The Accidental Encore (22 page)

“Don't you want that for yourself?”

“I had that, and look where it got me.” He sat up and looked
around the room. “I'm better off on my own.”

“Craig, you don't really mean that, do you? You don't really
want to be alone forever?”
   

“Allie. I don’t want to talk about this.” He flipped a
napkin over and over on the table while staring at it as if he’d find the
answer he was seeking underneath. “No one knows Julie cheated.”

“You didn’t tell anyone?”

He shook his head from side to side, daring her to question
him.

“Not even Mark?”

“Julie and Becca were best friends. Becca had to have known
and if she knew, chances are Mark knew too.”

“But you don’t know for sure?”

“Knowing won’t change anything.”

“You might be able to figure out why.”

“Do you know why Nick cheated on you?” he asked. “Does it
help?”

Allie felt the sting of his question like a slap, but she’d
started this conversation and she owed it to him to be honest. “He said I was
boring, and whether or not it’s true, it’s how I think of myself now. So I
guess there might be some solace in not knowing.”

“First of all, you’re not boring.” He sat back and linked
his fingers in his lap. “And second of all, I’m pretty sure why she cheated.”

“Okay,” she said, anxious for him to go on. He’d already
told her more than he’d told anyone. Would it hurt to finish the story? “Why?”

“I worked all the time. I told myself it was for her, for
all the stuff she wanted—the house, the cars, the lifestyle, but my
business was growing and I couldn’t let go of the reins. The bigger and faster
it grew, the longer and harder I worked. I knew it was affecting her and our
marriage, but I couldn’t give up the control.”

“I wouldn’t call you a workaholic, Craig. You spend plenty
of time with Leah.”

“Some lessons are learned a little too late.”

“Ben said you sold your company.”

“Couple years ago. It was easy to let it go when it didn’t
mean very much anymore.”

“Much harder to let your wife go.”

“It about killed me—the grief and regret. Until I
found those emails and it didn’t mean very much anymore.”

He was kidding himself about that, but she wasn’t going to
argue with a man so obviously haunted by his demons. “Thank you for telling me,
Craig. It puts this whole situation with Nick into perspective.”

“I don’t want you thinking you’re boring, Allie. I’ve never
been bored around you.”

“Give me time,” she said to lighten the mood. “I’m not the
most exciting person in the world, but I know he was wrong. It’s kind of like
the dates I’ve gone on. Mostly I feel nothing towards the men I meet online. No
interest, no spark, nothing. I would have settled for nothing before. I did
with Nick.”

Craig reached over and ran his hand down her back. “Life’s
too short to feel nothing.”

He may as well have scraped a match along her spine. She
struggled not to shiver. Amazing how a simple touch could ignite her skin and
send prickles of excitement through her body. He hadn’t meant to set her
insides on fire, and she felt sure he’d be shocked if he knew what he’d done.

“I know.” She reached over and rested her hand on his leg.
“Look at you. I’ve never felt nothing around you.”

She recognized the panic that crossed his face, the way he
gaped at her in stunned silence. Because she had no intention of making a move
on a man who clearly had zero interest in her, she threw her head back and laughed.
“Don’t freak out, Craig. I was going to say that my irritation with you was
worlds better than the nothing I usually feel for men.” She wished the only
emotion she felt toward Craig were irritation. “Besides, look at the lovely
friendship that blossomed out of irritation.”

***

Craig wasn’t sure what possessed him to do it. It could have
been the way she looked at him when he thought she’d meant more than
irritation. It could have been the way she continued to touch him, a squeeze
here, a tender graze there. It could have been the idea of waltzing her across
the dance floor in front of her ex and watching him seethe in anger for what
he’d given up. No matter what her ex had told her, no matter what she thought,
any man who’d had a taste of Allie and walked away didn’t walk away unscathed.

“Come on,” he said after hopping to his feet. “Let’s work
off some of that food.”

“You want to dance?” she asked.

He pulled her to her feet. “Why not? Isn’t that what you do
at weddings?”

He’d forgotten how powerfully her scent could entice him
with all the other smells that littered the air. When he had her in his arms,
her sinful fragrance kicked him in the gut. He forgot they weren’t dating, he
forgot he was doing her a favor, he forgot he didn’t want the woman in his arms
to match him step for step, sway for sway. If they were this in tune on the
dance floor, how good would it be if he took her to bed?

“You’re full of surprises, Craig Archer.”

“My mom teaches dance at the Y back home. Her boys know how
to dance.”

“I’ll say.”

He expertly swung her around and back into his arms. He
closed his eyes as her laughter filled his ears. “Ben told me you’re loaded.”

“What?” He pulled back and recognized the smirk on her face.

“He said you sold your company for several million.”

“So?” he said when she continued to stare at him. “Does it
matter?”

“No, I just didn’t have a clue. I should have figured it out
when I saw your house and that fantastic car we arrived in.”

“Does it change the way you think of me?” he asked before he
could stop himself. Now who was fishing for compliments? He'd lost his mind and
was wading into dangerous territory.

“Ummm,” she purred as his hand inched lower on her waist.
“You’re more complex, which I suppose makes you more attractive.”

They were too close; the music, some seductive song that had
images of New Orleans and sweaty sex mingling through his head, was too
intoxicating. That stupid challenge Melissa had wagered kept running through
his head. He was the man for the job, all right, but the job just might kill
him.

Their gazes locked, and in Allie’s eyes, he saw fear and
desire. He wasn’t so far out of the game that he couldn’t recognize a woman
begging to be kissed. His gaze drifted to her mouth where the tip of her tongue
wet her bottom lip.

