Chapter Three
Antonio awakened to the sounds of pounding on his front door as he looked to the clock blinking back at him during his slumber. Now as he hung over his bed, he let out a groan wishing that whomever had decided to pay him a visit would just turn around and go back to where they'd came from. However, as the tapping grew more persistent building a rhythm of it's own against the frantic ringing of the doorbell, he kicked his legs over his bed quickly pulling on a pair of sweat pants before heading to the door ready to give his visitor hell for bringing him from a very nice dream that had kept him quite content for the night hours.
Now as the ringing continued, Antonio stopped himself for a moment allowing the unexpected arrival to take a back seat to the lingering images that had haunted him the previous night in bed. He hadn't had anything but misery on his mind and dreams of a reunion with Sheridan, but last night, oh last night was another story all together. His dreams had been laced with passion and an eroticism that he'd never admit to in the waking hours as Shelly Lambert painted beautiful pictures in his subconscious. Her kisses brought forth very welcome images to his dreams as he'd thought of nothing, but the way she'd felt in his arms and about the ways in which making love to her would undoubtedly be one of the must erotic experiences of his life.
However, those thoughts would have to be put on hold as the assault on his front door wasn't disappearing with his lingering train of thought. With a huff, Antonio threw open the front door looking down at the woman standing before him as he barked out, "What is your problem?"
"Well it's good to see you too, Sparky," Shelly greeted him pleasantly as she tried to get a glimpse beyond him into his home, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"
"Shelly," Antonio took a step back opening the door wider as her face registered in his mind. He blinked once, twice, three times just to make sure that she was really there as she took a step forward flashing him a sexy smile.
"You know it might help if you get out of the way," she winked up at him her dark eyes perusing the lines of his bare chest for a long moment before he shook his head and took a step back.
"Duh," he muttered to himself extending his arm towards the interior of his home, "Come on in."
"Why thank you," Shelly replied politely as she made her way into the center of his living room assessing the situation before her, "Nice place you have here, Sparky."
"Shelly, I already told you, it's Antonio," he frowned closing the door behind her as he contemplated how to approach her arrival at his home. Deciding he'd play it cool but concerned, he stepped towards her folding his arms in front of his chest, "How did you find this place?"
"I have my sources," Shelly answered simply tossing her dark hair over her shoulder as she gave him a sideways glance. Her eyes tapered off over his body as an appreciative smile lit up her features, "Though something tells me that you weren't expecting me, huh?"
"Given that we've known each other for less than twenty four hours and you've managed to let my brother and his wife think that we're engaged, not to mention that we're practically strangers as you're staying at the hotel, well, no I didn't anticipate you showing up this morning," Antonio decided with a thick frown sweeping over his handsome features as he pondered the world of trouble she'd already gotten them into together, "Granted, I'm sure you've thought this out, or perhaps acting on impulse is your style on a day to day basis, but I was under the impression that when we met up again, I'd be the one finding you since I'm the one who took you to the hotel last night."
"You could've tried the hotel," Shelly flashed him a bright grin as she set down the bag she'd had slung over her shoulder. She made herself comfortable in the chair beside her and she pulled out a small box placing it on top of the coffee table, "but you wouldn't have found me?"
"And why is that," Antonio lifted a curious brow watching as she began to open the small box before her.
"Because I'm not staying at the hotel anymore," she announced brightly opening the lid on the box as it's contents flooded the atmosphere filling his modest living room with the sweet aroma of the pastries she'd brought over with her. She glanced up from the box, turning her attention to him briefly, "Did you eat yet?"
"I just woke up," Antonio stated simply watching her pull out a sticky looking danish out of the box before lifting it to her lips.
"That explains a lot," she shrugged her shoulders taking a bite as a soft moan fell upon her lips, "Oh this is divine. You have to try some…"
"Shelly, you can't just show up at my home like this in the middle of the morning and pretend that things are business as usual around here because we have some major talking to do," he blurted out circling around the coffee table to take a seat on the sofa beside the chair she'd settled in, "starting with what you did last night in front of Luis."
"What I did?" she repeated with a haughty laugh, "Honey, the last time I checked we were in this together. After all I don't think I was the one with their tongue down my throat there," she paused contemplating her words, "well you know what I mean."
"You kissed me," Antonio frowned watching her take another bite of her pastry, "You're the one who thought putting on a show for Sheridan and Luis was the best thing to do and on top of that you told the world that we were engaged."
"And you went along with it," Shelly turned her attention to him once again. Carefully setting her pastry down on top of his coffee table, she met his green eyes seeing the apprehension building behind them as she shook her head, "You really are uptight, aren't you?"
"I'm not uptight," he argued with her dismissively, "I just don't like the idea of lying to my family about something like this considering that you and I hardly know each other."
"That's just a minor technicality and besides," she flashed him a sexy smile, "I figure we'll start working on that today once I get settled with you at the house."
"Come again?" he blinked back at her, "What did you just say?"
"Well we are engaged," she shrugged her shoulders reaching out for her pastry once again, "You really should try one of these. They are excellent."
