Valaquez Bride (21 page)

"You're not driving all the way back to the
casa
now, are you? You shouldn't drive that far alone, Juliet. It's nearly
four o'clock."

"Well, maybe it would be wiser for me to just go to Uncle
Will's house," Juliet conceded. "I told him I'd probably be at the
hospital all night so he won't be worried about me. And it would be
nice to get home in five minutes and fall right into bed. I'm tired."

"I don't know what I would have done without you," Benny
said earnestly. "Gone absolutely batty, I guess. Thanks for staying
with me and trying to calm all my fears. I suppose I acted pretty
silly."

"Maniacal," Juliet teased. "But very, very normal for
first-time fathers, I suspect. And you don't have to thank me for
staying. I wouldn't have missed this event for anything."

"You're sure you'll be all right at the house alone."

"I'm a big girl, Benny, and it'll be morning in a couple
hours anyway. I'll be fine. But I do need the key I gave you. I'll
leave it by the trunk of the potted ornamental yew tree by the door so
you can get in later without waking me." As he handed her the key and
yawned behind one hand, she added, "Now you take a nap. And for
heaven's sake, comb your hair before you see Holly. She'll think you've
been hit by a truck if she sees you the way you look right now."

"Yes, mommy," he quipped. "I'll take my nap and comb my
hair like a good boy."

Juliet wrinkled her nose at him but his eyes
were
already fluttering shut so she tiptoed from the waiting room.

During the five minute drive to her uncle's house,
Juliet's own eyelids began to droop. Benny's nervousness had been
contagious and now that the excitement was over, she felt drained and
more than ready for a few hours sleep. After parking the Esprit by the
curb, she hurried to the front door, anxious to get inside. The dark
moonless night was too eerily silent for her peace of mind. She turned
the key in the lock, slipped into the hall, and firmly closed the door
behind her, as she switched on the light. The long vigil at the
hospital had made her a bit hungry so she went to the kitchen to slice
off a morsel of sharp but smooth
Manchego
cheese.
Tiredly nibbling it, she walked back through the hall and started up
the stairs.

A sudden soft tapping on the front door halted her
progress immediately. Her heart jerked against her breastbone and the
last bite of cheese, which she had just swallowed skidded to a
standstill somewhere in the vicinity of mid-throat. She swallowed
repeatedly until at last the cheese continued its downward journey but
her heart was still pounding rapidly as she stood immobile on the
stairs, wondering if she had merely imagined she heard the tapping.

She hadn't. It came again, slightly louder this time.
Pressing her fist between her breasts, she tiptoed down the stairs,
knowing it wouldn't be Benny knocking. She had left the key where she
had promised and, besides, he couldn't have seen Holly and left the
hospital already. Moistening dry lips with the tip of her tongue, she
moved toward the door and as she passed a side table she impulsively
picked up a brass candle holder for use as a possible weapon. By the
door, she took several deep voice-steadying breaths before softly
calling, "Who is it?"

"It's Raul," his deep voice came back. "Let me in, Juliet."

Her fingers shook as she fumbled with the lock but she
jerked open the door eagerly. As he entered the brightly lighted hall,
she fought the desire to fly into his arms but it
was
good to see him. Until yesterday, he had been in Madrid for nearly a
week and for several days before that he had kept himself so busy in
his office at the
casa
that she had rarely seen
him. Though she didn't mean to stare at him, she couldn't drag her gaze
away. Dressed in casual khaki trousers and a dark green rugby styled
shirt, he was so overwhelmingly masculine that she suddenly felt safer
merely because he was in the house with her.

But why was he here? she wondered, wrinkling her forehead
questioningly. There was a certain drowsy look in his eyes that made
her suspect he had just risen out of bed. But whose bed? Jimena Ruiz's?
That certainly made sense because to leave Jimena's hotel to go home, he
had to pass this house. Perhaps he had seen the Esprit and stopped to
discover why she was here. The thought that he had probably spent most
of the night with Jimena was rather nauseating, but needing to know the
truth Juliet asked evasively, "How did you know I was here?"

"Benny told me."

