,"
she interrupted, angry color flooding her cheeks. "Now, I think you'd
better go, Pablo, before I really lose my temper with you."

He suddenly chuckled confidently and leaned down to brush
a kiss across her lips. "You are so stubborn,
amada
,
but you don't fool me. You wouldn't be here at Casa Valaquez right now
if you hadn't decided you prefer me to that singer of yours."