The Accidental Encore (20 page)

“Seems kinda silly to me.”

“Says the man with an empty home.”

She held it up to the light and, on impulse, brought it next
to his cheek. “I’m too big to fit inside.”

“It’s the color of your eyes.” She set it down when he
looked like she’d kneed him in the balls. “Why don’t we find the bar and get
you a drink?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

They wandered along the path, but could have found the bar
by simply following the buzz of people. She spotted Melissa and Ben nestled
against a red velvet chaise with a life-sized mannequin peering over their
shoulder. “I see some friends.” She had to raise her voice in the thick crowd.

“Why don’t you go say hi and I’ll bring you a drink?” he
said. “Wine?”

“Perfect.” She watched him make a beeline to the bar and
threaded her way toward Melissa.

Her friend squealed and hopped up to give Allie a hug.
“Isn’t this place fabulous?” Melissa asked. She looked stunning in her chiffon
shift dress.

“It’s an unusual setting for a wedding and a whole lot of
fun—pretty much the last thing I expected from Sharon.”

“So where is he?” Melissa asked, her eyes darting around the
room.

“At the bar getting us a drink.”

Melissa craned her neck. “Which one? There are so many
people here.”

“He’s up by the front. Gray suit, blue tie.” Allie’s stomach
fluttered with nerves at the prospect of Craig meeting Melissa and Ben. She
wondered if he’d feel ambushed.

“Very nice,” Melissa purred. “I knew you were lying when you
said he wasn’t that attractive.”

Allie tried to look indifferent. “Every guy looks good in a
suit. Even you, Ben,” she said when he stood up after tucking the phone in his
pocket.

“Hey, Al,” he said. “Looking good.”

“Thanks. You too.”

Ben looked at his wife. “Your mom said Henry’s asleep and
she’s got the Law & Order marathon to keep her company. I think we’re good
to go.”

They clinked their glasses as Craig arrived and handed Allie
her wine. “Just in time for the toast,” he said.

“Melissa and Ben Carter,” Allie began the introductions.
“Meet Craig Archer.”

Ben and Craig exchanged handshakes while he and Melissa
nodded in greeting. “Melissa was my college roommate.”

“Vandy?” Craig asked.

Melissa grinned and nodded, shooting a smug look at Allie.

“They look pretty good this year for basketball,” Craig
said.

“It’s usually our only shot at the bigs,” Melissa said. “Ben
went to Duke, so Vandy gets second billing in our house.”

Craig and Ben began the male ritual of discovering their
professions while Melissa and Allie peered around the room. “Where’s the
wedding going to be held?” Allie asked.

“From what I gather, behind that door is a stage set up for
the wedding.”

“A stage? Is this for real or a theater production?”

“You know her fiancé is in the music business,” Melissa
said.

“I thought he worked for a TV station.”

“Maybe that’s it. I can’t remember.” She squeezed Allie’s
arm when the door to the main room opened and the guests began descending the
ramp. “The show is about to start.”

Allie and Craig filed into the room where four-top tables
draped in black linens and topped with red votive candles surrounded a red carpet
leading to the stage. They snagged a table in the middle and looked around as
guests took seats at tables and lined up against the back wall bar.

“This keeps getting weirder and weirder,” Craig whispered
into her ear. She could feel his arm braced against the back of her chair.

“I’m not sure what to expect. This isn’t exactly Sharon’s
style.” Or at least not that Allie knew.

When the groom and his attendants began lining up on stage
and a song Allie recognized began playing over the speakers, she shot her brows
up and smirked at Melissa.

“Is this “Here, There and Everywhere” by the Beatles?”
Melissa asked with an astonished look on her face.

“I do believe you’re right.” Allie stifled a giggle. Despite
the unusual song, when the bridesmaids started down the aisle wearing knee
length dresses right out of the 1950s, Allie felt her pulse quicken. “I don’t
recall Sharon being cool enough to pull this off.” But when her long time
acquaintance stepped onto the red carpet wearing a form fitting mermaid dress and
a vintage hat with birdcage veil, Allie gasped.

“I’d say she’s pulling this off,” Melissa whispered. “She
looks beautiful.”

Allie tore her eyes from Sharon to stare at the groom. From
half way across the room, Allie could see the sheen of tears in his eyes and
the adoring look on his ruddy face. Allie didn’t envy Sharon her groom, but
would have cut off her left hand for a man to look at her with that much love
in his eyes. She sniffled as her throat closed.

Craig leaned in again, his breath tickling her neck. “Tell
me you’re not crying.”

“I can’t help it. They look so happy.”

“Jeez, Blondie.” He rolled his eyes when she looked back at
him, but he pulled a tissue out of her purse and handed it to her. She dabbed
at her eyes as Sharon and her groom held hands and chuckled their way through
the short, but emotion filled ceremony. They marched out of the room to Frank
Sinatra’s “Fly Me To The Moon.”

“Well,” Craig said as the crowd began mingling around the
room. “At least it was quick.”

“That was very heartfelt,” Allie said to Melissa. “Unusual,
but lovely.”

“Where’s the chow?” Craig asked. She could tell he was
trying to lighten her mood. “You promised me food.”

Ben pointed up the ramp to the room where they’d started. “I
see a buffet line forming now.”

“I’m going to hit the restroom first,” Craig said. “I’ll
meet you in line.”

She nodded and watched him walk away.

“How’d you meet Craig Archer?” Ben asked.

“He’s the uncle of one of my clients. Plus I ran into his
car, or he ran into mine. We had an accident.”

“What was he driving?” Ben asked. “A Maserati?”

“Why would you ask me that?”

“Allie, that guy’s worth a few million.”

Allie dropped her wine glass away from her mouth before she
could take a sip. “What are you talking about, Ben? He’s a home renovator.”

