Free One Hot Night Old Port Nights, Book 1 by Unknown

book. A story about a relationship with a domineering man didn’t appeal to her. But maybe Deb was right—even in her choice of reading, Audra closed down possibilities. She kept things, and people, at bay. Where they couldn’t hurt her.
    “I know. I know I do that. It’s hard for me to deal with the in-between stuff. I need my feet solidly planted somewhere. I guess because I felt adrift after my marriage broke up, and I lost that business…and now here I am again, adrift.”
    “That tells you something, right?”
    Audra smirked. “Are you getting all Zen on me? The whole bit about change being the only thing that’s constant? Nothing is ever permanent?”
    “Well, that, and that you can handle it. You made it. You got knocked off your feet—me too. And we made it. We’re fine. No matter what, you’ll be fine.”
    Audra took a deep breath, thinking about what Deb was saying. Was she repeating old patterns rather than establishing new ones? Had she really moved forward, if that was true?
    “You’re right. I don’t know what it means for me and Scott, but I’ll give it some thought.”
    “Good. Because you shouldn’t give up on something good if you found it—especially when he puts that look on your face when you talk about him.”
    “What look?”
    “The ‘he’s amazing and gave me the best sex of my life’ look.”
    “I didn’t realize there was a look for that.”
    “There’s a look for everything, hon,” Deb said with a wink. “And speaking of new ventures, did you see that that place down on the water—the old fishing warehouse—is up for lease? I thought about checking it out. Maybe you should.”
    “I did see the sign, but that’s a prime location, and it’s huge—I could never afford it.”
    “I have a realtor looking into it. I don’t know that I could afford it either, but maybe…if you were open to the idea, the two of us together could afford it. I’d like to add a coffee shop to the bookstore, or something like that, but antiques and books go hand-in-hand. We could work something out, or if I swing it for my shop, you could share my space until you found another spot you wanted to be in. Anyway, no pressure, but so that you know that you have an option.”
    Audra blinked away tears. “That’s good of you, Deb. Maybe I’ll take you up on some storage space, if you have it, but I don’t think I can promise anything otherwise. Not yet. And while the idea of being partners is intriguing, I have to wait and see what the insurance says. I can just about pay my rent and live for the next six months with what I have in savings, but that’s it. And now that I’ve lost the summer season, there’s no way I could invest in a partnership.”
    “Try to break out of that all-or-nothing thinking, Audra—if you let people help, maybe we can find a way to make it work.”
    “Like what?”
    “Well, maybe you can put some things in the bookstore now and sell them there, if that helps. Who knows? You might find some new customers. We can work out the rest later.”
    “Oh, that would be awesome. That’s a great idea.”
    “I won’t even take a percentage,” Deb said with a smartass grin.
    Audra threw a fry at her and suddenly felt a lot better.
    Deb turned serious. “And you should talk to him, one way or the other. I think you and I could be great in business together, if you’re interested, and you’d still be here—do you really want to call it quits with Scott when you barely got started?”
    Audra shook her head. “I don’t know. For someone who is allergic to romantic commitment, you sure seem intent on making me reconsider this.”
    “I’m not saying be with him forever. Just be open to the possibilities. Don’t let your crappy ex-husband dictate the terms of every relationship you ever have, even if it’s one you only have temporarily, or for fun, or forever. At the very least, get closure. End it as well as you can. Or not. But face him. You’ll feel better