Vicki Lewis Thompson, Old Enough To Know Better

Old Enough To Know Better

Vicki Lewis Thompson

Harlequin Temptation, Jun 2004, $4.25, 217 pp.

ISBN: 0373691807

At Beckworth Public Relations, the women are drooling over a hunk from Ashton landscaping. They decide to play the straw game with the babe that draws the biggest having to find a way to make the dude drool from desire. Kasey Braddock wins the contest. Although she would prefer to have not entered, her image means everything in the upscale youthful modern PR office; thus, she grabs a bottle of water to introduce herself to the stud as a happening chick "so ready".

Kasey recognizes Sam Ashton, who she had a crush on years ago when he was the friend of her older stepbrother, but he does not recognize the beautiful woman giving him the water. He had noticed her earlier and sees this opportunity to ask her out, which she accepts. Not long afterward, she remains committed to his drooling one time, but he wants her for all time.

This entertaining contemporary romance starts as a fun read with the office women salivating over visiting hunks while the men are stunned with how far the females will go with the games. When the lead couple begins dating, the plot deftly switches gear so that the audience can see what motivates the protagonists. Of major enjoyment is to watch Sam realize that the woman he is falling in love is not the image of hip that Kasey portrays, but the kindhearted caring soul that she really is though the target of his affection cannot believe he recognized her inner essence. Fans will appreciate this fine tale.

Harriet Klausner