"Back up a second," Antonio looked to her with confused eyes as she seemed to be making herself comfortable in the chair beside him. He turned his attention to the bag she'd been carrying with her and suddenly it began to look more like a suitcase as his eyes snapped back towards her once again, "You don't think you're staying here now, do you?"
"Do you have any idea how much that hotel charges," Shelly shook her head dismissively as she finished off her danish, "It should be a crime for them to expect the average working class person to dish out the fortune they demand for a less than mediocre room at best."
"That's one of Harmony's nicest hotels," Antonio piped in watching as she inspected the box of goodies before selecting another danish.
"If that's the best this town has to offer, then you all are in some serious need of help around this place," she nibbled on the treat before her turning her attention to him once again, "Please tell me you've got a pot of coffee brewing somewhere in this place because I could use a good coffee right about now."
"I just woke up," Antonio repeated verbatim to before as she gave him a disapproving look.
"What's your point," Shelly groaned inwardly rising from the chair as she looked around his home once again, "Just guide me to the kitchen and I'll get started on it."
"How about we skip the coffee for now and you tell me why it is you think that you can't just come into my home and suddenly turn my world upside down," he demanded watching her prance around his living room heading towards his kitchen as she hummed a soft tune, "Shelly?"
"Come on Sparky," she winked back at him, "I'm your fiancée, so that in itself entitles me to come over any time I want."
"But we aren't really engaged," he threw his hands in the air watching her disappear into his kitchen as he turned his attention to her stuff once again. Suddenly the ideas he'd had about Shelly came to a screeching halt as he found her to be quite insufferable. He bent down to pick up her bag, ready to hand it to her as he showed her the door, but thought twice about it as he marched into the kitchen determined to set her straight, "Shelly, we need to talk about this."
"So talk," she shrugged her shoulders as she started to go through his cabinets, "but make it quick because I have a very full day planned for the both of us you see."
"You can't just come in here and start tearing my kitchen apart," he grumbled as she began to search through his cabinets.
"Then make it easy on me and tell me where the coffee is," she urged as she continued to search through his cabinets.
"The one to your right," he sighed running his fingers through his hair before continuing, "Shelly, I know that I agreed to help you find your sister, but I didn't agree on this. Our staying together wasn't part of the deal here…"
"Yet you were more than willing to take me to bed last night," she spun around to face him lifting a daring brow, "You were ready to bring me back here to have sex with me, so I don't see what the problem is now that I'm here this morning."
"We didn't have sex, Shelly," Antonio pointed out firmly crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Oh, so now it's not okay for me to be here because we didn't have sex," she threw her words back at him shaking her head back at him disapprovingly, "I see how it is Sparky. If a girl doesn't put out, then she's not worth a morning of good conversation and a cup of coffee."
"I didn't say that," Antonio frowned deeply watching her make herself home in his kitchen, "You're twisting my words."
"Or maybe you're implying what I'm saying and you're very put off by the fact that I blew you off last night," Shelly moved over to the coffee pot filling it eagerly as Antonio stepped in closer to her, "Maybe this is all about that pent up sexual frustration that's been eating away at you since Sheridan married Luis. I mean clearly you weren't doing well on your own getting over the situation, so maybe your lashing out at me is your way of dealing with the fact that your brother was sleeping with the woman you loved."
"My so called lashing out at you is stemmed from the fact that I just met you and now you're working around my kitchen like we've been…" he struggled for the words as frustration mounted, "like we're…"
"Engaged?" she suggested with a hint of a smile, "Well isn't that what your family believes?"
"Because you told the lie that got me in over my head," Antonio reminded her stepping in closer to her, "That in itself is something that I'm not going to be able to dig my way out of without looking more like a jerk than I already have."
"Antonio, I've done you a favor and clearly you aren't nearly as appreciative of it as I thought you would be," she spun around to face him finding herself face to face with him as a breath caught in her throat. She could easily reach out and touch him, but despite her initial reaction to him, she refrained keeping the distance between them.
"Shelly, you've turned my world upside down," Antonio muttered with obvious discontent, "I don't think things can get more twisted than that at the moment."
"You never know," Shelly shrugged her shoulders simply, "I mean hey if the worst thing that happens to you is a beautiful woman pretends to be the love of your life, then you really don't have a thing to worry about."
"Pretending isn't my style," he explained leaning in towards her placing his hands on the counter top beside her inadvertently caging her beneath him as he tried to reason with her, "I'm not into deceptions and manipulations."
"Aren't you," Shelly motioned towards his arms, "I mean isn't that what you're trying to do with me right now?"
"Come again," he blinked back in confusion.
"I mean isn't this," she questioned sliding her index finger over his forearm feeling his skin respond to her almost immediately as a breath escaped her full, luscious lips, "about last night ending on a sour note rather than your being angry with me? Come to think of it, you're not really angry about my being here this morning, but more so you're upset because I wasn't here last night."
"You couldn't be any more delusional about that," Antonio answered tightly regaining the strength to walk away from her as he pushed his hands off of the counter trying to ignore the intoxicating fragrance of her perfume, "I could care less about that."
"Liar," Shelly eyed him intently a smile touching over the corners of her lips, "You were dreaming about me last night, weren't you?"
