do whatever I damn well please."
Raul laughed softly and gently tapped the end of her small
straight nose. "You'll reconsider, I'm sure," he declared confidently.
Then the teasing gleam in his eyes altered to something much more
subtly disturbing as his hand curved into the insweep of her waist. "I
have to go to the gallery now but I can close it early this afternoon
and drive you to the clinic to see Will, if you don't remember the way."
"I remember, thank you. And I wouldn't expect you to close
the gallery and take me, even if I didn't."
His dark eyebrows raised as he smiled indulgently. "Such
independence," he drawled. "Well, after you visit Will, if you want to,
you may come down to the gallery and see the changes we've made."
"How magnanimous of you to invite me but I don't think I'll have the time to come." She forced
herself to shrug casually. "Remember? I plan to go through my closet
today."
"Ah yes, well, I certainly wouldn't want to encourage you
to neglect such an important duty," he countered wryly. Then,
incredibly, as his hand on her waist tightened with slight pressure, he
tilted her face up with one finger beneath her small chin. His dark
head lowered. He brushed a feather-light kiss across her forehead, then
smiled mysteriously as she drew back, blushing hotly and unable to
conceal her surprise. Dark green eyes, unreadable and piercing, held
hers for a breathtaking moment before he slowly slipped his hand from
around her waist and tugged a silken strand of her hair. He smiled.
"Until this evening,
mi pequeña
."
My little one. He had never called her that before, nor
any other endearment for that matter and as Juliet watched him leave
the dining room, she took a deep tremulous breath. A man that
attractive had no right to utter such endearments so carelessly and
especially not in such a deep caressing tone. Shaking her head in
bewilderment, she looked away from the door, only to find Rosita giving
her a smug grin.
"You are
afortunada, niña
," the
housekeeper declared gleefully. "Señor Valaquez is not so angry at you.
He is the forgiving man."
He's a maddeningly unfathomable man, Juliet started to
argue but didn't. Instead of challenging Rosita's idolizing evaluation
of Raul, she walked slowly out of the dining room and up the stairs. A
slight frown knitted her brow as she thoughtfully tapped her finger
against her lips. Did Raul have some nefarious ulterior motive for this
unexpectedly friendly treatment of her? Remembering how ruthless he had
been last night, she feared he must have. And she dreaded the day when
she discovered exactly what that motive was.
Chapter Four
Benny called Juliet the next afternoon. As she was coming
into the house after visiting her uncle, the phone rang. Since Rosita
was nowhere in sight, she hurried to the table in the center of the
hall and lifted the receiver warily, hoping the caller wouldn't bombard
her with a long monologue of rapid-fire Spanish. She had learned the
language when she first came to live with her uncle. But Juliet had
never been a proficient linguist. Luckily the voice that responded to
her cautious
hola
was distinctly American and
blessedly familiar.
"Benny, how are you?" she asked enthusiastically, slipping
her feet from her leather sandals and luxuriating in the coolness of
the wood floor beneath her bare soles. "I guess you and Holly are
drawing crowds into the coffee house to hear you."
"I have to see you," Benny replied, his voice oddly
strained. "Can I come to the house now?"
"Now? But how can you? Aren't you calling from Jaen?"
"We're in Granada. Look, I'll explain everything when I
see you. Can I come or not? I'm no more than five minutes away."
Though she detected the urgent note in his voice and was
concerned, she knew it would be foolhardy to invite him to the house.
Rosita could be such a blabbermouth sometimes and if Benny came, she
would more than likely tell Raul about the visit. Glancing around the
hall as if she expected to
Raul laughed softly and gently tapped the end of her small
straight nose. "You'll reconsider, I'm sure," he declared confidently.
Then the teasing gleam in his eyes altered to something much more
subtly disturbing as his hand curved into the insweep of her waist. "I
have to go to the gallery now but I can close it early this afternoon
and drive you to the clinic to see Will, if you don't remember the way."
"I remember, thank you. And I wouldn't expect you to close
the gallery and take me, even if I didn't."
His dark eyebrows raised as he smiled indulgently. "Such
independence," he drawled. "Well, after you visit Will, if you want to,
you may come down to the gallery and see the changes we've made."
"How magnanimous of you to invite me but I don't think I'll have the time to come." She forced
herself to shrug casually. "Remember? I plan to go through my closet
today."
"Ah yes, well, I certainly wouldn't want to encourage you
to neglect such an important duty," he countered wryly. Then,
incredibly, as his hand on her waist tightened with slight pressure, he
tilted her face up with one finger beneath her small chin. His dark
head lowered. He brushed a feather-light kiss across her forehead, then
smiled mysteriously as she drew back, blushing hotly and unable to
conceal her surprise. Dark green eyes, unreadable and piercing, held
hers for a breathtaking moment before he slowly slipped his hand from
around her waist and tugged a silken strand of her hair. He smiled.
"Until this evening,
mi pequeña
."
My little one. He had never called her that before, nor
any other endearment for that matter and as Juliet watched him leave
the dining room, she took a deep tremulous breath. A man that
attractive had no right to utter such endearments so carelessly and
especially not in such a deep caressing tone. Shaking her head in
bewilderment, she looked away from the door, only to find Rosita giving
her a smug grin.
"You are
afortunada, niña
," the
housekeeper declared gleefully. "Señor Valaquez is not so angry at you.
He is the forgiving man."
He's a maddeningly unfathomable man, Juliet started to
argue but didn't. Instead of challenging Rosita's idolizing evaluation
of Raul, she walked slowly out of the dining room and up the stairs. A
slight frown knitted her brow as she thoughtfully tapped her finger
against her lips. Did Raul have some nefarious ulterior motive for this
unexpectedly friendly treatment of her? Remembering how ruthless he had
been last night, she feared he must have. And she dreaded the day when
she discovered exactly what that motive was.
Chapter Four
Benny called Juliet the next afternoon. As she was coming
into the house after visiting her uncle, the phone rang. Since Rosita
was nowhere in sight, she hurried to the table in the center of the
hall and lifted the receiver warily, hoping the caller wouldn't bombard
her with a long monologue of rapid-fire Spanish. She had learned the
language when she first came to live with her uncle. But Juliet had
never been a proficient linguist. Luckily the voice that responded to
her cautious
hola
was distinctly American and
blessedly familiar.
"Benny, how are you?" she asked enthusiastically, slipping
her feet from her leather sandals and luxuriating in the coolness of
the wood floor beneath her bare soles. "I guess you and Holly are
drawing crowds into the coffee house to hear you."
"I have to see you," Benny replied, his voice oddly
strained. "Can I come to the house now?"
"Now? But how can you? Aren't you calling from Jaen?"
"We're in Granada. Look, I'll explain everything when I
see you. Can I come or not? I'm no more than five minutes away."
Though she detected the urgent note in his voice and was
concerned, she knew it would be foolhardy to invite him to the house.
Rosita could be such a blabbermouth sometimes and if Benny came, she
would more than likely tell Raul about the visit. Glancing around the
hall as if she expected to
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