The Accidental Encore (18 page)

A brisk run with Melissa would cure her mood, she thought as
she laced up her sneakers and pulled on her gloves. Ben had taken Henry on some
errands and the girls had the morning free to run and grab some coffee. She’d
missed spending time with Melissa, too.

“What’s new on the dating scene?” Melissa asked before they
rounded the first curve.

“Ho hum,” Allie said. “I haven’t had time to do much at
all.”

“What about tonight?”

“No plans.” She’d received more than a handful of emails, not
to mention the endless nudges. Craig was right; they were stupid.

“On a Saturday? Why not?”

Allie stopped running and began to walk. Talk of her
non-existent dating life drained every ounce of her energy. Melissa sensed her
frustration and wrapped her arm around Allie’s shoulder. “You okay?”

“I’m just sick of going out with guys I have nothing in
common with searching for a relationship that’s never going to happen.”

“Isn’t that why you quit the last time?”

“Yes, but now I’ve got a wedding to go to and no date.”

Melissa let the issue stand for a moment as their shoes
crunched on the gravel path. “Why don’t you ask Craig?”

Allie pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped her nose.
“I’ve thought about it,” she admitted as she upped her pace to a jog. “I mentioned
the wedding the last time we talked, but I couldn’t pull the trigger.”

“Why not?”

“He could say no. He probably will say no.”

“Why?” she asked. “If you’re friends.”

“Because he doesn’t put himself out for anyone. Asking him
makes me needy and he hates needy women. I think losing his wife years ago
really scarred him, much more so than Mark.”

“Uh oh,” Melissa said.

“What do you mean, ‘uh oh’?”

“You love a wounded puppy, Allie.”

“Ha! He’s no puppy, trust me. He’s more like a ferocious
lion who’s been king of his own jungle for too long.”

“What’s the latest with the kid?”

“Leah? She seems fine. Back to normal except maybe a little
more guarded. I haven’t been called back in for advisement, so I guess all is
well.”

“Any more word from the new wife?”

“Nope. She said she’d call me for lunch and I haven’t heard
from her. I stayed for dinner last Tuesday and I get the feeling they’re all on
their best behavior, which is good. I certainly never even tried with Suzanne,
and if she tried with me, I was too pissed off to notice.”

“I hope I never get divorced,” Melissa huffed as they
ascended the only hill along the trail.

“Mark didn’t get divorced,” Allie reminded her friend. “And
neither did Craig.”

“Thanks. That’s a much more cheerful scenario.”

“I’m just pointing out the difference. There’s no ping-pong
effect for Leah like I had, bouncing back and forth between two angry parents,
each of them filling my head with nonsense that had nothing to do with me. It’s
a wonder I even want to be in a relationship considering what I grew up with.”

“Everyone wants someone to love, Allie.”

True, Allie thought as she settled into a nice, steady pace.
But what Allie wanted most of all was for someone to love her.

***

Craig nearly spilled the cup of coffee he’d just bought at
the gas station when he saw Allie’s name pop up on his cell phone. He quickly
placed the cup in the holder and took a contemplative breath before answering.
He’d avoided calling her. He hadn’t needed to avoid her when she hadn’t called
him. He’d like to think he hadn’t missed her, but he knew better than to lie to
himself.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Craig.” She sounded overly perky on the phone, as if
she were trying too hard to sound casual. This new friendship they were
building on top of his veiled attraction felt like quicksand.

“Hey,” he gave his best attempt at spontaneous. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, well…I’ve got a favor to ask. I was hoping to ease
into it after a little small talk.”

“I don’t do small talk.”

“Yes,” she chuckled. “How could I forget?”

“What’s the favor?”

“You know that wedding I told you about?”

Oh no. Not the wedding. Anything but the wedding.
“Yeahhhhh.”

“I need a date.”

He kneaded his forehead and tried to come up with an excuse
not to go. “Are you really that desperate?”

She let out one long breathy sigh that had him fidgeting in
the seat. “Yes. I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you don’t want to go. I know I’m
asking too much, but I
am
that desperate.”

“When is it?”

“This Saturday. I know it’s short notice, but I’ve tried to
find someone else. I’ve had three bad dates this week, and I just can’t do it
anymore.”

He wanted to say no. He wanted to feel nothing but pity for
her ridiculous efforts to impress some girl she didn’t even like. But damning
all common sense, he felt drawn to the idea of her needing him. “Okay, okay,
okay. I’ll go. But I’m not wearing a tux.”

“Really?” she said, her voice finally sounding normal.
“You’ll go even though it’s the last thing you want to do?”

“I said I would.”

“Oh, Craig,” she said as he started the truck and slammed it
into reverse. “Thank you. I owe you big time for this.”

 
“Where’s the
wedding?”

“Some funky warehouse on Ponce.”

“Will there be food?” he asked.

“Yes, a buffet dinner.”

“I suppose that helps to ease the sting.”

“I can’t thank you enough, Craig. I’ve spent the last two
weeks interviewing my dates for the job of wedding guest and none of them were
suitable.”

“Your standards aren’t very high if you think I am. I still
don’t understand why you have to go to this stupid wedding.”

“You don’t have to understand, you just have to put on a
suit and take me.”

He’d take her, all right. That was the problem. Spending an
evening with her, pretending they were an item, or at least interested in
becoming one, meant dancing and alcohol and too damn much temptation. He was
screwed. “Text me the details including your address and I’ll pick you up.”

“You’re my hero!” she belted.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He’d better be a hero because it would
take super-human strength to keep his hands to himself.