"Hardly," he shook his head taking in a breath as he turned to face her once again, "truth be told I didn't sleep very well because I was trying to find a way to get out of this mess you'd started with Luis. I can't very well go to this family gathering pretending that you are the woman I'm going to marry, not when it won't be believable."
"Now see this is where you and I are at a difference of opinion," Shelly turned her attention to the brewing coffee once again, "I mean we have a certain sense of chemistry and if your brother could buy into it, then we won't have a problem with the rest of your family."
"Shelly, there is a lot of family to convince and Luis, well he's just wanting me to be as far away from Sheridan as possible so for him, well he doesn't care who I'm with as long as I'm not near her. Convincing him was easy, but convincing Theresa or even my mother is all together a different tale."
"How hard can it be?" Shelly shrugged with a hint of a smile as she continued to investigate the kitchen cabinets seeking out a coffee mug, "I mean this should be easy. You shouldn't waste your time sweating the small stuff…"
"Shelly, you haven't met my mother," Antonio explained matter of fact thinking about Pilar's presence in his life, "She's a very determined and perceptive woman. She's going to take one look at us and see that this engagement is a hoax."
"No she won't," Shelly argued with him before adding brightly, "I mean hey with the way you keep yelling at me we're already coming across as the typical married couple."
"I'm not yelling at you," he retorted with a groan.
"Yes, you are but for now I'll let you get away with it since we're still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship, Sparky," Shelly decided selecting a mug from Antonio's various styles before her.
"How many times do I have to tell you that it's not Sparky, but…" his words were brought to a surprising halt as the doorbell began to ring once again. Throwing his hands up in the air, he let out a groan, "Well this is just wonderful. I wonder who could be on their way in now. Something you want to tell me? Like maybe you're bringing a few friends along with you to crash at my place?"
"Nope, the only friend I have in town is you, so this time it's not me," Shelly offered brightly as Antonio turned to leave the kitchen giving her one last look.
"Don't you go anywhere," he warned throwing her one last cautionary look before heading out to greet his company.
"I wouldn't dream of it," Shelly mused with a smile hearing the door close behind her as she finished pouring herself a mug of coffee. Somehow she was already getting the feeling that Harmony might be a place that she'd enjoy very much. If Antonio was a prelude of things to come, then maybe just maybe this place would be the place that she was looking for after all. Maybe this time she'd find everything that was missing from her life…including her sister.
*******************
Antonio walked over to his front door opening it as he contemplated ways to work through this situation with Shelly, but as he found his brother Miguel standing before him, surprise touched over his lips and his frown faded. "Miguel, what are you doing here?"
"Well hello to you too," Miguel gave him a strange look, "You know that's some greeting there, Antonio."
"I'm sorry," Antonio apologized opening the door further, "Would you like to come inside?"
"Actually," Miguel nodded, "if you don't mind."
"Not at all," Antonio decided glancing over towards the kitchen hoping that Shelly would take his words under advisement as he closed the front door turning his attention to his younger brother, "What can I do for you this morning?"
"Honestly, I don't know if you can do anything," Miguel sighed as he slumped down into the sofa, "but the truth his I've had a lot on my mind lately and with Luis and Sheridan being away and Theresa doing her thing, well you know how mama is when something is going down. I just don't want to worry her unnecessarily…"
"Is something wrong with my niece," Antonio questioned concerned as he approached his brother, "Did something happen?"
Miguel shook his head simply, "No it isn't about that. It's just that lately there's been so much confusion and…"
"It can't be easy," Antonio offered supportively offering a sympathetic ear to his brother, "though I'm sure that somehow things will work themselves out."
"Same old optimism, huh," Miguel smiled weakly, "I wish I had your strength in that department."
"I don't think it's so much of a strength as it's more of a philosophy and maybe given the way my life has been I shouldn't be giving it, but still…" Antonio began.
"You don't give yourself nearly enough credit you know," Miguel smiled back at him, "I mean sure there's a lot that we all missed together in those years you were away, but now, well you know it's time for us all to start over again."
"Hey, wasn't I supposed to be offering up the pep talk," Antonio teased, "How did this come back to me?"
"Funny thing," Miguel added, "I was starting to question the same thing," he replied hearing a crashing sound come from Antonio's kitchen as he turned his eyes towards the source of the sound, "What was that?"
"That was," Antonio thought quickly, "Well you know how old houses can be sometimes. This one is new to me, but it has it's own history with quirks and life."
"I guess I never took the time to notice the last time I was here, but I suppose that could be it," Miguel shrugged contemplating his brother's words as the sound continued, "Antonio, are you sure there's nothing in there exploding?"
"Not to my knowledge," Antonio rose from where he'd been seated, "If you'll just give me a second…"
"Of course," Miguel nodded accordingly as Antonio rushed off to the kitchen determined to silence Shelly for the time being.
Antonio reached for the door pushing it open as he silently cursed himself for allowing Shelly to force her way into his life. Certainly she'd been entertaining last night, but this morning, well this morning she was most certainly a hassle he could just as soon do without. Now as he entered the kitchen ready to set her straight, he reminded himself to keep his voice down as the last thing he wanted was to let Miguel know of the mess he'd gotten into.
