by Donna Vitek
"I know that and I'm sorry I snapped at you," she muttered, her defensive anger subsiding as quickly as it had arisen. Knowing she had only overreacted to his comment because of the snide remarks Jimena had made about Americans two days ago, Juliet now felt rather ridiculous. With a sheepish smile and an uncertain fluttering of her hand, she touched his knee with light fingertips. "I am sorry. I guess I'm just in a prickly mood."
"Why?" he inquired solemnly, covering her hand with his, pressing her small fingers against his hard muscular thigh. Turning his attention from the road for a brief instant, he gazed at her intently. "You've been very quiet the past few days. You're not dreading this visit with the Olveras, are you?"
"No, of course not," she murmured but averted her eyes because she was lying to him. She did dread the upcoming visit. Having never met the Olveras, she had no idea what to expect from them. Would they like her as Raul had said or would they consider her an outsider, as Jimena had so rudely told her all his friends would?
"I really think you'll like Manuel and his wife," Raul reiterated, almost as if he were reading her mind. "Pilar is about your age, maybe a couple of years older, so the two of you should have something in common."
"You think so?" Juliet asked doubtingly, then breathed a wistful sigh as he nodded. "Well, maybe you're right but I wonder. I mean, she is Spanish and I'm American and…"
"And young women are basically the same everywhere," Raul interrupted gently, entwining her fingers with his. "Now, I want you to stop worrying. I get the impression that perhaps you're still upset by what Jimena said to you the other day and you promised me you wouldn't be. So I expect you to keep that promise this weekend by forgetting everything she told you."
"I'll try," Juliet murmured but swept a rather anxious gaze over his sunbrowned face. "But she could have been right in what she said, Raul. Even though she was unbearably rude, that doesn't mean she wasn't speaking the truth."
"The truth has little to do with what Jimena says," he retorted, his hardening jawline denoting some impatience. "She wanted to upset you and obviously she did a good job of it." Glancing down at Juliet, he gave her a stern no-nonsense look. "Maybe you should tell me everything she said to you. I only arrived in time to hear the last part of it."
"Oh, it was just mostly more of the same thing you heard," Juliet lied weakly, unwilling to tell him about Jimena's sneering remarks concerning red-haired Valaquez heirs. She forced a cheery smile. "Oh, why don't we just forget this entire discussion. It isn't important."
"Oh, yes, Juliet, it is," he contradicted gently, an enigmatic light flaring in his dark green eyes, before he turned his attention back to the road again. "And we will resume this discussion later, but right now we're almost at the Olveras."
As he released her to place both hands on the steering wheel as he turned the car onto a narrower secondary road, Juliet removed her own hand from his knee, feeling oddly bereft as she lost that physical contact with him. And that feeling of loss intensified as they suddenly rounded a curve in the road and came in sight of a gracious hacienda-style house with a lushly green sweeping front lawn. Tensing, Juliet clasped her hands tightly together in her lap, knowing she would soon discover whether or not she did have anything at all in common with Pilar Olvera.
She didn't have to wait long to meet her hostess for the weekend. While Raul was parking the BMW on the circular drive before the house, a petite young woman with olive skin, almond eyes and vibrant black hair stepped out onto the flagstone walk leading from the shaded veranda. Despite the vertical stripes of her crisp linen tent-dress, she was unable to conceal the burgeoning evidence of an eighth-month pregnancy. She tried to smile at Raul and Juliet but her attention was diverted momentarily by the handsome three year old boy who was apparently in no mood to hold her hand. He tugged valiantly, trying to free himself from her restraint and when his small dark face began to pucker, she smiled indulgently and released him. Bending down slightly, she adjusted the straps of his sunsuit, spoke softly to him, then watched him as he toddled quickly toward the driveway.
By the time the child and the young woman approached the car, Raul had already gotten out and come around to open the door on Juliet's side. He barely had time to release her hand after she stepped onto the pebbled drive before the young woman placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed his cheek.