"Benny? But how…"

"Will was worried about you so Rosita called the hospital
about an hour ago and was told you must not be there because no one
could find you in the waiting room."

"That
must have been when Benny and I were down by the nursery."

"Probably. But Will had no way of knowing that so he got a
little upset. He didn't like the idea of you driving back to the
casa
so late so he asked me to come look for you. When I didn't meet you on
the road, I went to the hospital and Benny told me you had come here."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry Uncle Will dragged you out of bed
unnecessarily," Juliet murmured, "I did tell him I might not be home
all night. He shouldn't have been worried. I wish he hadn't bothered
you."

Raul tossed up one hand in a dismissive gesture. "It was
no bother. When Rosita told me she couldn't reach you at the hospital,
I was worried too."

"Were you?" Juliet breathed, her heart flip-flopping in
response to the curiously strained quality she imagined she had
detected in his deep voice. "Really, Raul?"

"So, Holly had her baby," he remarked, ignoring her
question completely. "Was it a boy or girl? I didn't ask Benny."

"A girl with dark thick hair just like Holly's," Juliet
told him enthusiastically. "You should see her, Raul. She's the tiniest
thing."

Dark green eyes swept over her as he smiled indulgently.
"You sound very impressed. Was she that pretty?"

Juliet grimaced comically. "Well, I'm sure she's pretty
when she isn't crying but when I saw her tonight, she looked rather
like a gnome, to tell the truth. But don't you dare tell Benny I said
that. He thought she was the most magnificent child ever born, of
course."

"Of course," Raul agreed wryly.

When he said nothing more and merely stood gazing at her
intently, the drowsy look in his eyes became increasingly more
disconcerting. Finally, Juliet gestured hesitantly. "I suppose I should
call Uncle Will and tell him I'm fine."

"I suppose you should. And tell him that I'll stay here
with you until morning so he has nothing to worry about."

His proposal that they spend the rest of the night
together alone in the house was stated calmly and matter-of-factly but
the idea made Juliet tremble slightly nevertheless. Considering the
passion that flared between them at times, she wasn't certain he or
she, herself, could resist the temptation that might arise in such a
situation. She shook her head. "You don't have to stay. I mean, it's
kind of you to offer but it really isn't necessary. As soon as Benny
has seen Holly, he'll come home so I won't be alone."

Raul stepped toward her, his expression hardening with
impatience. "You don't really think I'd let you stay here alone with
Benny, do you?" he muttered. "If you do, you're badly mistaken."

"What's the difference in my staying here alone with him
and staying here alone with you?" Juliet asked rather sharply, put on
the defensive by his commanding tone. "I can't see there's any
difference whatsoever."

"There's a big difference," he answered calmly. "He's a
married man and I'm not. And I don't think Holly would be happy to hear
the two of you had spent the night together."

Juliet tensed, amber eyes flashing. "What's that supposed
to mean? Are you insinuating again that Benny and I…"

"I'm not insinuating anything," Raul
interrupted
curtly. "I'm merely stating a fact: Benny is a married man and here in
Granada, it's not socially acceptable for a single girl to spend the
night with a man who's married."

"But it's all right for a single girl and single man to
spend the night together," she retorted. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Let's just say it's a more acceptable arrangement," he
replied with infuriating aloofness. "So I'm staying and that's that.
Now, I suggest we stop this useless arguing and try to get some sleep.
So," he stared pointedly at the telephone. "Are you going to call Will
or shall I do it myself?"

"I'll do it," Juliet muttered indignantly, sweeping past
him to snatch up the receiver. It was Rosita she ultimately talked to,
and although the housekeeper had to hear all about Holly and the baby,
the call was relatively brief. After replacing the receiver, Juliet
turned warily to face Raul again.

He was massaging the back of his neck with one lean hand,
his dark face expressionless. "I suggest we go to bed," he said, his
voice appealingly low and husky. But when her eyes widened, his took on
an icy glint and he added sarcastically, "In separate rooms, of course,
if you'd be so kind as to show me to one."

