Been In Love Before: A Novel Read online

  Alexi looked over at him with a sweet smile on her face. “My brother owns this studio. He invited me to come here, to dance and to teach. So three years later, here I am.” She stopped and looked at him. “You know, you have his laugh. My Juan Carlos. You shouldn’t be afraid to show it. It’s a wonderful gift. It tells the whole world you’re happy.”

  Alexi stretched out her legs, then crossed them, causing her skirt to rise slightly. She had beautiful legs, long and athletic. His eyes lingered on them. She was intoxicating. He took a deep breath as he sat looking at her.

  She caught his gaze, swallowed once, and asked, “Once more around the dance floor?”

  “Sure.”

  “I think you have the waltz down pretty well. Would you like to brush up on any other dance? Maybe the rumba? The one they call the dance of love?” she laughed.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking. A nice slow rumba to end the evening, and help wind down.”

  They danced together while she slowly brought her head close to his, dancing the slow Latin classic. When they separated for a spin or turn, she came back to him, each time closer. When the music was over, he spun her out and she returned to his arms, her face this time mere inches from his. He moved to her, wanting to kiss her. Heaven help me, he thought as they both closed their eyes and . . .

  “Excuse me, Ms. Cassini?” came a voice over the intercom from the front desk. “It’s after closing time, and if you don’t mind, I have a bus to catch for home. Can you lock up for the night?”

  With the moment broken, they both looked toward the receptionist, and she waved good night.

  “I have one more lesson left with you. I thought perhaps, maybe . . . ,” he began.

  “Saturday night?” she said, finishing his sentence.

  “Yes, yes, exactly what I was thinking. What time?”

  “Later. Say nine o’clock.”

  “That works fine. See you then. Good night.”

  He could not wait to see her again. To dance with her, to hold her in his arms, and . . .

  Chapter Twenty

  The Boynton Beach Town Hall Center was filled with people. So many women, all very well dressed, sipping tea and coffee, eating doughnuts and bagels. The room was abuzz with chatter. Robert felt uncomfortable wearing the new tie that Patti had bought for him. He was tempted to remove it, but when he spoke to her that morning, she had told him, “Whatever you do, don’t take your tie off until you’re done and back in your truck.” He heeded her advice.

  A friendly male face in the crowd waved at him. “Hi, I’m Jeremy. You must be . . .”

  “Robert, or just Bob Macgregor.”

  “Good to meet you, ‘just Bob.’ Is this your first time doing a senior speed-dating session?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid it is.”

  “Piece of cake. Here’s how it works. You take a seat across from one of the ladies, and you get three minutes to talk to her. A buzzer will sound, and you thank the woman for her time and move to the next seat. The tables are set up in a circle so you just keep going until you’re back at the seat where you first sat down. If the lady likes you, she will give you a bio card with some information about her—her background, her interests, her photo, and contact information. And she’ll invite you to call or e-mail her.” Jeremy could tell that Bob was overwhelmed.

  “At the end of the session, there’ll be coffee and cake, and you’ll have the opportunity to mingle with the ladies and to talk with them again. Just remember to be yourself and be respectful. And don’t be disappointed if you don’t get any cards, this being your first session and all. I made up some bio cards for you to hand out to the ladies that you like, which lists the information you sent me.” A bell rang to alert all the participants to take a seat.

  “Good luck, Bob. You’ll do just fine. Listen for the buzzer.”

  Bob grabbed an empty chair and smiled at the woman across from him. The buzzer went off, and the room was suddenly filled with voices.

  She had a very pleasant smile. Bob liked that about her. “Hi, I’m Matrice. I’m a snowbird and flew down here from Maine. I usually stay here in Florida for the winter, and I like to attend as many of these dating sessions as possible. Then go back to Maine in the summer. So tell me, are you divorced, widowed, or what?”

  “My wife died of cancer almost two years ago.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that. My Claude died six years ago, and I’ve been looking for somebody for about that long. Are you handy around the house?”