"Shelly listen," Antonio began looking around his kitchen as he noticed it was empty. A frown curled over his lips as he looked around seeking her out, but other than the coffee pot still turned on before him, there were no obvious signs of her. He walked to the back door seeing it was still locked as a curious expression touched over his features, "What the…" he questioned as he heard the sounds of laughter coming from the other room. Spinning on his heel, he turned out towards the living room pushing the kitchen door open as he found Shelly on the sofa beside Miguel a smile on her features as she held something in her hand.
"Oh she's beautiful," Shelly smiled brightly tossing her hair back behind her shoulder, "You must be so proud."
"My daughter means the world to me," Miguel confessed proudly, "For a while there I wasn't sure how I would feel about things, but now in having her in this world, well, there's just something to be said about the way my little girl looks at me with her big eyes like I'm the most wonderful father in the universe."
"That's probably because to her you are," Shelly offered supportively as her dark eyes turned up towards Antonio and a wide smile pressed over her features, "There you are. Miguel and I were just wondering what all the commotion was back in the kitchen."
"I assumed you knew," Antonio replied tightly seeing the way in which Shelly had made herself comfortable with his younger brother.
"I just heard the noise and I came in here to see what was going on when I ran into Miguel," Shelly nodded towards him brightly, "You never mentioned that there were so many handsome men in your family."
"Oh I can see why Antonio keeps you around," Miguel teased back with a smile, "then again if I wasn't already taken, he might be in the running for some fierce competition."
"Like hell I would," Antonio rumbled with an air of seriousness seeing the obvious ways Shelly had worked on making an impression with his family, "I don't think that Shelly…"
"I only have eyes for Antonio," Shelly rose from the sofa reaching out to her 'fiancé' curling her arms around him and offering a squeeze, "That's what he's trying to say and you know he can't help but have a protective side about him considering…"
"I can't say I blame him," Miguel rose from the sofa, "though I should probably get going considering I'm sure you have a busy morning together."
"So soon," Antonio frowned watching his brother step towards the front door, "but you just got here."
"I'm feeling much better now," Miguel offered up a knowing wink in Shelly's direction, "Thanks for the talk."
"Anytime," Shelly waved at him, "It was my pleasure."
"Thanks again and hey, I can't wait to see you both at the party this weekend," Miguel added hopefully, "then you can see my little princess up close and personal."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Shelly promised with a bright smile as Miguel threw out one last wave at the both of them before stepping out of Antonio's home.
As soon as the door closed Antonio turned his attention to the woman who had her arms draped around him. He found himself lingering from his feelings of frustration with her as the warmth of her embrace pressed in over his chest. Her dark eyes fluttered up towards him and her smile sent a warmth shooting straight through him as she tipped up on her toes a bit more balancing her weight against him as her fingers teased over the nape of his neck tickling over the small hairs on the back of his head.
"I'd have to say that went well," she boasted proudly keeping herself close to him as he was unable to resist the urge to slink his arm around her in his attempt to hold her fully. She reciprocated the gesture sliding her arms around his strong contours as she lifted her chin up towards him.
"You're absolutely insane," he blurted out finding himself drawn to her in spite of himself as his fingers brushed gently over her soft skin.
"You need a little insanity in your life," Shelly explained fluttering her eyelashes at him as his fingers tapered off into her dark tresses as he held her. "I can see that now."
"I can see that you're going to be a lot of trouble," he confessed in a smooth tone as his arm curled her in closer against him savoring the softness of her curves. He lowered his head a bit, feeling her perfume send him on sensory overload as he squeezed her once again pulling her up off her toes into his arms fully with one swift movement.
"I get the feeling that you're going to love my kind of trouble," she murmured her breath cascading over his lips as she braced herself against him using her arms around his shoulders for support as a smile tickled over her lips.
"I think I'm starting to," Antonio leaned forward ready to taste those scrumptious, tempting lips of hers once again as flashes of his dreams flooded over him. Now with the warmth of her well within his reach, he began to ponder the idea of putting those dreams to life as a lazy smile touched over his features. Inching towards her, he watched her close her eyes in anticipatory promise of things to come between them, but as his mouth skimmed over hers, Shelly shifted in his arms catching him off guard as he released her sending to her feet once again.
"I think…" she stammered a bit as she took a step away from him, "I think I should probably go check on the coffee and you should probably get dressed. Then we can talk about the day ahead of us," she mumbled tearing her eyes away from him before running off into the kitchen again leaving him wondering where the about face came from with her.
Antonio watched the door swing to a close behind her as he shook his head realizing that Shelly Lambert was proving to be far more of a mystery than he'd ever imagined as the memory of holding her was now fresh on his mind. Granted she'd seemed a bit extreme in her logic and reasoning, but as he thought to how Miguel had taken to her almost immediately, he began to wonder if perhaps fate had other plans for him. Maybe finding Shelly was the start of something new and different and maybe just maybe their helping one another was just the beginning. With that thought in mind, he headed back to his bedroom eager to face the surprises that a day with Shelly might have in store for him.
