{"product_id":"2940154589236","title":"A Perfect Loss","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt's a perfect life, but\u003cbr\u003e something important is missing. Ruby is just beginning to understand that\u003cbr\u003e what's missing from her perfect marriage is spice. When the brother of their\u003cbr\u003e next door neighbor shows up, home for a visit from construction work, he\u003cbr\u003e doesn't fit in with their suburban lifestyle. He's sweaty, hot, built, and\u003cbr\u003e doesn't care about much of anything. His brother doesn't think much of him,\u003cbr\u003e thinks he is a perfect loss--he's wasted his opportunities. But Ruby finds a\u003cbr\u003e lot to like. Nick shows his appreciation in every hot and unprotected way\u003cbr\u003e imaginable. Several of them she's never tried before.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e~~~~~\u003cbr\u003e Excerpt ~~~~~\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile sitting by her pool on\u003cbr\u003e a sunny Sunday afternoon, sipping a gin and tonic and chatting with her husband\u003cbr\u003e Scott and their neighbors, Jackie and Gerald, Ruby's favorite word came\u003cbr\u003e bubbling to the surface.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Perfect,” she said. When\u003cbr\u003e Jackie looked at her, she grinned. “Everything about this life is perfect.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e“I suppose it is,” her friend\u003cbr\u003e agreed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eScott stood at the grill,\u003cbr\u003e cooking burgers and talking with Gerald about a baseball game while she and\u003cbr\u003e Jackie relaxed in the chaise lounge chairs. Scott was handsome and attentive\u003cbr\u003e and she’d made their house into exactly the kind of place she'd always dreamed\u003cbr\u003e about. They had a big mortgage, but they didn't really have any money worries.\u003cbr\u003e Scott's job paid well, and she taught high school, which didn't pay so well,\u003cbr\u003e but let her enjoy her summers, just lazing around the pool, reading and\u003cbr\u003e generally indulging herself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eSo why was she so\u003cbr\u003e dissatisfied? That was the question that had bothered her for some time, yet\u003cbr\u003e she couldn’t find any cracks in the perfection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Gerald's little brother,\u003cbr\u003e Nick, is coming to stay for a while,” Jackie said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eYou couldn't mistake the\u003cbr\u003e unsettled tone in her voice. “You don't like him?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eJackie’s face took on an odd\u003cbr\u003e shift. “It isn’t that I don’t like him, just that he's a rough sort. I feel\u003cbr\u003e awkward around him is all.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe look on her face didn’t\u003cbr\u003e quite fit with the idea of being put off by him. There was something else.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Some people you can say are\u003cbr\u003e losers,” Gerald put in. “They fail at everything they try. With Nick… he’s just\u003cbr\u003e a loss.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e“A loss?” Scott found that\u003cbr\u003e amusing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"To himself and everyone. He\u003cbr\u003e could be almost anything, do something great, but he chooses to work in\u003cbr\u003e construction, traveling around to jobs. And he’s just a worker, not even a\u003cbr\u003e foreman.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eRuby tried to picture their\u003cbr\u003e disappointment. Nick was a perfect loss.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe thought intrigued her,\u003cbr\u003e the idea of someone content with little was curious. Everyone she knew wanted\u003cbr\u003e success.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e“How long will he be here?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eJackie shrugged and sipped\u003cbr\u003e her drink holding the glass so that it hid her expression. “Who knows? He's\u003cbr\u003e between jobs and said he needs a few days to sort things out.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eJackie’s attempt to conceal\u003cbr\u003e her thoughts wasn’t lost on Gerald. Rudy smiled at Jackie. “That’s not too\u003cbr\u003e long. I imagine you can survive a few days.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eJackie raised her sunglasses. “That all depends on him.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Boruma Publishing, LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47074917449968,"sku":"2940154589236","price":1.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940154589236_p0.jpg?v=1764072494","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940154589236","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}