She took a backward step then and surveyed him affectionately. "Raul, it is good to see you again," she said in practically flawless English. "I've missed you the past several weeks. You usually come to visit us more often than you have recently." A knowing sparkle danced in her black eyes as she glanced at Juliet. "But I suspect I know the reason for your long absence. If this is your Juliet, then I don't blame you for ignoring your old friends."
"Yes, this is my Juliet," Raul said, smiling at both young women. "And Juliet, this is Pilar Olvera."
Unnecessarily stroking back her thick lustrous hair which was confined in a fat bun on her nape, Pilar nodded at Juliet while smiling with genuine friendliness. "It's such a pleasure to meet you. Since last week, when I heard Raul was engaged, I've been dying with curiosity. I thought Raul was a confirmed bachelor so I knew you must be something special since he had asked you to marry him."
Glancing at Raul out of the corner of her eye, Juliet smiled. "Well, I must admit our engagement came as something of a surprise to me too."
"Really? Ooh, how exciting," Pilar enthused, clasping her hands together and smiling dreamily. "It sounds as if he just swept you off your feet."
"Something like that, yes," Raul answered wryly, slipping his arm around Juliet's waist and drawing her close to his side. "I didn't want to give Juliet the chance to get away from me so what else could I do besides sweep her off her feet?"
Gazing up into his dark jade eyes, Juliet could almost imagine he was speaking the truth. Unwilling to give up that self-delusion, she allowed her head to rest against his shoulder and somewhat tentatively slid her own arm around his waist.
Shaking her head, Pilar gave them both a cheeky, suggestive smile. "You know, I'm surprised the two of you didn't plan to spend this weekend alone together somewhere, instead of coming to visit Manuel and me. And Fredrico, of course," she added, laughing down at her small son as he gazed up expectantly at Raul. "He's been waiting all morning for you to arrive and toss him up into the air as you always do. But I must warn you—he's heavier now than he was the last time you did it, so be prepared."
"I think I can handle you still, can't I, young man?" Raul said, grinning as the boy giggled delightedly as he was swooped up and tossed high in the air.
Watching as the ritual was performed twice more, Juliet realized she had never before seen Raul with a child and the picture they presented was intriguing to say the least. The truly affectionate rapport between him and Fredrico was evident even before the game ended and the boy wrapped his arms around Raul's neck, as if he meant to stay close to him for quite some time. And when Raul brushed a kiss against the child's plump cheek, she drew in a soft bemused breath, trying to imagine how it would be to see him with his own son. Lost in such thoughts, she preceded Raul as they followed Pilar across the flower draped veranda and into the cool recesses of the house.
After Fredrico was persuaded to leave Raul and go play with his tricycle, the three adults sat down in the casual living room, filled with rattan furniture and enlivened by fat poppy red cushions. Before they could begin a conversation, however, they were joined by Manuel Olvera, a dark handsome man in his late thirties who was not quite as tall as Raul and stockily built. As he entered the living room from the sun-dappled patio beyond sliding glass doors, his wife gave him a warm loving smile and patted the cushion beside her on the sofa.
With a welcoming smile for Juliet and Raul, he went to Pilar immediately, brushing a lingering kiss across her lips and patting her rounded abdomen affectionately before sitting down with her and draping his arm across her shoulders.
Juliet watched this display of
affection with a stab of envy then berated herself mentally for feeling jealous of Pilar simply because her husband so obviously loved her. Refusing to spend the entire weekend silently bemoaning the fact that Raul didn't love her that way, she managed to smile sincerely as he introduced her to Manuel.
His black Spanish eyes conveyed frank approval as he looked her over from head to toe and he gave his wife an unabashed grin when she playfully prodded his ribs with her elbow. "Come now, querida, don't be upset," he teased, "You can't blame me for staring at Juliet. Now that I have seen her, I know why Raul has decided marriage is preferable to the wild swinging life of a bachelor."
"And you are an authority on the wild swinging life, aren't you?" Pilar retorted, wrinkling her nose at him, then smiling at Juliet. "Believe it or not but Manuel was a notorious womanizer before he married me. And, even now, he has an eye for beautiful ladies."
