Has this bad-boy bachelor met his match?
In business and pleasure, he needs his nemesis!
To catch the spy in his family business, Zachary Stone needs a first-rate security specialist. But the new hire is none other than Frances Wickersham, the girl who challenged a younger Zach at every turn. She's always pushed him. This time around, the long-legged beauty is challenging his playboy ways. Now that they are all grown-up, can they ignore their undeniable chemistry?
Good conclusion to the trilogy. Zach is the CFO of the family business, Stone River Outdoors. He took on the job after the death of his father brought him and his two brothers back to Maine. In the previous two books, Zach and his brothers began to suspect that they have a corporate spy stealing designs. The question is: is it just theft, or is someone trying to bring down the company? To get to the bottom of the mystery, Zach hires a computer security specialist. He is stunned to discover that he hired his high school friend and nemesis, Frances.
Zach and Frannie attended the same elite boarding school for gifted students. Zach didn't want to be there, so he didn't focus on his studies, except for those times that Frannie challenged him. Even then, Frannie usually came out ahead, something that didn't sit well with his teenage ego. Though they were staunch competitors, they were also good friends. What Zach never knew was that Frannie had a crush on him. He was too busy honing his early playboy skills on the popular girls.
When Zach and Frannie met again, it didn't take long for them to be comfortable with each other, except for those pesky sparks. Zach can't believe how beautiful Frannie grew up to be, and he can't deny that he's attracted to her. Frannie quickly realizes that she still has remnants of the old crush and that if she isn't careful, she could end up with a broken heart. Though wary, she accepts his invitation to spend the weekend at his home on the coast. The attraction continues to grow, but an accident caused by his competitiveness puts an end to Zach's plans.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Zach and Frannie. Once they return to Portland, it's time to get down to business, but they still make time to be together. Eventually, their attraction becomes too much to resist. Both of them claim that it is short-term, no-strings, and keeping emotion out of it. But the more time they spend together, the harder it is to stick to the rules. Zach finds himself opening up to her far more than he expected, which freaks him out a bit. When Frannie stumbles onto one of his deep-held secrets and tries to talk to him about it, it stirs up some insecurity in him. He pushes her away in an attempt to protect himself.
Frannie makes progress on her investigation, but when it
comes time to reveal her findings, Zach refuses to believe her. I wanted to
shake him for the things he said. Things take an unexpected twist as Frannie
searches for the final pieces of the puzzle. I loved Zach's gut feeling,
especially his memory of a similar occurrence and what he did about it. It also
opened his eyes to the feelings he'd been running from. It was sweet to see how
protective Zach became. He struggled to convince Frannie of his feelings, and I
loved the method he settled on. I ached for Frannie and her broken heart and
loved seeing the cautious hope bloom. The epilogue was great.
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