Free Love Without Rules (Contemporary Romance) by Kate Goldman

don’t trash your ex. (Sure, your ex may have done terrible things, but when you think about them, you realize that all of that is in the PAST. It doesn’t matter now that they snored in bed, or that they never took out the trash. That doesn’t mean you have to be friends or speak positively about them, though.)
·          You’re not getting into a new relationship just because you feel lonely. (Yes, loneliness gets to the best of us. But that doesn’t mean it’ll help if you get into a new relationship just to have someone to cuddle with at night.)
·          You just know. (Sometimes, there is no sign. You just feel that you’re ready and you’re completely prepared.)
     
Good luck!
     

Chapter 9
     
    Time passed so quickly that Sydney could barely keep up. She was finally beginning to return to a normal routine of blogging. Her finances had somewhat stabilized with the advertisement revenue from her website. The TV disaster had actually helped, because more people than ever went to her site to check out what it was all about. And some of them had stayed as new fans.
     
    All the buzz from the disaster faded after a couple weeks. Love Doctor Sydney Stone was no longer a horrible topic of gossip, more like last week’s news. And Sydney could not have been more grateful. She was no longer being recognized when shopping at the grocery store or at the mall.
     
    Sydney had also picked up a new hobby: running. Almost every morning, she would wake up bright and early to go jogging. It was doing wonders for her health, and her body began to grow stronger. Sydney felt great. Even her book sales picked up a tiny bit.
     
    Sydney was on the streets, coming home after a tiring run. It was still early in the morning, and she felt liberated. Running allowed her to free her mind, and she loved thinking about things as she ran. Things like Drew. Drew had asked her to be exclusive with him a month ago. She had said yes, happily.
     
    Drew was like a breath of fresh air, blowing through her life, making sure that she looked at things differently. In fact, he had changed her entire perspective on relationships. Sydney realized that rules and tricks were not everything. She didn’t need those things to make a relationship successful. Scott had been the finest example. She had done everything perfectly, by the book, her book, and things still didn’t work out. Scott himself had faded from her mind, and she no longer felt that aching in her heart when she thought of him.
     
    The thought had struck Sydney that she should write a new book, about all the new things she had learned from this wonderful new relationship with Drew. But because the sales for the first book were still doing only averagely, no publishing house would take that leap of faith without a lump sum of money to start off. A lump sum of money she didn’t have.
     
    Sydney pondered if she should put the time and effort into creating another book as she walked back to her apartment building. She thought about calling Drew, but it was still early in the morning and he was probably still sleeping. Sydney rounded the corner to her apartment.
     
    “Surprise!” Drew exclaimed.
     
    Sydney jumped. “Oh my gosh! Drew! It’s eight in the morning, what’re you doing here?!” Drew pulled her in and kissed her passionately.
     
    “I wanted to see you. And look, I brought breakfast!” Drew held up a Starbucks bag. There were also two drinks sitting in a tray on the ground. “Come on, let’s eat! I’m starving, and it is way too early.”
     
    “Nobody told you to get up!” Sydney laughed as she unlocked the door and pulled Drew inside. Drew was always doing little things like this, which she greatly appreciated.
     
    They went inside, and Drew showed her the contents of the bag. “It’s a blueberry scone, and a pretzel chocolate stick. Your favorite.” He smiled as he kissed her. “Oh, and a vanilla latte.”
     
    “You’re so perfect,