Sunset Beach's Priscilla (Gabi) Is in an enviable position, and she knows it. For months, she's had the good fortune to work literally lip-to-lip with studly actors Hank Cheyne (Ricardo) and Nick Kiriazis (Antonio), who, respectively, portray her character's husband and brother-in-law/priest/ex-lover.

"It's a woman's dream," grins Garita. "I never thought that I would be in this situation, to be in love with two men who are brothers and who are so attractive. Hank and Nick are easy to get along with, and they are very charming. It's an ideal storyline."

While the diminutive actress's sultry, front-burner storyline hasn't given her much time for a steamy love life of her own ("I'm not dating anybody right now," she concedes), Garita, who joined BEACH in February 1997, isn't complaining. "I still have my little problems or dilemmas," she shares, "but life has really turned out for the better because of this job." Read: no more living hand-to-mouth as Garita did before landing her BEACH gig. "I am more stable and more financially independent," she says. "I'm not struggling and doing odd jobs here and there." Which is why she's unnerved by the prospect of BEACH being all washed up. "There is constant talk about it getting cancelled," she signs, "which creates a lot of anxiety. Which is unfortunate because we have a really good show."

What's more, Gabi is one of the few Hispanic heroines on daytime TV. "My parents are so proud of it," gushes the actress, whose mom and dad reside in Costa Rica, (Mom faithfully tapes BEACH, which airs in Costa Rica five days a week.) "I get more in touch with my ethnicity doing this role," Garita reflects. "When things come up and I get to speak a little Spanish, I'm like, 'Wow! That's cool.'"

And good practice, too. "I spoke mostly English at home," notes Garita, the second youngest of six daughters. "My parents understood English, so I would just speak English to them. It's sad. In Spanish, there are so many words that I don't understand. My Spanish isn't as good as I would like it to be." Luckily, she has a tutor in co-star Margarita Cordova (Carmen). "If I don't understand, I'll ask Margarita," smiles Garita.

Strolling the streets of L.A. helps Garita get the language down, too. "There is a Mexican community in the city," she points out. "I like it there because there are so many things that are in Spanish, like the streets. So when I go through some of the streets, I'll pronounce them in Spanish because that's my first instinct. It's nice because I get to learn a little bit more."