Page 9 of It Had to be You

DRESS CASUAL BUT FASHIONABLE

He was glad she approved, because he had a feeling if she hadn’t, she might have sent him back to change. As it was, he was wearing a long sleeve chambray button down and dark slacks. It was what he wore around his house or out to private events with his friends and family,

but he had questioned if she would find it fashionable.

Alexander was glad that he’d passed muster.

"Well," she held out her arm, waiting for his, "let’s go."

She took the arm he offered and they set off down the hall.

"I’m glad you showed up early."

The tension in his shoulders eased a bit as he turned to smile at her. He was hoping to talk her into walking around the promenade and get a chance to make up for the time they missed at dinner when she’d stepped out of the kitchen. Their conversation up until that point had been really interesting.

She turned and smiled at him too. "I want to make sure we get a place up at the front of the room, so we need to go straight there."

When they arrived, they were indeed the first couple there. Stepping up to the wall, she let go of his arm and smoothed her hands over her dress. With the sun shining down on them herealized that he’d never seen her wear anything like it. "That’s a lovely dress."

"I’m so glad you noticed." She struck a pose and stretched out a leg so he could see the shoe on her foot. "I have several like it in different colors and slightly different style lines. The shoes are handmade by a cobbler I use in Rome."

She looked up at him and seemed to be waiting for… something.

An idea struck him that she might be waiting for him.

"Uh," he managed a vague gesture with his hands, "they’re lovely."

"They’re ballroom shoes," she clarified as she shifted against the wall and stood tall with both feet together, "the last thing I want is my shoe slipping off my heel."

He nodded. "That makes sense."

"Of course, it does!" She reached out and touched his arm, just above his elbow. "You’ll notice the difference when we’re on the floor."

Alexander resisted the urge to look down at his feet. There was probably something special that she was talking about and he wasn’t sure he wanted to ask why.

"Well look at you two!"

Turning toward the affable sound, Alexander saw a couple walking toward them who were probably closer to his parents in age. The gentleman looked strong and Alexander had a feeling he’d done hard work all of his life, but his face bore a striking resemblance to Andy Griffith rather than someone like Grizzly Adams.

The woman on his arm was as petite as he was burly and where the man had a head of white hair, her hair was a warm golden-blonde with wide-swathes of silver. On the surface, they were both vastly different in appearance, but by the way they leaned toward each other and smiled, they were well matched.

The petite woman grinned at them both. "I bet you’re both as excited as we are."

Ben, as he introduced himself, was a logging man and Alex was happy to know he’d been on the right track. "And this," Ben beamed, "is Pearl, just look how she gleams."

Pearl’s cheeks flushed and made her shine with a luster like her name.

"I can see what you mean," Alexander gave the dainty woman an appreciative nod before he introduced the other couple to Blair, easily seeing how great the other two were going to be together. "Are you both looking forward to the dance class?"

Giving a little grimace, Ben looked down at Pearl before answering. "I’m all for twirling this lovely lady around a dance floor, I’m just worried that I’ll step on her dainty little feet with my big clodhoppers and put this sweet lady into a wheelchair for the rest of the cruise."

"Oh pshaw," she nudged him with her shoulder, "I doubt that could be the case, Ben. But," she gave him a saucy look, "if you did, would you push me around in that wheelchair?"

Ben’s expression sobered as he covered his heart with his free hand. "If it came to that, sweet, dear woman, I’d carry you around."

Alexander saw in that couple the same thing he saw in his parents, a genuine caring… a gentle connection that would likely grow the more time they spent with each other. He wondered if that same kind of connection could grow between him and Blair.

The door to the room opened and Tatum stepped outside.

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