One Hot Night Old Port Nights, Book 1 (9 page)

She’d be moving away, and he knew it would be the end of them, when there had hardly been a beginning.

His feelings for Audra were frightening. It had moved fast and taken him by surprise. To hurt this much after spending one night with a woman seemed insane—though he suspected he’d been falling for a long time, watching her and talking to her over those five years. When she finally was his, everything fell into place.

And then it fell apart.

He slid off the bar stool and took a moment as the world around him tilted slightly. Maybe another drink wasn’t the best idea, but he didn’t want to think anymore.

Haunting lyrics about love lost from a Dave Matthews song played in the bar, spookily appropriate for the moment. He found the system controls behind the bar and shut the damned thing off.

The quiet was almost worse.

Suddenly, he heard a noise at the door. Someone moved in the shadows, and Scott faced the door, unsure if it was an intruder trying to jimmy the door—there had been a few problems with break-ins, intruders trying to loot the defunct antique shop at night. Then a figure stepped into the light.

Audra.

What was she doing here at this hour?

She didn’t knock but met his eyes through the glass, her phone to her ear. His rang.

“Audra?” Scott’s heart was slamming in his chest as he walked to the door, still holding the phone to his ear.

“Hi. I know it’s late, but can I come in?”

Scott shoved his phone in his pocket, barely able to unlock the doors fast enough.

When he opened the door, he wanted to grab her and pull her in close. Instead, he stepped back and let her walk by him, into the bar.

Awkwardness settled between them as she stood, hands in pockets while he fiddled with locking up the door again.

When he turned to face her, he searched her face, looking for any hint of why she was here so late.

“It’s good to see you, Audra. I’ve been…concerned.”

“I’m sorry for showing up in the middle of the night, but I needed to talk to you before I lost my nerve.”

She cut off his protest and surprised him by stepping forward, placing a hand on his arm. Every nerve ending in his body leapt in response to her touch. He drew back, slowly, letting her hand drop from his arm. Whatever blur he’d achieved through his earlier drinking seemed to evaporate into thin air. His mind cleared as his muscles tightened.

“I-I’ve been thinking. A lot.”

She shivered as she spoke the words, and he frowned, unsure if she was nervous or cold.

“Me too. Come in, let me get you something warm, and we can talk.”

“That would be very nice, thanks.”

“Do you want to hang up your coat?”

She looked down, as if she’d forgotten she was still in full winter gear.

“Um, I don’t think I should.”

He nodded, figuring that was her way of saying she didn’t plan to stay long.

“Okay, sure. Here, have a seat at the bar, and I’ll get you a brandy. You driving?”

She hesitated again, and nodded. Scott was picking up a very weird vibe that he wasn’t sure how to interpret, but went with it.

“Maybe some tea, instead. I’ll put the water on out back. Give me a second.”

He returned from the kitchen a few minutes later and took the stool next to her.

“I needed to talk to you too, actually. About some new developments.”

“Okay, but first—”

The teakettle started whistling behind him. Scott excused himself with a sigh and hurried back with two steaming mugs, relieved to find she was still there. He didn’t know why, but he’d feared she might leave when he wasn’t looking.

“Thank you. Anyway,” she said as she paused to blow on the hot tea. “I need to apologize for how badly I treated you the night of the storm—I was out of my head, but I think I was also afraid of what happened. Of the intensity between us. I’ve been resisting it—those times you asked me out, I was fighting the tug of…whatever that was. Then, when I found out how wonderful it was and how wonderful you are…it scared me. It was supposed to be a one-night stand, but I’m not built that way. By the time you were showing me your memorabilia collection, I was already thinking about tomorrow, the next day and the summer…and I know that wasn’t what you were looking for.”

Scott’s heart slammed in his chest. “I
was
thinking about tomorrow too, Audra. Why avoid it, if you felt the same way?”

She drank some tea, filling the pause, and Scott waited.

“I-I was so angry at myself. Angry that I had put the thing I cared most about in someone else’s hands, and that I had lost it all, again. And terrified.”

Scott took the cup of tea from her shaking hands and set it on the bar.

“What happened, Audra? Tell me what happened with your ex.”

She took another deep breath. “I was happily married. I loved my husband, and as far as I know, he loved me. We wanted a family, and I’d run a small antique business before we met that we started running together. What was mine became ours. He invested money to improve the building and the inventory, and we talked about making it a family thing. When it came time to have children, I couldn’t seem to. I lost the ones I did manage to conceive, and then a doctor told me it was never going to happen. I won’t get into why, but it was the beginning of the end and I never saw it coming. Walt, my ex, he started having affairs. I didn’t know—I was clueless—but then one day, a young woman came into the shop. Very pregnant. With his baby.”

“Oh, Christ, Audra.” Scott’s voice was a choked whisper, but he didn’t say anything else, letting her finish.

“So, when he found out, and he knew I knew, he asked for a divorce. He wanted to go with her and have his family. He took the business as well. He said he had invested much more money than I ever had, and he bought me out for the original worth, which was enough for me to get started again this time, barely. But I lost the store I’d built, and everything along with it.”

Scott was shocked. “How could that happen? How is that even legal?”

“I put his name on the paperwork, legal co-owners, and he had the financial paperwork to show his investments. My main investment was time, and that it was mine to start with, but then I lost it. He had a good lawyer, far better than what I could afford, and I was completely heartbroken. I needed to escape. I couldn’t stand dragging it out, watching him there with
her
, and having my stupidity and my failures rubbed in my face.”

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, and Scott couldn’t take it anymore. He reached out and pulled Audra in close.