Antonio awakened to the sounds of pounding on his front door as he looked to the clock blinking back at him during his slumber. Now as he hung over his bed, he let out a groan wishing that whomever had decided to pay him a visit would just turn around and go back to where they'd came from. However, as the tapping grew more persistent building a rhythm of it's own against the frantic ringing of the doorbell, he kicked his legs over his bed quickly pulling on a pair of sweat pants before heading to the door ready to give his visitor hell for bringing him from a very nice dream that had kept him quite content for the night hours.
Now as the ringing continued, Antonio stopped himself for a moment allowing the unexpected arrival to take a back seat to the lingering images that had haunted him the previous night in bed. He hadn't had anything but misery on his mind and dreams of a reunion with Sheridan, but last night, oh last night was another story all together. His dreams had been laced with passion and an eroticism that he'd never admit to in the waking hours as Shelly Lambert painted beautiful pictures in his subconscious. Her kisses brought forth very welcome images to his dreams as he'd thought of nothing, but the way she'd felt in his arms and about the ways in which making love to her would undoubtedly be one of the must erotic experiences of his life.
However, those thoughts would have to be put on hold as the assault on his front door wasn't disappearing with his lingering train of thought. With a huff, Antonio threw open the front door looking down at the woman standing before him as he barked out, "What is your problem?"
"Well it's good to see you too, Sparky," Shelly greeted him pleasantly as she tried to get a glimpse beyond him into his home, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"
"Shelly," Antonio took a step back opening the door wider as her face registered in his mind. He blinked once, twice, three times just to make sure that she was really there as she took a step forward flashing him a sexy smile.
"You know it might help if you get out of the way," she winked up at him her dark eyes perusing the lines of his bare chest for a long moment before he shook his head and took a step back.
"Duh," he muttered to himself extending his arm towards the interior of his home, "Come on in."
"Why thank you," Shelly replied politely as she made her way into the center of his living room assessing the situation before her, "Nice place you have here, Sparky."
"Shelly, I already told you, it's Antonio," he frowned closing the door behind her as he contemplated how to approach her arrival at his home. Deciding he'd play it cool but concerned, he stepped towards her folding his arms in front of his chest, "How did you find this place?"
"I have my sources," Shelly answered simply tossing her dark hair over her shoulder as she gave him a sideways glance. Her eyes tapered off over his body as an appreciative smile lit up her features, "Though something tells me that you weren't expecting me, huh?"
"Given that we've known each other for less than twenty four hours and you've managed to let my brother and his wife think that we're engaged, not to mention that we're practically strangers as you're staying at the hotel, well, no I didn't anticipate you showing up this morning," Antonio decided with a thick frown sweeping over his handsome features as he pondered the world of trouble she'd already gotten them into together, "Granted, I'm sure you've thought this out, or perhaps acting on impulse is your style on a day to day basis, but I was under the impression that when we met up again, I'd be the one finding you since I'm the one who took you to the hotel last night."
"You could've tried the hotel," Shelly flashed him a bright grin as she set down the bag she'd had slung over her shoulder. She made herself comfortable in the chair beside her and she pulled out a small box placing it on top of the coffee table, "but you wouldn't have found me?"
"And why is that," Antonio lifted a curious brow watching as she began to open the small box before her.
"Because I'm not staying at the hotel anymore," she announced brightly opening the lid on the box as it's contents flooded the atmosphere filling his modest living room with the sweet aroma of the pastries she'd brought over with her. She glanced up from the box, turning her attention to him briefly, "Did you eat yet?"
"I just woke up," Antonio stated simply watching her pull out a sticky looking danish out of the box before lifting it to her lips.
"That explains a lot," she shrugged her shoulders taking a bite as a soft moan fell upon her lips, "Oh this is divine. You have to try some…"
"Shelly, you can't just show up at my home like this in the middle of the morning and pretend that things are business as usual around here because we have some major talking to do," he blurted out circling around the coffee table to take a seat on the sofa beside the chair she'd settled in, "starting with what you did last night in front of Luis."
"What I did?" she repeated with a haughty laugh, "Honey, the last time I checked we were in this together. After all I don't think I was the one with their tongue down my throat there," she paused contemplating her words, "well you know what I mean."
"You kissed me," Antonio frowned watching her take another bite of her pastry, "You're the one who thought putting on a show for Sheridan and Luis was the best thing to do and on top of that you told the world that we were engaged."
"And you went along with it," Shelly turned her attention to him once again. Carefully setting her pastry down on top of his coffee table, she met his green eyes seeing the apprehension building behind them as she shook her head, "You really are uptight, aren't you?"
"I'm not uptight," he argued with her dismissively, "I just don't like the idea of lying to my family about something like this considering that you and I hardly know each other."
"That's just a minor technicality and besides," she flashed him a sexy smile, "I figure we'll start working on that today once I get settled with you at the house."
"Come again?" he blinked back at her, "What did you just say?"
"Well we are engaged," she shrugged her shoulders reaching out for her pastry once again, "You really should try one of these. They are excellent."
