THE REEL THING

They say time heals all wounds, but what happens when a mandated leave of absence forces Samantha Banks to return to the lakeside cottage where her heart was shattered - and face the man responsible? What if the heartbreaker is also the healer?

Samantha never thought she'd see Jeremy again. Still haunted by their lost love nurtured amidst Loon Lake’s birch trees and sapphire waters, she returns five years later for a mandated month-long leave of absence from her job. After an aberrant meltdown, Samantha is determined to prove to her boss that she's emotionally steady and ready to lead a coveted account, one with deep personal significance. Landing this account will also bury her so deep in work she can barely breathe. Which is good…even breathing hurts.

Ostracized from her only outlet, Samantha is forced to confront the recent tragic loss of her brother, Christopher. Upon her arrival, she discovers the resort is under new ownership by the third member of their once inseparable trio, Jeremy, who’s come to face his own demons and losses.
Which would be fine, if she wasn’t still nursing the wound he left her with five years ago when he severed ties with both her and Christopher, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions and broken promises.

Clinging to the place that holds the fragments of their most treasured memories, Samantha and Jeremy are thrust together to renovate their once-beloved lakeside retreat by the endearing, yet meddling, former owner and childhood “second mom”, Ms. Pat. The problem is, the aloof image Samantha portrays toward Jeremy is just that…an image.

And his eyes…if she could swim in them before, surely she could drown in them now.

With each passing moment spent together at the lake, Samantha's protective armor is tested, yet with each denial, she drifts further away from her true self. She abandoned her plans for him once before, the repercussions of which still linger. Now, torn between her heart and a career-defining project she can't bear to relinquish—one that promises redemption for a past decision that cost her dearly—Samantha faces an impossible choice. After all that's happened, could Jeremy be the life preserver she needs, or will the waves of her pain, coupled with the undertow of professional duty and personal atonement, swell with the wind of his past rejection, pulling her under for good this time?