Sunday Snippet: The Deep End

Very long week. Once again, the weather is all over the map, but spring might be peeking around the corner. Or, well, possibly summer. We could see eighty degrees (F) this week.

I might be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on numerous work projects. I'm kind of excited about a couple of them being closer to the author's publication date. I have several nonfiction projects that have been super challenging but they're great books.

Had a decent viewing week. I did skip my new show this week. Didn't have the mindset to watch. Dark Winds will hopefully return during this upcoming week.

I'm almost finished with London Kills and it's such a good show. I've really enjoyed the way the weekly cases weave in and out of the overall story arc. And the character growth has been well done.

Caught another episode of Death in Paradise with the season twelve holiday episode. Really good storyline! It's fun to get Selwyn backstory.

Watched another episode of Beyond Paradise. Sad to see Anne get caught up in a not-so-great situation. Loved the way Martha handled Zoe's mistake. Also fun to have Humphrey and Martha approved for fostering.

Got blown away by another episode of Elementary. The case ended up being intriguing and the end? Wow. Did not expect that to happen.

Watched an episode of Batman Beyond and enjoyed it. I remember this one from my original run through and loved the call back to Batman: The Animated Series.

Enjoyed another episode of Classic Rugrats. I don't remember either of the vignettes and particularly liked the video game one.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from The Deep End, a novella about falling quickly into the deep end of romance.

Here's the miniblurb:

Raelin is six months into a relationship with Eames but isn't feeling the spark … until she meets Eric, Eames's brother. The sibling rivalry takes an ugly turn, and Raelin takes a big step back so the men can mend fences. But her gesture backfires when Eric cuts off all communication with his brother.

And a snippety peek…

Eric hovered in the background when Eames rolled in and knocked on Raelin's door.

His brother barely crossed the threshold before he apologized. "Rae, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dogged you about Eric.” He rubbed a hand through his hair and shrugged sheepishly. "Please don't hold that against me." He lowered his head and gave her his best puppy dog look.

Eric rolled his eyes and snorted. "Smart move, bro. She wasn't too happy with you." And she really had put her knives in a cupboard.

Raelin narrowed her gaze. "She’s in the room, and I'm not happy with either of you." She turned and headed for the window, pulling the shade aside to gaze through the glass.

Eames apologized to Eric next. “Look, man, Raelin's honest to a fault. And she gave it to me straight. But finding out she felt something for you and not me stung.” He rolled a shoulder. “But she made a clean break and it's really none of my business who she falls for—even if it's my brother."

Eric grunted. "It's not like we meant to like each other, and once we started dating, we didn't try to hide it. And, frankly, you didn't exactly seem stressed out about the breakup." He gave Eames a hard look. "But you stepped way out of line and ruined something that could have been great." And that part sucked balls.

Eames held up his hands. "I know. I'm sorry, man. I’m over it. If you two get together, I won’t stand in the way." He took a big step backward, emphasizing his promise.

Eric snorted. "Fat chance of that. Raelin pretty much hates both of us—not that I blame her."

Raelin made a frustrated noise. "Again, I'm in the room and, yes, I'm pissed." Her voice lowered. "But … this a weird, awkward situation with no real rule book, regardless of whatever bro code you seem to think you have to live by." She directed her attention to Eames with a hard look.

Eames flushed. "Point taken. But … seriously, I just wanted to apologize and let you know I'm done being stupid. What you two decide from here is up to you.” He started toward the door.

Eric nodded. "Thanks. And, yeah, let's head out and leave Raelin to enjoy what's left of the weekend." He'd made a promise, and he planned to stick to it.

Even if giving her space made him uneasy. He didn't want to let things or her go. But he didn't blame her for needing a moment or ten to figure out whether she wanted to be with him or not.

He walked out with Eames, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time he left Raelin’s.

Mending fences isn't easy even if it's the right thing to do. Eric has to go an extra mile to fix things with his brother and Raelin.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin