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| FOOL ME ONCE – Ashley Winstead Austin, Texas – Present Day Lee Stone is the communications director at a women-run electric car company that is trying to get a green energy deal passed in Texas. While the governor is supportive of the measure, it will take a lot of push and shove to get the members of the legislature to go along. The governor has assigned Ben Laderman to assist Lee in the project to help get the legislation passed. The problem Lee has working with Ben is that he is her old college boyfriend—the man she broke the heart of by cheating on him with another man. Of course, things are awkward between them. But if they want the deal to pass, they will need to set aside the old feelings and work together—platonically. The problem is, Lee soon realizes that she is still attracted to Ben. However, Ben has a girlfriend. Lee’s belief in love and happily-ever-after was shattered after her father cheated on her mother and they divorced. Lee never forgave her father, even after his death. All of her teenage and adult life, whenever she has found herself falling for a guy, the man usually bursts her bubble by cheating on her, which confirms her belief that men are cheaters. However, with Ben, the moment Lee realized she was falling in love with Ben, she went looking for proof of his cheating. She ended up sabotaging their romance by deliberating cheating on him. Of course, he walked away, and she hasn’t seen him—until now. Ben can barely look at Lee but is going to have to put aside his feelings to work with her on their project. One day while they are out in the boonies visiting a man on business, Ben’s car breaks down and the two of them are forced to spend the night together at the man’s house—sharing a room. It is there that Lee realizes that she is still attracted to Ben. We only know Lee’s thoughts as FOOL ME ONCE is told solely from her point of view, yet we sense that Ben has the same feelings about her. How long will it be before they act upon the attraction? While the interaction between Lee and Ben is an integral part of FOOL ME ONCE, the main focus of the story is about the campaign to win over the senators so that they will vote for the bill. Persuading men in Texas, where oil is king, that they should support electrical cars isn’t going to be easy. In this tale, there are a few other things going on involving the characters, including Lee’s uncontrollable drinking problem when she starts to feel like her life is out of control. She will have to figure out if it’s worth getting drunk so hard that she does stupid things. It is all because she doesn’t want to fall in love after watching her parents’ marriage fail. Lee is sometimes a hard character to like, but if you understand how she felt betrayed by her father’s infidelity, then maybe you can feel sympathy for her. She will have to resolve her daddy issues in FOOL ME ONCE before she can accept love from any man. And of course, readers will wonder if the legislation passes. Lee turns out to have quite the journey. An interesting and intriguing tale, be sure to not miss FOOL ME ONCE. Patti Fischer |
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