Valaquez Bride (24 page)

Juliet almost winced, her own doubts about the coming
marriage reenforced by Jimena's stinging statements. Yet, refusing to
satisfy the older woman's vindictive nature by appearing the least bit
upset, she gave a careless toss of one hand and turned back to the
painting she had been admiring. "I think it's a bit early to even think
about having children," she said tonelessly. "So I'll worry about
presenting the
Valaquez
family with a red-haired heir later. In the meantime, I'll just hope
most of Raul's friends will be more polite to me than you are, Señorita
Ruiz."

"Oh, they will be polite but that is all they will be,"
Jimena whispered viciously. "They will just never accept you as one of
them so it would be very stupid of you to expect them to."

"I think you owe Juliet an apology, Jimena," Raul suddenly
said, his voice dangerously low as he startled both women by appearing
from behind a large metal sculpture to their left. Two long strides
brought him close to Juliet and as he draped a possessive arm across
her shoulders, he surveyed Jimena critically. "You've taken too much
upon yourself. My friends don't need you to speak for them. Most of
them seem quite eager to meet Juliet, so eager in fact that she and I
will be spending this weekend near Almeria so we won't have to contend
with a continual stream of visitors to the
casa
.
A bride-to-be deserves peace and quiet just before her wedding. And
this bride-to-be also deserves an apology from you, Jimena."

With an outraged toss of her dark head, Jimena uttered
something undoubtedly uncomplimentary beneath her breath then marched
back toward the office, the ramrod straightness of her back indicating
an apology from her wouldn't be forthcoming any time soon.

After she had disappeared, Raul turned Juliet to him,
slipping his long fingers through the silky thickness of her fiery
hair. His jade green eyes captured and held her gaze. "Jimena is not a
very diplomatic person," he said softly. "And I'm sorry if she upset
you."

"It doesn't matter. She's never liked me and to tell the
truth, I've never liked her either," Juliet admitted, then scanned his
lean face with searching intensity. "Is that true—what you
told Jimena? Are we really spending the weekend near Almeria?"

Brushing his thumbs caressingly over her slender neck,
Raul nodded and smiled knowingly. "It's true but you needn't sound so
apprehensive. We'll be properly chaperoned, I assure you. A friend
Manuel Olvera and his wife have invited us to spend the weekend with
them. I think you will like them, Juliet," he added, tapping the tip of
her small nose playfully. "And despite Jimena's ridiculous comments,
I'm sure Manuel and his wife will like you."

Though Juliet nodded, the smile she gave was rather wan
and uncertain and she couldn't shake the vague unpleasant suspicion
that Raul was only being so supportive because he thought he should be.

The drive toward Almeria on Saturday morning was a scenic
delight. Following the craggy shoreline, the road overlooked the
sapphire sea, gilded gold in the sunlight. A Mediterranean balminess
was in the air and Juliet inhaled appreciatively the fresh salt breeze
as she gazed out her open car window. Flat-roofed and flower-bedecked
white houses clustered in villages that clung precariously to the rocky
sloping shore above pebbled beaches where an occasional fisherman
repaired his nets on the sand beside his beached boat.

Juliet found the quaint seaside atmosphere enchanting.
Though she had seen Spain's famed Sun Coast before, when she, Holly and
Benny had been in Malaga several weeks ago, she had never followed the
Mediterranean this far east before. Here there was a blessed sparsity
of the monolithic high-rise hotels, shopping complexes and parking lots
that blemished the more popular resort towns along the coast. These
peaceful little villages, however, still looked much like they had for
centuries and their timelessness was part of their charm. Watching the
sun-sparkled sea, Juliet settled herself more comfortably in the
passenger seat and sighed contentedly.

The soft sound drew Raul's attention. "What exactly did
that sigh mean?"

Turning to look at him, she gave him a rather shy half
smile and shrugged slightly. "It didn't mean anything really. I was
just thinking how nice it is that these villages haven't changed a lot
in hundreds of years."

"Ah, a romantic," he said softly. "I suspected you were
but I never realized you yearned for the simpler life of the past."

"I have no desire to return to the past, thank you. But I
do think the past is worth preserving. It's sort of living history."

Raul's dark brows lifted in mock surprise. "Many people
would be astonished to hear you say that. Americans in general have the
reputation for putting progress ahead of everything else, even their
own heritage."

"We do as well at preserving our heritage as any other
people, I'm sure," Juliet replied heatedly, in no mood for such a
remark though his tone had been undeniably teasing. She glared at him
indignantly. "You Europeans tend to forget that we Americans have only
been on that continent for about three hundred and fifty years so of
course we don't have a bunch of Dark Age castles to brag about. But we
do have entire small Colonial towns preserved exactly as they used to
be. So our heritage is important to us and I happen to think we've done
a pretty good job of protecting it in our two hundred years of being a
nation."

Raul's expression sobered. His darkening eyes held hers as
he reached out to stroke the back of his hand against her cheek. "I was
only teasing you, Juliet. I have no anti-American sentiments, I assure
you."

"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.