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“Promise, Daddy,” Frannie agreed.
Brianna looked reluctant, but finally acquiesced. “Promise.”
Cassie turned away, silent. There was no way she could make such a promise. She knew what her father needed even if he didn’t…an extraordinary woman who would love him with the kind of passion and devotion that would erase the grief and loneliness she saw in his eyes when he thought nobody was looking.
Somewhere in this vast, wide world there had to be such a woman.
Chapter Three
O n Saturday morning—a balmy, early autumn day—Frannie poked her head inside Cassie’s door and whispered, “You awake, sleepyhead?”
Cassie rolled over and burrowed her head under the pillow. “No, go away. After last night’s fiasco, I want to sleep till noon!”
Frannie slipped inside the room and curled up on a corner of the four-poster bed. “It wasn’t so bad. We actually had fun, didn’t we? And Dad was a good sport, don’t you think? So it all turned out okay. As long as we don’t try playing matchmaker again.”
Cassie pulled her tousled head out from under the pillow and looked at her youngest sister through bleary eyes. Frannie was sitting cross-legged in her PJs, her golden hair cascading over her shoulders to the middle of her back. “Fran, did you wake me up just to rehash last night?”
“Of course not.”
“We’re not having more dinner guests tonight, are we?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Good!”
“But I, uh, have a favor to ask.”
Cassie fluffed her pillow under her head and closed her eyes. “Your timing is lousy, sis. Whatever it is, no!”
“Then you won’t go?” Frannie’s tone was petulant.
Cassie opened one eye, her curiosity rising in spite of herself. “Go where?”
“To the concert tonight.”
“What concert?”
“At the university.”
“San Diego State?”
“Of course. What other school is there?” Frannie drew in a breath and rushed on. “Antonio Pagliarulo is performing.”
Cassie sat up and forked back her mop of unruly hair. “Who?” she asked, feigning ignorance.
“Antonio Pagliarulo. A fantastic tenor. He teaches music at the university. You teach in the music department. Surely you know him.”
“I’m part-time faculty. I go, teach my two classes, and disappear again. Full-timers don’t mingle with part-timers.”
“Well, I’m only a teacher’s assistant, and I’ve heard of Antonio Pagliarulo.”
“Okay, so I’ve heard of him. They say he’s a recluse, a loner, a snob. Lives in a mansion overlooking the ocean and never socializes with anyone.”
“So?” countered Frannie. “They say he’s as handsome and mysterious as an old-time matinee idol and has a voice like Pavarotti.”
Cassie swung her long legs over the bed. “Okay, you win. I’ll go with you to the concert.”
“Oh, I’m not going,” said Frannie quickly.
“Not going? You just invited me!”
Frannie’s blue eyes flashed. “I want you to go so I can stay home.”
Cassie covered her ears. “Oh, no, I don’t want to hear this!”
Frannie sat up on her knees and seized Cassie’s hand. “Please, sis,” she implored, “just do this one favor for me and I’ll never ask again. I’ve got a date to the concert with Gilbert Dooley.”
“Gilbert Who-ley?”
“He’s very nice. He teaches at the university.”
“And I’m to fill in for you? No way. You always come up with some oddball—”
“He’s not odd at all. He’s a professor, a brain like you, like—”
Cassie managed a teasing smile. “Then what is he doing dating you?”
“We’re not dating. It’s purely platonic. He teaches physical science. We bump into each other once in a while. He said he got the last two concert tickets, and in a moment of weakness I agreed to go with him.”
“Then go.”
“I can’t. I’ve got to stay home and finish my sculpture before the clay hardens. If I don’t, Amelia Earhart will end up looking like Daffy Duck!”
“Amelia Earhart is dead.”
“I know, but I’m bringing her back to life…in clay. Please, Cassie.”
Cassie sank back on the bed with a weary sigh. “All right, I’ll go. But you owe me, Frannie. You owe me big!”
Later that afternoon, as Cassie swirled her saffron hair into a French twist, she was already sorry she had given in. She had no desire to go on a blind date with anyone, least of all some science professor who would probably talk theorems all evening. Or was that math? Whatever.