"Back up a second," Antonio looked to her with confused eyes as she seemed to be making herself comfortable in the chair beside him. He turned his attention to the bag she'd been carrying with her and suddenly it began to look more like a suitcase as his eyes snapped back towards her once again, "You don't think you're staying here now, do you?"
"Do you have any idea how much that hotel charges," Shelly shook her head dismissively as she finished off her danish, "It should be a crime for them to expect the average working class person to dish out the fortune they demand for a less than mediocre room at best."
"That's one of Harmony's nicest hotels," Antonio piped in watching as she inspected the box of goodies before selecting another danish.
"If that's the best this town has to offer, then you all are in some serious need of help around this place," she nibbled on the treat before her turning her attention to him once again, "Please tell me you've got a pot of coffee brewing somewhere in this place because I could use a good coffee right about now."
"I just woke up," Antonio repeated verbatim to before as she gave him a disapproving look.
"What's your point," Shelly groaned inwardly rising from the chair as she looked around his home once again, "Just guide me to the kitchen and I'll get started on it."
"How about we skip the coffee for now and you tell me why it is you think that you can't just come into my home and suddenly turn my world upside down," he demanded watching her prance around his living room heading towards his kitchen as she hummed a soft tune, "Shelly?"
"Come on Sparky," she winked back at him, "I'm your fiancée, so that in itself entitles me to come over any time I want."
"But we aren't really engaged," he threw his hands in the air watching her disappear into his kitchen as he turned his attention to her stuff once again. Suddenly the ideas he'd had about Shelly came to a screeching halt as he found her to be quite insufferable. He bent down to pick up her bag, ready to hand it to her as he showed her the door, but thought twice about it as he marched into the kitchen determined to set her straight, "Shelly, we need to talk about this."
"So talk," she shrugged her shoulders as she started to go through his cabinets, "but make it quick because I have a very full day planned for the both of us you see."
"You can't just come in here and start tearing my kitchen apart," he grumbled as she began to search through his cabinets.
"Then make it easy on me and tell me where the coffee is," she urged as she continued to search through his cabinets.
"The one to your right," he sighed running his fingers through his hair before continuing, "Shelly, I know that I agreed to help you find your sister, but I didn't agree on this. Our staying together wasn't part of the deal here…"
"Yet you were more than willing to take me to bed last night," she spun around to face him lifting a daring brow, "You were ready to bring me back here to have sex with me, so I don't see what the problem is now that I'm here this morning."
"We didn't have sex, Shelly," Antonio pointed out firmly crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Oh, so now it's not okay for me to be here because we didn't have sex," she threw her words back at him shaking her head back at him disapprovingly, "I see how it is Sparky. If a girl doesn't put out, then she's not worth a morning of good conversation and a cup of coffee."
"I didn't say that," Antonio frowned deeply watching her make herself home in his kitchen, "You're twisting my words."
"Or maybe you're implying what I'm saying and you're very put off by the fact that I blew you off last night," Shelly moved over to the coffee pot filling it eagerly as Antonio stepped in closer to her, "Maybe this is all about that pent up sexual frustration that's been eating away at you since Sheridan married Luis. I mean clearly you weren't doing well on your own getting over the situation, so maybe your lashing out at me is your way of dealing with the fact that your brother was sleeping with the woman you loved."
"My so called lashing out at you is stemmed from the fact that I just met you and now you're working around my kitchen like we've been…" he struggled for the words as frustration mounted, "like we're…"
"Engaged?" she suggested with a hint of a smile, "Well isn't that what your family believes?"
"Because you told the lie that got me in over my head," Antonio reminded her stepping in closer to her, "That in itself is something that I'm not going to be able to dig my way out of without looking more like a jerk than I already have."
"Antonio, I've done you a favor and clearly you aren't nearly as appreciative of it as I thought you would be," she spun around to face him finding herself face to face with him as a breath caught in her throat. She could easily reach out and touch him, but despite her initial reaction to him, she refrained keeping the distance between them.
"Shelly, you've turned my world upside down," Antonio muttered with obvious discontent, "I don't think things can get more twisted than that at the moment."
"You never know," Shelly shrugged her shoulders simply, "I mean hey if the worst thing that happens to you is a beautiful woman pretends to be the love of your life, then you really don't have a thing to worry about."
"Pretending isn't my style," he explained leaning in towards her placing his hands on the counter top beside her inadvertently caging her beneath him as he tried to reason with her, "I'm not into deceptions and manipulations."
"Aren't you," Shelly motioned towards his arms, "I mean isn't that what you're trying to do with me right now?"
"Come again," he blinked back in confusion.
"I mean isn't this," she questioned sliding her index finger over his forearm feeling his skin respond to her almost immediately as a breath escaped her full, luscious lips, "about last night ending on a sour note rather than your being angry with me? Come to think of it, you're not really angry about my being here this morning, but more so you're upset because I wasn't here last night."
"You couldn't be any more delusional about that," Antonio answered tightly regaining the strength to walk away from her as he pushed his hands off of the counter trying to ignore the intoxicating fragrance of her perfume, "I could care less about that."
"Liar," Shelly eyed him intently a smile touching over the corners of her lips, "You were dreaming about me last night, weren't you?"
