Title: In Over Our Heads
Series: Stories from the Shore
Author: CJane Elliott
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: October 16, 2017
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 67,000
Genre: Romance, Second Chances, Vacation
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Synopsis
Anthony Vallen is the life of any party.
Full of energy and fun, Anthony adores romance and enjoys playing matchmaker
for his friends while dancing the night away with a series of Mr. Right Nows.
But he’s given up on his own happy ending. A bad breakup years ago made him a
secret cynic about love… until he runs into Walter Elkins—the boy who broke his
teenaged heart—on a scuba-diving vacation in Key West. Suddenly, Anthony’s
reasons for shunning romance no longer hold much water. Being with Walter again
forces Anthony to get serious—about himself, his worth, and his heart’s
desires.
Brilliant and self-contained, scientist
Walter Elkins prefers deep thoughts to other people. He’s a good boss and a
model citizen, but Walter doesn’t let anyone get close. After a tragedy drove
him out of his science career, Walter landed in Key West and became owner of a
dive shop and a bar. Things are fine until Anthony Vallen—the only person who
ever penetrated his defenses—shows up, and Walter’s calm, controlled life
capsizes. He and Anthony have a second chance for love, but Walter must
confront the old fears that threaten to torpedo their happiness.
Excerpt
The door burst open, and Sophia sailed
in with my morning cappuccino. She was humming under her breath and had that
telltale postsex glow about her. I tried not to hate her too much.
“What’re you doing in here with me,
doll? Don’t you have a sexy dive instructor to entertain?”
“She had to leave early.” Sophia handed
me the mug. “She’s taking her group out on the ocean dive too, and she had to
go to Back Bay to get the boat ready.”
I took a restorative sip of cappuccino.
“Ahh. Well, I hope you didn’t tire her out too much last night. Or vice versa.”
I winked at her, even though I didn’t feel very winky.
“Guilty on both our parts, I’m afraid.”
Sophia smirked, then perched on the side of my bed. “Can we talk more about
what’s going on with you and Walter?”
“Going on?” I blinked and buried my nose
in the cup. “I mean, I told you guys last night. What more do you need to
know?”
“Whatever it’ll take to help you and him
figure yourselves out, because second chances like this don’t come around
often.”
“God, not you too. You and Jonny need to
start a group for incurable romantics.”
She straightened, her dark eyes snapping
with intensity. “Caro! You’re the one who talks about destiny. This is your
destiny!”
I sighed. She was so over the top
sometimes. Must be her Italian blood. “Maybe my destiny is to be reminded to
never let a guy walk over me the way Walter did.”
“I…. Look, Marco has a good point, and I
agree with him that Walter needs to apologize. It was awful of him to drop out
of sight. You so don’t deserve to be treated that way.”
“Right.” I put down my cup, having lost
my taste for the cappuccino.
“But you two were barely out of high
school. So young! People change. It certainly doesn’t seem in character with
how he is now.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“Well, I mean, Walter seems so
conscientious and thoughtful. Yes, a little gruff, but not someone who would
knowingly hurt you. But maybe… safety seems to be a huge concern to him. And
maybe he couldn’t stand that you almost drowned, and he couldn’t face you after
that? Did he ever explain it to you?”
“No. I begged him to tell me why, and
all he would say is ‘I’m not good for you. I don’t want to hurt you anymore.’ I
guess the safety thing is the most plausible explanation. Because other than
that, it’s bizarre that he would walk away and throw away a great thing. We
were….” I paused, hit by an unexpected wave of grief. “Damn it, Soph, we were
really good together. Yes, we were young, but we complemented each other so
well. Like, I brought him out of his shell, and he calmed me down. And he took
me seriously. He listened to me in a way no one but Jonny ever had before.” My
eyes betrayed me by welling up.
“Oh, Anthony. That’s lovely. I can tell
he still does. Take you seriously, I mean. He hasn’t been able to stop staring
at you the whole time we’ve been around him. It’s obvious he still cares.”
Sophia’s words threw little daggers at
my silly heart. Jonathan had said essentially the same thing. If they both
thought Walter still cared for me, maybe it was true. And God, if it was true,
I was in deep waters. I knew I should stiffen my backbone and armor myself with
outrage. But I couldn’t. Still hung up on Walter Elkins? Guilty as charged.
Convicted. Lock me up and throw away the key, because I had no hope of
rehabilitation. I put my face in my hands for a moment. What a hopeless
sentimental fool!
Luckily for my humiliation factor, Marco
came barging in with a brilliant grin. “All right, darlings! Today’s the day!
Scuba diving or bust! Get ready for the adventure of your lives.” He stopped
short and peered at me. “You okay?”
Pulling myself together, I returned his
smile. “Fabulous, doll! Off to the reefs we go to swim with the fishies!”
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Dreamspinner Press | Amazon
Celebrate the release of In Over Our Heads with a special sale: All the Way to Shore is on sale for 99 cents at Amazon through October 24 with that price matched at the Dreamspinner Press store October 16-24.
Meet the Author
After years of hearing characters
chatting away in her head, CJane Elliott finally decided to put them on paper
and hasn’t looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane enjoys
writing sexy, passionate stories that also explore the human psyche. CJane has
traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers, too,
traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the happy
ending.
CJane is an ardent supporter of LGBTQ
equality and is particularly fond of coming out stories. In her spare time,
CJane can be found dancing, listening to music, or watching old movies. Her
husband and son support her writing habit by staying out of the way when they
see her hunched over, staring intensely at her laptop.
CJane is the author of the award-winning
Serpentine Series, New Adult contemporary novels set at the University of
Virginia. Serpentine Walls was a 2014 Rainbow Awards finalist, Aidan’s Journey
was a 2015 EPIC Awards finalist, and Sex, Love, and Videogames won first place
in the New Adult category in the 2016 Swirl Awards and first place in
Contemporary Fiction in the 2017 EPIC eBook
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