  “Very handy. Why?”

  “Well, my other home, the summer place, is kind of remote, in the mountains of Maine, and it needs a lot of work. So I thought I would kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, if you know what I mean?”

  Bob smiled at her. “Can I make a suggestion?”

  “Sure,” she said and her expression perked up.

  “Talk to some of the handymen advertising up there, and bring them in to do some work for you. I am sure there are many single repair people in Maine who are also looking for potential mates. You could even invite them in for dinner if you like.”

  “Wow, that’s a great idea. Two birds with one stone. Here’s my card and bio if you think you may be interested in the job. I would really like to—” Buzzzzzz.

  He shook her hand and moved to the next seat.

  “Hi, I’m Betty. I live here in Boca full-time. Have you been to many of these? I come here and to the one in Delray all of the time, but I just haven’t had any luck yet. You must be new; I’ve never seen you before.” The words came tumbling out so fast Bob could not keep up with her.

  “I’m Bob. This is my first—”

  She kept talking, and Bob was afraid she was going to pass out. “What’s your name again?”

  “Robert. I mean Bob, Bob Macgregor.”

  “Irish, huh. I once dated an Irishman in New York. Great guy, but—” Buzzzzz.

  “Nice to meet you, Betty.”

  She handed him a card with her bio. “Call me. We can talk.”

  He smiled and moved on to the next chair. “Hi, I’m . . .”

  That day he met more than thirty-six women and accumulated thirty-two cards, including the one from Matrice. Afterward, when it was calmer, he poured himself some coffee and mingled with the group. They were by far the nicest, most considerate women he had met in a long, long time. Although a few were forceful, he talked with all of them. He laughed and was glad he had taken the time to come to the event. Robert arranged to call three of them. He also had a list of twelve others he needed advice about, so he phoned Patti when he got to his truck to ask her guidance.

  She could not stop laughing as he told her of his adventures, and he started to laugh as he thought about the conversations. He loved Patti’s ways and how she made him laugh, just as his Tess always had.

  They talked for a half hour, but when he started to ask her advice about the next steps for some of the women he had met, she stopped him. “Whoa, wait a minute, Dad. I suggest you call your old friend Coleen. You told me she wanted to hear all about your adventures. Talk to her about it. I’m sure she can give you some good advice, much better than I can.” She paused. “I just don’t feel comfortable talking about your love life, if you know what I mean?”

  “Oh yeah, sure. You’re right,” he chuckled and hung up. Well, Coleen did say to call her, to let her know how it went.

  Later that evening he decided to call her. Bob was nervous about rejection when he picked up the phone and dialed her number. The phone rang twice, and he lost his nerve. He was about to hang up when he heard her sweet voice, say, “Hello?”

  “Hi, it’s Robert.”

  “Hiya, Mac.”

  “I haven’t caught you at a bad time, have I?”

  “No, I was just sitting here relaxing with a good book. What’s up?” He could hear her getting comfortable, with the sounds of rustling pillows and a book closing in the background.

  “Well, I went to the senior speed-dati
ng session today.”

  “You did?” she nearly shouted.

  Robert could not tell if she was surprised, excited, or somewhat disappointed. “Yeah. It was fun. I met some very nice ladies there. And I got over thirty bio information cards.”

  Really? she thought, upset with herself. This is not what she had thought would happen. What did she think? Wait . . . did she care? Yes, she reluctantly admitted to herself—she did care.

  “Wow! Tell me about them, and don’t leave anything out.” She tried to sound enthused.

  They talked for an over an hour as Bob gave her a play-by-play of the dates he remembered.

  “They were all very nice. I made arrangements to call some of them and go out.”

  “Good for you.” What? she thought. Coleen, what did you think was going to happen—he’s a single, good-looking guy. And you turned him down when he asked you out. She swallowed hard.

  He paused; he wished he were sitting there next to her talking and sharing a glass of wine with her. He coughed. “I know it’s late, and I don’t want to keep you. But maybe we could do dinner one night, and I can tell you about the rest of them. Maybe you could give me some advice.”

  Something held her back. She did not want to go down that path. “No, Bob, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

  “Can I ask you why not?”

  She paused. “Bobby, you’re an adorably handsome guy, almost sexy—but it would never work out.”

  “Why not?”

  She took in a deep breath. “Because we’re cut from different cloths. I like the ballet, the opera, the theater, classical music, and you like hunting, boating, fishing, country music, and camping. It wouldn’t work. I’m sorry, Mac, I have to go. Good-bye.” She was nearly in tears when she hung up the phone. Damn him. Why me? Why now? I only wanted to be left alone. Why did he have to come back into my life? Why can’t he just leave me be? She sat and watched the tall and serene grandfather clock in the corner, waiting for it to strike its melodious chimes, and she thought to herself, I wonder when he’ll call me next?

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Germaine’s lot was full that night, and after searching and finally finding a parking spot, Eian and Robert walked inside. As they waited in line to pay their cover charge and be seated, Robert whispered to his brother, “Look at all the single women here. They’re all so beautiful.”

  “Yes, I remember that a lot of singles and couples come here,” Eian said, his eyes searching the room for Rose. Then he spotted her at a table near the dance floor and waved. “There she is.”

  Robert smiled, and then leaned in to whisper to Eian, “Hey, I don’t want to be an odd man out, if you know what I mean? If you two guys want to . . . be alone or . . . ? I don’t want to butt in, you know?”

  Eian’s brow creased with a frown. “Rose? Hey, man, we’re just friends. Old friends. It’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.”

  As the line moved forward, Robert reminded him, “Well, as I recall, years ago you were the one who introduced Rose to Tony. Right?”

  “Right. So what’s your point?”

  He could tell Robert was getting uncomfortable. “Well, I always thought she was kinda sweet on you, that’s all,” he blurted out.

  “Bob, we’re just friends, and besides—”

  He was interrupted by Rose as she came up to them. “Hi, Eian! I’m really glad you could make it tonight. Lots of opportunity to practice your new dance steps.”

  “Yeah, I see,” Eian responded, looking around the room. “I hope you don’t mind, but I brought my brother with me. He needs the practice more than I do, but I also thought this was a great place for him to meet some people.”

  She was silent at first but then said, “Sure. Why not? The more the merrier. Right?”

  Turning to his brother, he said, “See, I told you Rose wouldn’t mind. This is going to be some night,” Eian said, looking out over the dance floor.

  “Yeah, some night,” she said with a meager smile. “I’ll meet you back at our table. See ya.”

  The three of them had dinner, wine, coffee, and dessert, and then the band began to play. She stood and reached for Eian’s hand. “Come on, let’s dance. Practice. That’s what we’re here for, remember?”

  Germaine’s was on the top floor of Boca Raton’s “bridge hotel,” overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. From the fifteenth floor, the view stretched for miles beyond the glass walls. In the center of the room was a large parquet dance floor in front of a three-piece Latin band. They played music to dance rumbas, cha-chas, bachatas, salsa, swing, waltzes, hustles, and a host of others. Bob sat and watched until more dancers were on the floor.

  Rose and Eian returned to the dinner table after dancing. “Wow, that was fun,” said Eian. “I remembered all the steps we learned. And did them perfectly, brother.” He smiled at Robert.

  Rose joined in, taking a sip from her wineglass. “Well, I don’t know about that. You still need a lot of work, trust me. But we have all night.”

  The next dance was a rumba, and she said to Eian as they danced, “You’re supposed to hold me closer for this one, remember?”

  “Like this?” he whispered, slowly pulling her close.

  “Yes, like that.” Try as she might, she could not stop the feelings that were building inside her. They moved closer to each other during the slow dance and next began to move gently about the floor. Eian and Rose were lost in their own thoughts.