Tossing up her chin, she marched past him and preceded him
up the stairs, down the hall one door past her own room. "This is Uncle
Will's room," she told Raul. "I hope you'll be comfortable."

"I'm sure I will be," he said softly, stepping forward as
if he meant to enter the room. But he stopped before her and amazingly
lifted a silken strand of her hair, rubbing it between his thumb and
forefinger, as if testing its texture. But with her soft intake of
breath, he released it again. "Good night, Juliet."

There was a strange tenderness in his tone that made it
impossible to lift her gaze above the smooth brown column of his neck.
She put out
one
hand as if to touch his arm, then
decided against it. "I'm sorry if I sounded ungrateful downstairs," she
blurted out compulsively at last. "It's kind of you to stay here with
me so Uncle Will won't worry."

"Good night, Juliet," he merely repeated, then stepped
into the room and pushed the door shut behind him.

A minute later, in her own bedroom, Juliet undressed
slowly, unable to forget for a second that Raul was just next door.
After slipping into a cool white lawn nightgown, she haphazardly washed
her face and brushed her teeth. As she pulled back the quilted coverlet
on her bed, she was certain she wouldn't get much rest at all for
thinking about him being in the next room but as she slid in between
cool blue sheets, her head hardly had time to touch the pillow before
she was asleep.

She was dreaming about Raul and it was a happy dream. He
was being incredibly nice to her and she felt a joyous sense of
belonging. Yet it was a rather fragmented dream. First, they were
walking hand in hand through the courtyard at the
casa
,
then suddenly, they were standing together, looking through a nursery
window, not at Holly's baby but at one that bore a striking resemblance
to Raul, who was smiling down at her. It was as she smiled back at him
that the dream faded and she was roused
from
sleep by a feather-light brushing back of hair from her face. As a
result of the pleasant dream, a slight smile still hovered on her
softly curved lips and lingered even when she opened her eyes and found
Raul sitting on the edge of the bed beside her. It seemed right somehow
for him to be there and she felt very little surprise even as his
fingertips brushed across the sensitive nape of her neck.

"I've brought you coffee, Juliet," he said softly,
inclining his head toward the tray on the bedside table. "It's rather
late. I thought you might want to get up."

"Not really," she whispered. "But what time is it?"

His fingers continued caressing her neck. "It's nearly
ten."

"I suppose I should get up then, shouldn't I?"

He didn't answer. His narrowed gaze drifted over the
fascinating contours of her body outlined against the sheet that
covered her, then his eyes met hers again. "Why were you smiling in
your sleep?"

Perhaps it was lingering sleepiness that allowed her to
tell the truth. "I was dreaming— about you."

The fingers against her nape ceased moving. "A nice dream?"

"Yes," she whispered, a sudden breathless-ness roughening
her voice. "I—I think so."

"What was your dream about? Will you tell me?"

"I can't remember exactly," she lied, awake enough now to
realize how dangerous it was for him to be sitting on her bed clad in
only her uncle's terry bathrobe. "Y-you know how vague dreams are
sometimes."

"But you remember enough about this one to know it was
about me," he persisted. "So why can't you remember why you were
smiling?"

She could only shake her head and become increasingly
aware of an excitement that was mounting inside her, making her entire
body grow heated though she was only covered by the thin sheet. "I
should get up. Is Benny here?" she babbled self-consciously. "I—I
didn't hear him come in. Did you?"

"No, but unless you snore outrageously loud, he must be
here," Raul said softly, mischievously. "Because when I went down to
make the coffee, I heard someone snoring loudly enough to wake the
dead."

Juliet had to smile. "Holly's often said the same thing
about his snoring. It's usually louder when he's tired. And he must be
exhausted after last night." Her words trailed off into a silence so
unbearably nerve-wracking she had to break it again herself. "I should
get up. Th-thank you for bringing the coffee. I'll have a cup while I
dress."

"I thought we could have it together," he murmured, a
suspiciously teasing gleam in his jade green eyes. "But if you'd like
to get up and dress while you drink yours, I certainly won't object. I
can't think of anything I'd rather do than watch you take off your
nightgown."