Hoping for a look that was simple, elegant and tastefully understated, she slipped into a black crepe dress with a tunic top and ankle-length skirt. Good, it was just the look she wanted—classic but certainly not provocative.
Gilbert Dooley arrived at the stroke of six, as he had promised. After his initial surprise, he seemed to take the date switch with surprising aplomb and civility. Or maybe he was a better actor than Cassie suspected. One thing for sure, he was definitely not Frannie’s type. Nor Cassie’s! Tall, middle-aged and balding, he was as lean as a windlestraw, with pale-white skin and faded gray eyes behind enormous bifocals.
On the way to the concert hall in Gilbert’s antediluvian sedan, he kept up a steady stream of conversation, enlightening her as to the laws of thermodynamics, time dilation and universal gravitation. But he became most impassioned when speaking of his favorite topic, the superconducting supercollider.
“Can you imagine, Cassandra?” he enthused. “It has the potential of being the world’s largest particle accelerator. Think of what it will tell us about the Big Bang!”
“I can only imagine,” Cassie mumbled. In her mind she was plotting ways she would get back at her youngest sister. She could spike her oatmeal with raisins—she hated the chewy little beasts—or she could tie her socks in knots or put ice cubes in her bed. No, she hadn’t pulled those pranks since she was ten. There had to be some suitable, but harmless, pranks for grown-up sisters to play on one another.
Cassie and Gilbert arrived at the concert hall with ample time to spare. She cringed a little when two of her students passed by and rolled their eyes as she and the professor walked down the aisle to their seats. She wanted to call out, He’s not my date! I don’t even know what I’m doing here!
At least they had good seats, center section, four rows from the stage. Cassie had performed enough concerts of her own that she always felt a heart-pounding excitement when the house lights lowered and a white-hot spotlight carved a luminous circle out of the hushed darkness. It was happening now, the audience din shrinking to silence as the enormous red velvet curtain rose to reveal a lone man on center stage. Dressed in a black tuxedo, he was tall, dark and imposing, his shoulders as broad as his waist was narrow, an aristocratic air in his demeanor.
As the orchestra began to play, Antonio Pagliarulo launched into an Italian aria with the richest, fullest, most enchanting tenor voice Cassie had ever heard. She sat mesmerized, dazzled, disarmed. No matter what anybody said about this man, he could hold an audience spellbound.
During her two semesters of part-time teaching, Cassie had passed Antonio occasionally on the university campus, but hadn’t bothered to give him a second glance in spite of his swarthy good looks. For too many years she had disciplined her mind to concentrate only on her music, her career. Focusing on attractive men would only divert her from her lifelong goals. Besides, she had already been burned once and wasn’t about to risk a broken heart again. But now, tonight, she was seeing this talented, enigmatic man with new eyes. She liked what she saw…and was hopelessly enraptured by what she heard.
It seemed only minutes had passed and already Antonio was singing his final number. When the audience gave him a standing ovation, Cassie was one of the first to stand. She applauded until her palms stung. Then, all too soon, it was time to leave.
“There’s a reception for Mr. Pagliarulo in the faculty hall, if you’d like to go,” Gilbert told her as they made their way out of the crowded auditorium.
“I’d love to,” she said without hesitation.
A gentle breeze was rising off the ocean as Gilbert escorted Cassie across the darkened campus to the faculty hall. He held her elbow to keep her from falling, and to her relief was no longer talking about centrifugal force and cold fusion. In fact, he seemed as enthralled by Antonio Pagliarulo’s voice as she was. “I rarely go to programs like this,” he was saying, “but Tonio has been more than a colleague to me, he’s been rather like a confidant. So I promised him I would attend one of his concerts.”
“You’re saying Antonio Pagliarulo is a good friend of yours?” Cassie asked, hardly hiding her surprise.
Gilbert’s countenance grew pink. “I admit, Cassandra, I’m not a very social person, but yes, Tonio’s been a good friend to me.”
“That’s not what I meant. It’s just that I’d heard Antonio was a loner, snobbish, reclusive.”
“I suppose he is, to most people. But that’s not the man I know.”
“I…I’d like to meet him.”
“Then I’ll introduce you.”
The faculty hall was brimming with people, most of them converging on Antonio. Cassie shook her head. There was no way to get close.
