The Accidental Encore Read Online Free PDF

attractive?”
    “Well, his attitude is a big turn off.”
    “Speaking of turn offs,” Melissa said. “Who’s the big date
with on Friday?”
    Allie blew out a breath. She dreaded her date already and
that wasn’t the attitude she needed when venturing back into the dating pool.
“He’s a dentist. Divorced. No kids.”
    “I thought you didn’t go out with divorcees?”
    “I’m loosening my standards a little. I’m not budging on the
kids, but just because a prior relationship didn’t work out, that doesn’t mean
I should dismiss him altogether. What if his wife cheated on him?”
    “Or what if he cheated on his wife?”
    Allie tried to shrug away the unease in her gut. “I’ll never
know if I don’t go out with him.”
    “True.” Melissa huffed out a big breath. “But all I’ve ever
heard from you is about the sanctity of marriage. I don’t think you could fall
for someone who walked away from that commitment, no matter what the
circumstances.”
    Sometimes Allie hated that Melissa knew her so well. “Just
because my parents’ divorce ripped a hole in our family and, let’s be honest,
my sense of self doesn’t mean I can’t respect someone else’s individual
circumstances.”
    “Allie.” Melissa laid her hand over Allie’s. “It’s okay for
you to go out with total strangers you meet on the Internet, but do me a favor
and be honest about your reasons.”
    “Fine.” Allie pushed off the bench and began pacing around
Henry’s stroller. “My criteria are too stringent to pull up anything other than
strange men who look like serial killers. If I want to go out with a
professional man in his thirties, I’ve got to be prepared for some baggage.
That’s just the cold, hard truth. And let’s face it,” she added with a point to
Melissa’s innocent face. “I’m no virginal teenager. My relationship with Nick
probably equates to a bad marriage.”
    “Except he never pulled the trigger.”
    Allie stopped pacing and stared out at the river. “If he’d
proposed, I would have married him. I would have married him and then been left
to make really hard choices when he cheated on me.” She thought of Nick, so
handsome, so perfect for her in every way but the one that really mattered.
“Thank God he never proposed.”
    Melissa eased off the bench and stretched her hands in the
air before draping one arm around Allie’s shoulders. “I’m glad he’s out of your
life, Al. He was never good enough for you.”
    Allie laid her head on Melissa’s shoulder, so grateful for
her friend’s support, even if she was wrong. Nick left because she wasn’t good
enough for him. “It doesn’t matter now anyway.” Allie grabbed the stroller
handle and turned Henry around. “I read this article in Self-Love magazine that
said you can’t appreciate a good relationship if you haven’t experienced a
really bad one first.”
    “Self-Love Magazine?” Melissa handed Henry the rattle when
he began to fuss at leaving the ducks behind.
    Allie shrugged and began to jog. “I know it sounds hokey,
but I think it’s true. Looking back, lots of things about my relationship with
Nick were messed up, and it never occurred to me to take a stand or rock the boat.
I didn’t have any other long term relationship to compare it to.”
    “No, you didn’t have the backbone to confront him.” She met
Allie’s accusing stare with one of her own. “Whenever he did or said something
that bothered you, you’d complain to me or one of your girlfriends, but you’d
never complain to him.”
    “I just didn’t think any of it was worth a fight.”
    “He wasn’t worth the fight. There’s a difference.”
    Allie snorted. Easy for her to say. “You and Ben never
fight.”
    “Ha!” Melissa clutched her side, but kept up the pace. “We
just don’t fight in front of you.”
    “But you never complain about him.”
    “Allie, I purposely don’t complain to you about him because
I don’t want you to think I’m not