"Hardly," he shook his head taking in a breath as he turned to face her once again, "truth be told I didn't sleep very well because I was trying to find a way to get out of this mess you'd started with Luis. I can't very well go to this family gathering pretending that you are the woman I'm going to marry, not when it won't be believable."
"Now see this is where you and I are at a difference of opinion," Shelly turned her attention to the brewing coffee once again, "I mean we have a certain sense of chemistry and if your brother could buy into it, then we won't have a problem with the rest of your family."
"Shelly, there is a lot of family to convince and Luis, well he's just wanting me to be as far away from Sheridan as possible so for him, well he doesn't care who I'm with as long as I'm not near her. Convincing him was easy, but convincing Theresa or even my mother is all together a different tale."
"How hard can it be?" Shelly shrugged with a hint of a smile as she continued to investigate the kitchen cabinets seeking out a coffee mug, "I mean this should be easy. You shouldn't waste your time sweating the small stuff…"
"Shelly, you haven't met my mother," Antonio explained matter of fact thinking about Pilar's presence in his life, "She's a very determined and perceptive woman. She's going to take one look at us and see that this engagement is a hoax."
"No she won't," Shelly argued with him before adding brightly, "I mean hey with the way you keep yelling at me we're already coming across as the typical married couple."
"I'm not yelling at you," he retorted with a groan.
"Yes, you are but for now I'll let you get away with it since we're still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship, Sparky," Shelly decided selecting a mug from Antonio's various styles before her.
"How many times do I have to tell you that it's not Sparky, but…" his words were brought to a surprising halt as the doorbell began to ring once again. Throwing his hands up in the air, he let out a groan, "Well this is just wonderful. I wonder who could be on their way in now. Something you want to tell me? Like maybe you're bringing a few friends along with you to crash at my place?"
"Nope, the only friend I have in town is you, so this time it's not me," Shelly offered brightly as Antonio turned to leave the kitchen giving her one last look.
"Don't you go anywhere," he warned throwing her one last cautionary look before heading out to greet his company.
"I wouldn't dream of it," Shelly mused with a smile hearing the door close behind her as she finished pouring herself a mug of coffee. Somehow she was already getting the feeling that Harmony might be a place that she'd enjoy very much. If Antonio was a prelude of things to come, then maybe just maybe this place would be the place that she was looking for after all. Maybe this time she'd find everything that was missing from her life…including her sister.
*******************
Antonio walked over to his front door opening it as he contemplated ways to work through this situation with Shelly, but as he found his brother Miguel standing before him, surprise touched over his lips and his frown faded. "Miguel, what are you doing here?"
"Well hello to you too," Miguel gave him a strange look, "You know that's some greeting there, Antonio."
"I'm sorry," Antonio apologized opening the door further, "Would you like to come inside?"
"Actually," Miguel nodded, "if you don't mind."
"Not at all," Antonio decided glancing over towards the kitchen hoping that Shelly would take his words under advisement as he closed the front door turning his attention to his younger brother, "What can I do for you this morning?"
"Honestly, I don't know if you can do anything," Miguel sighed as he slumped down into the sofa, "but the truth his I've had a lot on my mind lately and with Luis and Sheridan being away and Theresa doing her thing, well you know how mama is when something is going down. I just don't want to worry her unnecessarily…"
"Is something wrong with my niece," Antonio questioned concerned as he approached his brother, "Did something happen?"
Miguel shook his head simply, "No it isn't about that. It's just that lately there's been so much confusion and…"
"It can't be easy," Antonio offered supportively offering a sympathetic ear to his brother, "though I'm sure that somehow things will work themselves out."
"Same old optimism, huh," Miguel smiled weakly, "I wish I had your strength in that department."
"I don't think it's so much of a strength as it's more of a philosophy and maybe given the way my life has been I shouldn't be giving it, but still…" Antonio began.
"You don't give yourself nearly enough credit you know," Miguel smiled back at him, "I mean sure there's a lot that we all missed together in those years you were away, but now, well you know it's time for us all to start over again."
"Hey, wasn't I supposed to be offering up the pep talk," Antonio teased, "How did this come back to me?"
"Funny thing," Miguel added, "I was starting to question the same thing," he replied hearing a crashing sound come from Antonio's kitchen as he turned his eyes towards the source of the sound, "What was that?"
"That was," Antonio thought quickly, "Well you know how old houses can be sometimes. This one is new to me, but it has it's own history with quirks and life."
"I guess I never took the time to notice the last time I was here, but I suppose that could be it," Miguel shrugged contemplating his brother's words as the sound continued, "Antonio, are you sure there's nothing in there exploding?"
"Not to my knowledge," Antonio rose from where he'd been seated, "If you'll just give me a second…"
"Of course," Miguel nodded accordingly as Antonio rushed off to the kitchen determined to silence Shelly for the time being.
Antonio reached for the door pushing it open as he silently cursed himself for allowing Shelly to force her way into his life. Certainly she'd been entertaining last night, but this morning, well this morning she was most certainly a hassle he could just as soon do without. Now as he entered the kitchen ready to set her straight, he reminded himself to keep his voice down as the last thing he wanted was to let Miguel know of the mess he'd gotten into.
