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
"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
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