“Don’t worry,” said Gilbert. “We’ll have some refreshments and wait for the crowd to thin out.” He led her over to a row of straight-back chairs lining one end of the hall. “Sit down and relax. I’ll get us something to eat.”
Taking the closest chair, Cassie sat down and smiled politely at the attractive woman walking toward her. In her mid-forties, she was an exotic beauty, with ebony hair, olive skin, red lips and flashing coal-black eyes. Wearing a stylish red velvet evening dress swishing over rounded hips, she was a startling contradiction of elegance and flamboyance.
The woman flashed a beaming smile as she pointed to the empty chair beside Cassie. “May I?” she asked with the hint of an accent.
“Please do. I guess we both had the same idea. It’ll be a half hour at least before we can get through the crowd to greet Mr. Pagliarulo.”
“Oh, I wasn’t waiting for the crowds,” said the woman. “I just wanted to sit down. I never should have worn these insufferable three-inch heels tonight. Next time I will wear my comfortable bunny slippers. I don’t care how silly I look, at least my feet will not be in pain.”
Cassie stifled a spurt of laughter. The idea of this sophisticated matron wearing bunny slippers was hilariously implausible.
“You think I am speaking in jest,” the woman said, her smile expanding to reveal perfect white teeth. “Watch this.” With a little flourish she kicked off her shoes and wriggled her stockinged feet. “See? That is much better. Now I may survive this night. Or do I embarrass you with my lack of manners?”
Cassie chuckled in spite of herself. “Oh, no. I love people who aren’t afraid of what other people think.”
“Then you are a young lady after my own heart,” said the woman, patting Cassie’s hand. “My name is Juliana. What is yours?”
“Cassandra. But most people call me Cassie.”
“I prefer Cassandra,” said Juliana with a little wave of her hand. “It is a regal name. A name for a princess. It fits you well.”
Cassie smiled. It was Juliana who looked like a princess. Better yet, a queen. “I assure you,” said Cassie, “I’m no princess.”
“But you carry yourself like one. What do you do? Are you in music…theater? I can imagine you onstage.”
Cassie felt her cheeks glow. “How did you know?”
“I see it in your face, the way you carry yourself. You are a creative person. I guessed music because you are here at this concert.”
“I’m a pianist,” said Cassie. “I’ve performed a few concerts, but nothing as impressive as this. I teach a couple of piano classes here at the university. And I’m the music director at my father’s church.”
“Your father’s church? That is wonderful,” said Juliana. “It is good to use one’s talents for God.”
“Yes, it is.”
“I would love to hear you play sometime.”
Cassie hesitated. “I—I am playing in a cantata tomorrow night.”
“Is it nearby?”
“The Cornerstone Christian Church in La Jolla.”
“Oh, that isn’t far from here. I might be able to attend.”
“That would be wonderful.”
But would she really show up? Cassie wondered. People were always promising to get together or do lunch or stop by, but they rarely followed through.
Juliana touched Cassie’s arm with graceful, tapered fingers. “You do not believe I will come, do you?”
“Oh, no, I—”
“But I will. I must ask my son. He drives me. I have no sense of direction. I would end up in the ocean on my way to Hawaii instead of La Jolla. So I will ask my son and he will bring me.”
“Oh, do come. Both of you,” said Cassie. “Bring the rest of your family, too. Your husband—”
“My husband has been dead for many years, so it can only be my son and me.”
“I’m sorry,” said Cassie quickly. “Listen, I’ll write out the directions for your son. The cantata is at 8:00 p.m., but the church will be crowded, so you may want to come around seven.” Like a lightning bolt, an idea struck Cassie straight out of the blue, but she recognized it instantly as pure genius. This Juliana was a woman even Cassie’s hard-to-please father might find fascinating. No harm in setting something up and seeing what happened.
“Maybe you would like to join my family afterward for a bite to eat,” Cassie suggested, her plan already brewing. “I would like you to meet my father…and my sisters, too, of course.”
“Your invitation is very generous,” said Juliana warmly. “I will ask my son. If he has no prior commitment, we will join you.”
“Wonderful,” said Cassie with a pleased little smile.