  When they finally sat down to take a break, she touched his arm and asked, “Can you get me a glass of ice water, please? I’m dying in here. It’s getting very warm.”

  “Sure, Rose. Bob, you want anything?

  “No, I think I’m going to ask that woman over there to dance.”

  “Oh yeah? Which one?” asked Rose.

  He nodded in the direction of three women sitting together on the other side of the room. “The one in the pink top. She has been watching me all night. Wish me luck.”

  “Be a gentleman,” Rose said under her breath.

  “Thanks,” he said with a smile after taking a big gulp from his glass of wine.

  Soon everyone was on their feet dancing . . . including Rose.

  When she returned to the table, Eian gave her the glass of ice water and asked nonchalantly, “Who was that?”

  “Who?”

  “The guy you were just dancing with.”

  “Barry? He’s a friend. I met him here a couple of weeks ago.” She saw the look on Eian’s face. “I come here all the time with my girlfriends, just to dance and have a good time. But you’re the first man I’ve come here with, like a date . . . since Tony.” She took his hand in hers, held it, and let it linger for a few moments, while they made eye contact. She smiled and was about to say something when Robert returned.

  “Nice place. Thanks for letting me crash your party. Sorry.”

  Rose smiled. “Bobby, it’s fine, really. I’m glad you’re having a good time.” Her voice and intentions were genuine.

  The bandleader then called for all single men and single women to form two circles around the dance floor, and directed the circles to turn in opposite directions. The band began to play. When the trumpeter finished blasting his horn, the circles stopped moving, and the dancers took the hand of whoever was across from them, and then they danced with each other. This was repeated for five different songs. Bob loved it.

  It was a wonderful evening of dining, dancing, and being together with old friends and family. Rose and Eian danced every slow dance as if they were the only ones on the dance floor. Traveling in slow, small circles, holding each other tight. Something was happening to both of them. Soon the call came from the bandleader that it was the last dance, another slow one. It had been a wonderful evening.

  “Rose, I had a great time,” Eian said as he walked her to her car. “Let’s do this again, just you and me.”

  “I would love to,” she said enthusiastically. “
They have music and dancing here every night of the week except Monday.”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll set something up.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  She kissed him on the cheek, and her fingertip traced the contours of his chin. “Talk to you tomorrow.”

  The two brothers drove home in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. When Robert pulled into the driveway, he waited in the car by himself. “Eian, why don’t you go on inside. I’ll join you in a couple of minutes. I just want to make a quick phone call.”

  Eian smiled, leaning into the car to look at his older brother. “You can call from inside if you want. It’s starting to rain.”

  “I’ll be okay. I won’t be long.”

  Then Eian smiled and asked, “Coleen?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Okay, see ya inside. Good luck.”

  “Thanks.”

  He dialed her number, and his face grew into a smile when he heard her voice say, “Hello? Bob?”

  “Yeah, it’s me. It’s not too late to call, is it?”

  “No, it’s fine. I couldn’t sleep anyway. I usually don’t have a problem falling asleep, but here, lately . . . just don’t know. What’s up?”

  “Just thought I’d call and tell you about my evening.”

  “Oh. Was tonight dance night?”

  He smiled, glad that she had remembered. “Yeah, yesterday were lessons, and tonight I was practicing my dancing at Germaine’s. It was fun.”

  “More fun than the speed dating?”

  “Oh yes, definitely. I had a great meal and good company.”

  “You went with your brother Eian, right?”

  “Yeah, him and an old friend of his, Rose Gilardo. She was married to his best friend, Tony, who died a couple of years ago. They go way back.”

  “Just the three of you went, then?” she asked, trying not to sound too inquisitive.

  “Yep. I danced all night.” He went on to tell her about the dance circles and everyone he had danced with, including the woman dressed in pink.

  “Hmmm, sounds interesting. Did she let you take her home?” She sounded different.