"Shelly listen," Antonio began looking around his kitchen as he noticed it was empty. A frown curled over his lips as he looked around seeking her out, but other than the coffee pot still turned on before him, there were no obvious signs of her. He walked to the back door seeing it was still locked as a curious expression touched over his features, "What the…" he questioned as he heard the sounds of laughter coming from the other room. Spinning on his heel, he turned out towards the living room pushing the kitchen door open as he found Shelly on the sofa beside Miguel a smile on her features as she held something in her hand.
"Oh she's beautiful," Shelly smiled brightly tossing her hair back behind her shoulder, "You must be so proud."
"My daughter means the world to me," Miguel confessed proudly, "For a while there I wasn't sure how I would feel about things, but now in having her in this world, well, there's just something to be said about the way my little girl looks at me with her big eyes like I'm the most wonderful father in the universe."
"That's probably because to her you are," Shelly offered supportively as her dark eyes turned up towards Antonio and a wide smile pressed over her features, "There you are. Miguel and I were just wondering what all the commotion was back in the kitchen."
"I assumed you knew," Antonio replied tightly seeing the way in which Shelly had made herself comfortable with his younger brother.
"I just heard the noise and I came in here to see what was going on when I ran into Miguel," Shelly nodded towards him brightly, "You never mentioned that there were so many handsome men in your family."
"Oh I can see why Antonio keeps you around," Miguel teased back with a smile, "then again if I wasn't already taken, he might be in the running for some fierce competition."
"Like hell I would," Antonio rumbled with an air of seriousness seeing the obvious ways Shelly had worked on making an impression with his family, "I don't think that Shelly…"
"I only have eyes for Antonio," Shelly rose from the sofa reaching out to her 'fiancé' curling her arms around him and offering a squeeze, "That's what he's trying to say and you know he can't help but have a protective side about him considering…"
"I can't say I blame him," Miguel rose from the sofa, "though I should probably get going considering I'm sure you have a busy morning together."
"So soon," Antonio frowned watching his brother step towards the front door, "but you just got here."
"I'm feeling much better now," Miguel offered up a knowing wink in Shelly's direction, "Thanks for the talk."
"Anytime," Shelly waved at him, "It was my pleasure."
"Thanks again and hey, I can't wait to see you both at the party this weekend," Miguel added hopefully, "then you can see my little princess up close and personal."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Shelly promised with a bright smile as Miguel threw out one last wave at the both of them before stepping out of Antonio's home.
As soon as the door closed Antonio turned his attention to the woman who had her arms draped around him. He found himself lingering from his feelings of frustration with her as the warmth of her embrace pressed in over his chest. Her dark eyes fluttered up towards him and her smile sent a warmth shooting straight through him as she tipped up on her toes a bit more balancing her weight against him as her fingers teased over the nape of his neck tickling over the small hairs on the back of his head.
"I'd have to say that went well," she boasted proudly keeping herself close to him as he was unable to resist the urge to slink his arm around her in his attempt to hold her fully. She reciprocated the gesture sliding her arms around his strong contours as she lifted her chin up towards him.
"You're absolutely insane," he blurted out finding himself drawn to her in spite of himself as his fingers brushed gently over her soft skin.
"You need a little insanity in your life," Shelly explained fluttering her eyelashes at him as his fingers tapered off into her dark tresses as he held her. "I can see that now."
"I can see that you're going to be a lot of trouble," he confessed in a smooth tone as his arm curled her in closer against him savoring the softness of her curves. He lowered his head a bit, feeling her perfume send him on sensory overload as he squeezed her once again pulling her up off her toes into his arms fully with one swift movement.
"I get the feeling that you're going to love my kind of trouble," she murmured her breath cascading over his lips as she braced herself against him using her arms around his shoulders for support as a smile tickled over her lips.
"I think I'm starting to," Antonio leaned forward ready to taste those scrumptious, tempting lips of hers once again as flashes of his dreams flooded over him. Now with the warmth of her well within his reach, he began to ponder the idea of putting those dreams to life as a lazy smile touched over his features. Inching towards her, he watched her close her eyes in anticipatory promise of things to come between them, but as his mouth skimmed over hers, Shelly shifted in his arms catching him off guard as he released her sending to her feet once again.
"I think…" she stammered a bit as she took a step away from him, "I think I should probably go check on the coffee and you should probably get dressed. Then we can talk about the day ahead of us," she mumbled tearing her eyes away from him before running off into the kitchen again leaving him wondering where the about face came from with her.
Antonio watched the door swing to a close behind her as he shook his head realizing that Shelly Lambert was proving to be far more of a mystery than he'd ever imagined as the memory of holding her was now fresh on his mind. Granted she'd seemed a bit extreme in her logic and reasoning, but as he thought to how Miguel had taken to her almost immediately, he began to wonder if perhaps fate had other plans for him. Maybe finding Shelly was the start of something new and different and maybe just maybe their helping one another was just the beginning. With that thought in mind, he headed back to his bedroom eager to face the surprises that a day with Shelly might have in store for him.