"As long as I only look and never touch, you have nothing to complain about," her husband countered, patting her abdomen again with a wicked grin. "Besides, you certainly can't accuse me of not paying enough attention to you. It must be obvious to the whole world that I find you too irresistible, so you shouldn't resent the fact that I think Juliet is very attractive."
"I resent the fact that she's all curvy and slender while I look like a blimp," Pilar replied, grimacing comically. "So if you must stare at her admiringly, do so when I'm not present, if you please."
"Madre de Dios," Manuel sighed theatrically, raising his eyes heavenward. "Deliver me from pregnant women."
"Enough of this nonsense," his wife proclaimed, nudging him in the ribs again. "Raul and Juliet might take our bickering seriously and decide they shouldn't get married after all and I wouldn't want to be responsible for them calling off the wedding. Dona Alicia would probably never speak to me again." With a toss of one hand, she smiled at Juliet. "Pay no attention to us, please. We're really happily married."
As Juliet nodded, amusement at their light-hearted banter glimmering in her eyes, Raul took her hand and idly began to play with her fingertips. If the very natural gesture was meant to convince the Olveras that he and Juliet were the typical, much in love, engaged couple, it did the trick.
Giving them the approving smile of a true romantic, Pilar snuggled closer to Manuel and laid one hand on his thigh. "Now, forgive me for being a busybody but I must ask this question, Raul," she began. "Why is it that we have never met Juliet before now? Have you just met her yourself? Is this one of those wild tempestuous romances that all women dream about?"
Raul laughed softly, looking down at Juliet. "I think she could safely call our relationship tempestuous, don't you, mi pequeña."
"Even that might be an understatement," Juliet retorted, attempting humor as a defense against the effect his softly spoken endearment had had on her senses. With a great amount of effort, she managed to refrain from trembling slightly with each stroking brush of his fingers against the sensitive tips of her own. Yet, as he suddenly lowered his head and lightly kissed her, she couldn't prevent her lips from parting slightly beneath the firm warm pressure of his. When he drew away again and his dark mysterious gaze held hers, she was beyond wondering if he was acting this way only for the Olveras' benefit.
Drawing their attention by an exaggerated cough, Manuel eyed Juliet speculatively. "McKay, McKay," he murmured thoughtfully, then snapped his fingers. "Of course, I thought I recalled your name, Juliet, but…" he frowned. "Didn't I hear it in connection with Pablo? You're not the same young woman he was engaged to last year?"
"Pablo was never engaged to Juliet, except in his own mind," Raul answered for her. "You both know how persistent my younger brother can be when he decides he must have something or someone. He was so absolutely certain he could convince Juliet to marry him that he began to tell everyone she was going to. It didn't quite work out the way he planned as you can see."
"And how does he feel about the way it did work out?" Pilar asked, a tiny frown knitting her brow. "If he was so determined to marry you, Juliet, doesn't he resent the fact that you're going to marry his brother instead?"
"He wasn't exactly overjoyed to hear the news," Juliet admitted, a flicker of concerned regret darkening her delicate features. "But Pablo really never loved me and I'm sure he realizes that now."
"Besides, Margarita Alvarez is doing all she can to comfort him these days," Raul added wryly. "And Pablo seems quite content to let her ease his hurt pride."
"Ah, Margarita," Pilar murmured, smiling as she nodded. "She's a lovely girl."
"She certainly is. Pablo could have done much worse in choosing someone to comfort him. I must admit I've been watching Margarita blossom into womanhood with great interest," Manuel said provocatively, then laughed down at his wife as she poked him in the ribs again.
Before they could begin another teasing spat, however, Fredrico careened into the living room from the patio at such a breakneck speed that his red and silver tricycle toppled over and he set up a loud indignant howl of protest. As Juliet instinctively followed Pilar who went to comfort him, Raul and Manuel took the opportunity to get the luggage from Raul's car and take it up to the bedrooms.
The remainder of the day passed pleasantly. By the time evening came and Fredrico was settled in his bed for the night, the two couples shared a quiet dinner, then sat out on the patio beneath the stars to talk until past midnight. When Manuel noticed Pilar surreptitiously massaging the small of her back, he exhibited a natural concern for her weariness and suggested they all go to bed.