“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry.”

She sniffled and pulled away, reaching for a napkin on the bar to blow her nose before continuing.

“When I realized I was attracted to you, I couldn’t let myself fall for another man who was also involved in my livelihood. I had to force myself even to rent this space, because I was fearful of history repeating itself. But it was what I could afford, and better than I ever imagined. And you were great—I didn’t want to screw that up. But I did anyway…”

“No, you didn’t mess anything up.”

“I did. I couldn’t see anything straight. You were good to me, generous, supportive to the extent of putting off the repairs because I asked you to. You wanted to help when I lost the store—you didn’t try to take it away. But all I could see was another man whom I’d let control my life. I thought you only wanted to help because we had sex, and if I let you, I would only be more indebted to you. I couldn’t let that happen.”

Scott pulled back. “Wow. You really thought that?”

She nodded, tears swelling in her eyes. “I did. I’m sorry. I know it’s not the case, but…well, I’m just a mess, because I never let myself get past what happened with my ex. I thought I did, but I didn’t.”

“I’m sorry that you had to go through all of that. But you have to know I never would have held anything in the business against you, or felt you owed me anything because we were personally involved.”

“See, you’re a nice guy. I knew that. I guess I just couldn’t let myself believe it. And I also couldn’t let myself accept help.”

Scott let her go, shaking his head. He could see how after she went through what she had with her ex that her independence would be important to her, and why getting involved with someone she worked with would be absolutely a bad thing. What worried him more was though she seemed to know that he only wanted to help, he had to tell her that he couldn’t help. Lost Treasures really was gone.

Fuck.

He looked her in the eyes and wished he had better news. “The problem is, I’ve tried to find a way to rebuild Lost Treasures, but I can’t find a way. I did want to help, but I could never recoup the financial loss, so my business manager is recommending an expansion. But maybe, if you let me help, maybe offer you a loan until your insurance comes in, or even if it doesn’t you can find somewhere close—”

“It’s okay, Scott,” she interrupted. “I actually figured as much—I knew last summer that once those repairs started, you’d have to raise my rent, and I probably wouldn’t be able to afford it. I guess that’s also why I tried to put it off. I think that’s wonderful that you can expand. You should. And I have a plan.”

He felt more like hell that she was being understanding. “What are you going to do? I still want to see you. I still want more. Wherever you go, maybe we can make it work.”

“Me too…that’s why I came here tonight. In the middle of the night. I was trying to sleep, and all I could think of was how stupid I’d been—again—to have walked away so easily. I let my past cut off any road to a future with someone else. And I needed to know if…if you could forgive that.”

“Forgive what?” Scott was stymied.

“I judged you unfairly, and I walked away. I’ve made assumptions about you because I didn’t want to see who you really were. How wonderful you were. I convinced myself you were some shallow, girl-seeking jock, and then I thought you were just like Walt, which wasn’t true or fair. I decided that I wanted to use you for sex, and walk away. I used the storm as an excuse, in some ways. I’m such a mess. I can’t see why you’d want to help me.”

“Oh, honey, really?” Scott cupped his palm around her cheek and made her look at him. “You really can’t see?”

Something changed in her eyes and her lips parted, some color infusing tear-stained cheeks. She pulled back, pulled away.

“I can’t accept a loan, Scott.”

“Why not?”

“Because this time, whatever I do, I need to do on my own—from a business standpoint. It’s still important to me to make it on my own, though I know that doesn’t mean we can’t be involved. Especially if I find a way to fix my own situation. I was talking with a friend, and I think I have a plan. A way to get my business moving again, locally.”

Scott was intrigued. “Really? How? Internet?”

“I can tell you about it, but—” Audra paused, fanning her face with her hand. “I’m a little overly warm now. Must be the tea. I think I need to lose this jacket.”

“Let me take it for you.”

She stood, and Scott waited for her to unzip before he pulled the jacket away, and what he saw made him stop, catching his breath.

Underneath the jacket, Audra wore only a slight, shiny camisole. The cream color was almost the same as her skin, and his mouth went dry as he wondered what she was wearing under the snow pants.

“I was in a hurry when I decided to come here, before I lost my nerve. I jumped out of bed and didn’t get dressed first.”

“I see that,” Scott croaked.

He threw her coat over the bar and watched as she shimmied the snow pants down, revealing matching bed shorts, trimmed in lace.

“No wonder you were shivering.”

She smiled, but also looked unsure and fragile as she stood there before him. But she wasn’t. Audra was strong, though she didn’t realize it, and he loved that about her.

“I’m not cold now.” Audra took a step forward, close to him, and Scott reached for her, talk of business forgotten. “Quite the opposite, in fact.”

Audra was pretty sure she’d never been this happy in her life, and she planned to enjoy it.

Deb was right, and their conversation had followed her deep into the night hours, taking on special weight after she came home and realized how much she missed Scott, and that she wanted to make things right. It was amazing to her that she’d shut herself off completely, even to the extent of not wanting to take help from her friends. The offer to join businesses with Deb was a good one, and Audra had dismissed it out of hand.

She’d been so afraid that she could never mend ways with Scott that now her heart was flooded with gratitude, and some other emotions that it was too soon to name. But she’d wasted enough time.

She intended to make up for it.

The second his mouth met hers, she knew this was right. He was hungry for her, consuming her in a way that told her what she meant to him—and she returned his fire kiss for kiss, sliding her hands up under his shirt.

“You have too many clothes on.”

“And we’re in full sight of the window,” he said into her neck, a tiny nip there making her gasp.