“I’m sure he can dabble in whatever he wants since he sold
Archer Construction a few years ago.”

“How do you know this?”

“I’m an engineer, remember? His company built some of the
biggest buildings in Atlanta and the southeast. He sold out to Bell Buildings
what…” He looked up at the ceiling where a fan lazily spun the fragrant air.
“Five, six years ago, before the market went to crap. He’s loaded.”

Craig? Loaded? “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Ben said. “You reeled in a big fish this time.”

Chapter 22

Melissa returned to the table from the buffet line before
Craig and Allie. They had gone to the carving station together. They made an
incredible couple, so easy on the eyes and easy with each other.

Ben sat down next to her before frowning at his empty glass.
“You need another drink?” he asked. “I’m going to the bar.”

“No, I’m good for now.”

“I’m getting you another.”

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” she asked.

“Not a bad idea.” He rubbed her shoulder and then leaned
down to nip at her skin. “But the bar’s packed and I don’t want to have to
fight the crowd ten minutes after I get back.”

God it felt good to get out of the house, get out of their
suburban bubble, and be with her husband again. She loved her son more than
anything in the world, but it felt exquisite to be something other than a mommy
for a night. She popped an olive into her mouth and sat back to wait for
someone to return to the table before she dug into her plate. She glanced up in
time to see Craig leading Allie back into the room with his hand at the small
of her back.

“Would you please quit talking to me as if I’ve always had
men at my beck and call?” Allie said to Craig. “I didn’t even go to prom, and
not because I didn’t want to. Nobody even asked.”

They set their plates down and Craig helped her into her
seat. He had great manners.

“That’s because you were beautiful, smart, and quiet,” Craig
countered. “Not many teenagers can work up the courage to ask a girl like you
out.”

“You would,” Allie said, snapping her napkin onto her lap.
“So, what unattractive, stupid chatterbox did you take to prom?”

Craig’s smile brought out an adorable set of dimples Melissa
hadn’t expected to find on such a rugged face. “Annabeth Collins.”

“So you admit she wasn’t pretty, smart, or quiet?”

“She was easy, which was my only qualification back then.”

“Of course it was.” Allie picked up her fork and moved food
around her plate. “Why do I even bother trying to have a conversation with
you?”

Melissa had never seen Allie so relaxed with a man and felt
her enjoyment of the night kick into high gear.

“Where’s Ben?” Allie asked.

“At the bar. He needed a refill.”

Craig glanced at his and Allie’s glasses. “Not a bad idea.”
He stood up and pointed at Allie’s wine. “You want another?”

“Sure,” she said and smiled as he walked off.

“He likes you, Allie, and you like him. I don’t know why you
refuse to admit it.”

“We’re friends. Why can’t you accept that for the first time
in my life, I have a male friend?”

“Because friends don’t look at one another the way the two
of you look at each other.”

Allie peered down her nose at Melissa. “Would you please
stop putting ideas into my head? Yes, I like him. I like having him as a
friend. He’s helping me understand the men I date and I’m trying to do the same
for him. Why do you have to ruin it with all this talk?”

“I’m not trying to ruin your friendship, but you have to
admit he’s good for you. I’ve never seen you like this around a guy, so
comfortable and so…you. You act like yourself around him, and I think that’s
great.”

“That’s because there’s no pressure. He’s not interested in
me, so I don’t have to worry about what I say and how I look and what I do. I
can be myself and I’m enjoying it. So, yes, I'm enjoying him. If there's an
undertone of attraction, believe me, it's one sided.”

“For him to be so uninterested, he sure is careful to watch
where you are and who you’re talking to.”

“He’s probably afraid I’m going to ditch him.”

“He doesn’t look afraid, Allie, he looks interested.”

“He’s not. And neither am I.”

“Really?” Melissa asked. “So you don’t mind that he’s
talking to one of the bridesmaids?”

Allie whipped her head around to where Craig stood talking
to Ben. She’d turned too quickly to pretend not to be jealous. “Ha. Very
funny.”

“You didn’t seem too uninterested.”

“Look, quit stirring the pot. He’s made it abundantly clear
that I’m not his type.”

“We’ve covered this, Allie. If he’s not gay—and if he
is, my gaydar is broken beyond repair—then he’s interested. And I say
that for more than just the obvious. He’s at a wedding where he doesn’t know
the bride or groom. He’s just met Ben and me, so we’re not the appeal. He’s
having a good time. He’s having a good time with you.”

“Which is why we’re friends.” Allie speared a lobster filled
ravioli with her fork and glanced up, only to blanch before Melissa’s eyes.
“Oh, God.”

“What’s wrong?” Melissa asked.

Allie nodded with her head behind Melissa’s shoulder.
“Nick’s here.”

***

Craig returned to the table with his beer and a wine for
Allie just as she bolted from her chair and made her way through the crowd.
“Everything okay?” Craig asked.

“Allie’s going to the restroom.” Melissa dropped her napkin
on the table and stood up. “I think I’ll join her. Excuse me, please.”

Ben shrugged at Craig and, after depositing the drinks on
the table, sat down and started eating.

Craig tried to listen as Ben asked him question after
question about Archer Construction and the sale and his renovation work. He
answered, ate, and all the while couldn’t help but worry about the look he saw
on Allie’s face before she barreled past him. He couldn’t imagine what could
have upset her in so little time, leaving her pale and anxious. When Melissa
returned to the table without Allie, his sense of dread felt justified.

“Did you lose someone?” he asked.

“Allie needed some air. She said to tell you she’d be back
in a minute.”

Needed some air? In this neighborhood? Craig stood up and
grabbed Allie’s wine. “Which way’d she go?”