Free Valaquez Bride by Donna Vitek

plenty
tired of you calling me a liar! Benny has a wife and I'm not going to
tell you that again."
    "If he's married, then why this secret rendezvous with
you?" Raul asked caustically though his lean features remained
infuriatingly serene. "Or is that a foolish question? Does he have both
a wife and a mistress, namely you?"
    Since Juliet refused to dignify such an insane allegation
by answering it, she instead muttered resentfully, "What are you doing
here anyway? How did you find me? Did Rosita overhear me on the phone
and call you?"
    "Believe it or not, I didn't come here to deliberately
disrupt your rendezvous with your lover,"
    Raul said bitingly, tossing his suit coat back over one
shoulder then thrusting his other hand into his right trouser pocket as
his dark gaze raked mercilessly over her. "I just happened to stumble
over the emotional parting scene. I've been with the director of the
museum here. I have a client who has in his possession a clay urn that
belongs in the Alhambra. He wants to sell; the museum wants to buy and
I'm negotiating the terms."
    "Oh, I see," she muttered, glancing away. Unreasonably,
she was disappointed he hadn't come here specifically to drag her away
from Benny but that was a foolish reaction and she berated herself for
it. After all, she knew very well he didn't care enough about her to
inconvenience himself. Wishing she didn't care about him either, she
half turned away but was unable to suppress a soft sigh. "Well, I
didn't realize the gallery was in the business of selling artifacts
too. Things must have changed. Uncle Will only handled paintings and
sculptures. I suppose this new business is your idea?"
    "Yes. Now, enough of this trite nonsense," Raul murmured
close to her ear. Taking her hand in his, he swung her around to face
him again, his jaw clenched. "If you recall, I promised retribution if
you saw Benny. You chose to ignore my warning so now…"
    His words trailed off suggestively and his message was
quite clear. Though Juliet quaked inside, she drew herself up to her
full height, which unfortunately didn't seem considerable compared to
his. Nevertheless, she squared her jaw and shoulders simultaneously and
forced herself to look directly up at him. "Don't be ridiculous, Raul,"
she said more tauntingly than she meant to. "You're not going to do
anything to me in a public place like this and I know it." She gestured
toward a group being led through the courtyard by a tour guide. "See.
With all these people around, you don't dare…"
    "I will dare, Juliet," he growled menacingly, taking a
step closer to her. "I don't appreciate being lied to. So if you know
what's good for you, you'll just admit Benny isn't married. It's
obvious he isn't. I certainly didn't see a pregnant woman with him."
    Enough was enough; it was too much actually and Raul's
mocking words only succeeded in reminding Juliet that Holly was in the
hospital and that the life of her unborn baby might very well be in
danger. Tears sprang to her eyes and before she could blink them away,
Raul saw them.
    "What the…"
    "Oh, will you just shut up?" she muttered bleakly, turning
away from him. "Whether you believe me or not doesn't much matter to me
right now. I'm much more worried about Holly. For your information,
she's Benny's wife and he met me here to tell me they'd had an
accident. She's in the hospital right now and she might have her baby
two months early. She's my friend and I'm worried about her so I don't
feel like being abused by you. So would you just go away and leave me
alone. Please."
    Raul stepped around in front of her and perhaps it was the
trembling of her lips that convinced him. "Damn," he muttered
violently, reaching out to brush her hair back from her cheeks. "All
right, I believe you. Even you wouldn't make up such an elaborate lie.
What I don't understand is why you're still with Benny. And I certainly don't understand how you can be friends
with the girl he dumped you for. Isn't it a little