Chapter 20

Allie shouldn’t have felt nervous. She’d had four dates in
the last seven days, and yet she quaked like a schoolgirl at the thought of
going out with Craig. Only they weren’t really going out. He was doing her a
favor. A big one.

She stood in front of the mirror as second and third
thoughts whirled around her head. She told herself she’d dressed for Sharon,
the bride she disliked, the bride she wanted to snub. She told herself she
dressed for her, to feel good about the body she’d worked hard to sculpt.

She told herself lies.

She’d dressed for Craig, to dare him, to tease him, to taunt
him into wanting her. That, she knew, was the reason her stomach fluttered with
butterflies and her hands weren’t quite steady as she dotted her neckline with
perfume. She’d never had to work hard at making men want her. Ever.

The question she couldn’t answer was why she wanted to tempt
him. Because she was tempted? She didn’t want to find him attractive, but from
the very beginning, something about him had taken root and wouldn’t let go. She
didn’t want to find his gruff and unsophisticated manners so appealing, but
he’d somehow managed to make those qualities seem honest and refreshing. She
didn’t want to compare every man she went out with to him and wonder what it
would feel like to be chosen by him.

So tonight was an experiment. After tonight, she’d know what
it was like to be with him on a date, even though she’d orchestrated the
evening and wheedled him into going. The results were the same: they would be a
couple for one night and she’d know how it felt to be his. She slipped her feet
into her coral, peep toe platform pumps. They weren’t red—that would be
tacky. They were a subtle variation on the flashy color that added a nice punch
to her navy dress. She descended the stairs, needing to shake her nerves, and
turned to the one thing that had always helped clam her down.

***

Craig pulled into the drive of the small cottage in the
oldest part of town. He thought the butter yellow siding and rust colored
shutters suited Allie to a T. She’d planted pansies and ivy in concrete
planters flanking the front door and had a miniature hedge leading along the
path.

He heard the music before he hit the porch steps, something
dramatic and sad. His first reaction was to feel nostalgic for Leah’s nightly
practices before the rushing crescendo made him realize this was unlike
anything Leah could play. A touch to the front door had the music vibrating
through his fingertips. He could feel the power and the passion of the song and
marveled again at how he’d been so wrong to peg her as a depthless beauty. When
he used the doorknocker, the music stopped with a jolt.

It was like getting slammed in the stomach by a fist or
whacked upside the head with a board. Holy mother of God, the woman had nerves
of steel and curves that made a man want to weep.

“Well, well, well,” Allie said with a provocative hand on
her hip. If Craig didn’t know any better, he’d think she’d posed for him,
cocking her sleeveless shoulder in the air while her other arm, the one with a
full sleeve to the wrist, lightly grasped the doorknob. “You certainly clean up
well.”

He had the pleasure of returning the favor and giving her
the once over from her perilously high heels to her dangerously painted mouth.
“So do you, Blondie, but I think you already know that.”

She dropped her hands as her cocky smile morphed into a sexy
pout. “If you make me feel like a slut, I’m going to deck you.”

“You should feel like a beautiful woman, which you are.”

He must have hit the mark, because she stepped back and
waved him inside. “Come on in. I’ve got to get my bag.”

“Nice house,” he said. Every inch of the place felt homey,
from the creamy sofa to the bold red and yellow pillows that adorned the
well-worn piece. The soft tan walls and seagrass rug served as a neutral
background for her upright piano and old leather chair with patterned pillows.
He ran his fingers over the keys of her well-used piano. “I heard you playing.
It was beautiful.”

“Thanks,” she called from the kitchen where she took items
from her large carry bag and plopped them into a tiny orange purse.

“I assumed you’d have a grand.”

“No room,” she said. “Ready?”

When she turned around and flashed him a smile, he knew he
wasn’t anywhere near ready to spend the evening with her on his arm. “Do you
have a coat?”

“My wrap. It’s by the door.” He draped the flimsy material
around her shoulders and tortured himself on her scent. Tonight she smelled
like sin, straight up.

She locked the door behind her as he tested the wood of her
porch stairs. “You need to replace this step.”

“I know,” she said. “I just haven’t gotten around to it
yet.”

He gripped the porch rail and wiggled it back and forth.
“This banister is loose.”

She stopped dead when she saw his car and he wondered, not
for the first time, if he should have brought his truck. “Whose car is that?”
she asked.

“Mine.” He held open the passenger door to the German import
he’d bought on a whim when he’d felt restless last year. He had a past full of
expensive whims that had never satisfied for more than a day or two.

“Why did you drive around in that rental car if you had this
gorgeous sedan?”

“I don’t take this to work,” he explained. “It sends the
wrong message.”

“So where do you drive this?”

“Dates, long trips.” He shrugged and wished he’d hung his
suit coat up before getting behind the wheel. “It mostly stays in the garage.”

“Speaking of dates,” she said. “Have you had any in a
while?”

“One or two.”

“Which is it?” she asked. “One or two?”

He consciously relaxed his hands on the wheel instead of
gripping them as if they were around her nosy throat. “One.”

“And?” she prodded.

“And it went fine. We had dinner.”

“Oh.” She tapped her long, manicured fingers on her leg,
drawing his attention to the hem that rose to mid-thigh. Her legs went on forever.
“Are you going to see her again?”

He struggled to put the woman out of his mind. His head was
too full of Allie to think of Kathryn, the twenty-eight year old dietician he’d
taken to bed and had yet to contact. She’d seemed okay with him leaving in the
middle of the night without a promise for more. He’d never felt as though
encounters like theirs were anything more than what they were: mutual
gratification without any strings. He doubted Allie felt the same. “Maybe.”