Up in a spacious, rattan-furnished bedroom a half hour later, Juliet finished a relaxing bath in the sunken marble tub in the adjoining bathroom. Slipping a pale green batiste nightgown over her head, she padded across the plush apricot carpeting to the bed, only to find that the covers had already been turned back, presumably by Pilar's housekeeper, Juanita. Though the day had been long and Juliet hadn't slept during the traditional siesta, she discovered she wasn't really all that sleepy now either. After brushing her thick russet hair briskly before the dressing table mirror, she bypassed the bed and wandered out on the balcony.
A warm salt scented breeze caressed her bare arms and legs and stirred the closed bougainvillaea blossoms on the vines that entwined the wrought iron railing. Hugging her arms against her breasts, she gazed out over the sweeping front lawn at the distant glimmer of the sea beyond. The light of a three-quarter lemon-colored moon sparkled on the surface of the water and Juliet could almost imagine she heard the waves crashing against the craggy shore. Though it was a beautifully peaceful night, she couldn't really feel at peace. Despite the pleasant day she had spent with Raul and the Olveras, uncertainty still nagged at her persistently. Perhaps it was the very fact that Manuel and Pilar had such a wonderful marriage that made her feel uneasy and still, much to her dismay, somewhat envious. At that moment, she would have given anything, anything at all, to have known that her marriage to Raul might someday be half as good.
Gazing pensively at the dreaming sea, she breathed a sigh that became a soft startled gasp as large hands suddenly slipped around her waist. It was only as she was drawn back against Raul's lean familiar body that she realized that all the upper bedrooms of the house opened onto this long balcony. The stab of fear his unexpected touch had caused abated and she relaxed back against him, enveloped in the warmth that emanated from his lithe body.
"Can't you sleep, Juliet?" he whispered, his breath stirring tendrils of her hair. "Is something bothering you?"
"N-not really," she whispered back, unwilling to tell him that at that moment she was only aware of the overwhelming need evoked in her merely by his nearness. "I—just didn't feel sleepy yet so I came out for a breath of air."
"Hmm, and you're sure nothing's wrong?" he persisted gently, enfolding her in his strong arms and pulling her even closer to him. "I hope you're not still fretting about what Jimena said the other day. Surely you see now that my friends are happy to accept you as my fiancée? Manuel and Pilar have,
haven't they?"
"They've made me feel very welcome here and I like them both a lot," Juliet admitted. "But…" she twisted around slightly and tilted her head back to look up at him, a slightly knowing smile curving her soft lips. "You really didn't have to ask them to speak English all the time just for my benefit."
Raul shook his head in denial and heaved a soft exasperated sigh. "I didn't ask them to speak English. No doubt they are doing it to make you feel more comfortable but, Juliet, it's no hardship for them. Manuel went to school in England for several years and after he married Pilar, they lived in London for nearly three more. So English comes almost as naturally to them as Spanish. But even if it didn't, why should you object if they spoke it only to make you feel at ease? What could possibly be wrong in that?"
"Nothing would be wrong. In fact, it would be very kind of them. But I just don't want anyone making allowances for me because I'm not Spanish. If you were engaged to a Spanish girl…"
"But I'm not. I'm engaged to you and you are an American," Raul interrupted sternly. "My friends understand that you don't speak Spanish fluently yet and if they don't mind making allowances for that, why should you mind if they do? I don't understand why you are letting something so unimportant upset you, Juliet."
"Because I'm an outsider!" she blurted out, her voice catching revealingly. "Can't you see that, Raul? I don't fit in with your friends. Oh, I'm sure they'll be very nice to me and try to make me feel comfortable but I'm still not one of them."
"Nor do I want you to be." Turning her around to face him, Raul cupped her face in both his hands. "Juliet, friends are important, I can't deny that. But I don't let mine rule my life for me. After we're married, if some of them want to treat you as an outsider simply because you're American, then that's their loss, not yours or mine, and I don't intend to worry about them. And I don't want you to either. You will fit in with my true friends, simply because I choose to marry you."