“Ouch,” Allie said as the couple behind them slammed into
Craig's back, causing him to slap his forehead against Allie's.

It was the douse of cold water he needed. Fate had stepped
in and saved him from making a colossal mistake. A mistake that could have cost
him a friendship and the very carefully erected walls he'd build around his
heart. “Sorry.” He gave his head a rub to ease the sting.

Did he really think he possessed enough self-control to stop
with just a taste of Allie? He’d have gobbled her whole in a room full of her
friends, embarrassing them both. It was better to never start something he had
no intention of finishing. “I think that’s our cue to end the dance.”

“Oh, look,” Allie said and pointed to the corner of the
room. “They're cutting the cake.”

“Are you going to cry again?”

“No, but I think I'd like another glass of wine.”

He didn't need her drunk and willing, that was for sure.
“How about some cake to wash it down?” he suggested.

“I'll get the cake,” she said. “You get the wine.”

“Deal.”

They met back at the table and ate, drank, and watched as
the happy couple danced and mingled around the room. When the bride approached
their table, Craig marveled at how the women hugged and preened as if the best
of friends. If Allie hadn't told him she didn't like the bride, he would never
have guessed.

When the bride shifted to an adjacent table, Craig leaned
over and asked, “So what is it you don't like about her again?”

“I'm not sure anymore.” She played with the stem of her
wineglass and pursed her lips in thought. “She was petty and jealous and
sometimes mean.” She looked over her shoulder to where the bride hugged an
older woman. “I think falling in love and being happy has changed her for the
better.”

“For a little while, at least.”

“Come on, Craig,” she said. “I know you've been hurt in the
worst possible way, but even you can't look at her, at them together, and think
anything but the best for them.”

“I wish them luck,” he said. “They're going to need it.”

“My parents had a terrible marriage. To this day, my mother
is bitter and angry. My father moved on and he's been married now for almost
twenty years.” She looked him square in the eye. “Don't be like my mother,
Craig. Don't choose to be unhappy.”

“I'm not unhappy, Allie. Being alone doesn't mean I'm
unhappy.”

“Choosing to be alone forever may feel like the safe option,
but being safe and being happy are two completely different things.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is that free advice, or do I owe you
something for your analysis?”

“Just keep your eyes open for the possibility of love. It's
out there, Craig, for both of us. I, for one, am going to be ready when it
arrives.”

She would, Craig knew. She'd fall head over heels into the
arms of some lucky bastard who could never appreciate all the fascinating
aspects of Allie. He knew it would happen sooner rather than later and would
bring an abrupt end to their friendship. Damn shame, he thought, because he'd
never had a friend quite like Allie.

Chapter 24

Craig used one hand to balance on the ladder and used his
other to retrieve his ringing cell phone. He was going to turn it off and
continue spackling the drywall when he saw Mark's name on the display.

“Hey,” he said, dropping the trowel and carefully descending
the rungs. “What's up?”

“You're a hard man to get in touch with,” Mark said. “I
called you on Saturday and you didn't answer. Big date?”

He knew he should lie, tell Mark he'd gone out with some
woman he'd met online, but he'd never felt comfortable lying to his little
brother. They'd been through too much, shared too many things for him to be so
callous. “I had a wedding.”

“A wedding? Whose?”

Mark had always been nosey. “No one you know.”

“
You
put on a suit and went to a wedding and all for
someone I don't know? Now I'm not just curious, but intrigued. What gives?”

Damn it, did the man have any responsibilities at work?
“Fine, I'll tell you, but I don't want you giving me any grief.” He sighed and
gritted his teeth before saying, “I went to a wedding with Allie. She needed a
date. End of story.”

“End of story? Sounds like the beginning of the story to
me.”

“Look, you were friends with Allie for years, so I'm not
sure why you have such a hard time believing the two of us are just friends.”

“I was friends with Allie because I was in love with
Carolyn. Which is actually why I'm calling, but you don't have an excuse to be
just friends with Allie.”

“Sure I do. She's a woman in the classic sense of the word.
She's bossy and nosey and full of opinions.” And beautiful and vulnerable and
so damn multilayered that she kept him on his toes every time they were
together. When he'd dropped her off at her house, she'd kissed him on the cheek
and he'd almost—almost—turned his head and discovered her exact
flavor. His last thread of sanity and the offhand remark she'd made on the ride
home about going to church the next morning were the only things that had kept
him from giving in.

“And beautiful, and available, and probably hoping for a
little Archer love. I don't know what happened to you, man, but you never used
to try so hard to hide your conquests.”

“Allie's not a conquest, you ass, she's a friend. Why is
that so hard to believe?”

“Because I've known you all my life and I'm not stupid. The
more you deny it, Craig, the more I know there's something going on. Just admit
it. Do you think I'd have a problem with it?”

“There's nothing to admit other than the fact that you're
wrong. Why are you calling me?”

Mark huffed out an impatient breath. “Carolyn and I could
use a night alone. Any chance Leah can hang out with you on Saturday night,
maybe have a sleepover?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Of course. I'm meeting a potential client
Saturday afternoon in Buckhead at three. I could pick her up on my way back,
say five or so?”

“Perfect. She'll be excited. She wants to see that Katherine
Heigl movie and Carolyn doesn't think it's appropriate.”

“Are you warning me or telling me to let her watch it?”

“It's your call.”

“But I'll catch hell from Carolyn if I let her watch it?”

“Not if she doesn't find out.”