Spotlight & Giveaway: Fool Me Once by Ashley Winstead

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Ashley Winstead’s new release: Fool Me Once

In this fierce and funny battle of the exes, Ashley Winstead’s Fool Me Once explores the chaos of wanting something you used to have.

Lee Stone is a twenty-first-century woman: she kicks butt at her job as a communications director at a women-run electric car company (that’s better than Tesla, thank you), and after work she is “Stoner,” drinking guys under the table and never letting any of them get too comfortable in her bed…

That’s because Lee’s learned one big lesson: never trust love. Four major heartbreaks set her straight, from her father cheating on her mom all the way to Ben Laderman in grad school—who wasn’t actually cheating, but she could have sworn he was, so she reciprocated in kind.

Then Ben shows up five years later, working as a policy expert for the most liberal governor in Texas history, just as Lee is trying to get a clean energy bill rolling. Things get complicated—and competitive—as Lee and Ben are forced to work together. Tension builds just as old sparks reignite, fanning the flames for a romantic dustup the size of Texas.

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from Fool Me Once 

“So what, you got stoned and did something bad to Ben?” Zoey asked. “Is that what caused the breakup?”
My stomach clenched. Nate, I had no regrets about. Ben was a different story.
“No, she just fucked things up in general.” Mac got up and poured herself more wine.
“Yep, classic Stoner,” Claire agreed. “Honestly, what haven’t you pulled?”
Well, this required alcohol. I gestured and Mac padded over, refilling my wineglass.
“If you want the whole story,” I said, swirling the glass, “then yes, I liked Ben.”
More than liked. I could feel the ghost of the feeling tugging at me, even now.
“I met him my first year of grad school. He was in law school. Generally, I avoided law school students because they were preppy douches—no offense, Claire. But one night I found myself in a bar, in need of a whiskey but down to my last five dollars. Remember, I was a grad student. These were desperate times.”
“Zero money,” Annie confirmed. “We were broke as hell.”
“In walks a gaggle of law school guys. And I think to myself, hey, why not let these country-club popped collars buy me a drink before they go off to play beer pong? Everything was fine until out of nowhere, Ben showed up. And he was different.”
Mac held up her phone to Zoey. “Different as in hot. See?”
I caught a glimpse of her screen. Sure enough, there was Ben’s face, wearing that half smile he gave cameras, like he didn’t quite trust them. At a glance, he looked a little older than I remembered. “Hold up. Mac, are you still friends with Ben on Facebook?”
Mac shrugged. “Was I supposed to unfriend him just because you broke up?”
“Yes! That’s exactly what you were supposed to do.”
Zoey studied Mac’s screen. “You weren’t lying about the hotness.”
I tried my best to avoid looking at Mac’s phone, even though I wanted to desperately. “What I meant was that he was smart. And sarcastic. Cutting. He could tear people to ribbons. It was amazing to watch.”
Zoey looked concerned. “That’s what you like in a person?”
He used his powers for good.”
Until he didn’t.
“He was funny. He didn’t grow up with anything, so he wasn’t coddled like the rest of them. He was unexpected. Once you earned his trust, he was kind.”
Until he wasn’t.
“Long story short, he intrigued me, I was drunk, we connected, blah blah blah. I was dumb and dated him. For a while, things were good…”
The memory flashed back: one night during those first months when we couldn’t stand to be apart; the first night it snowed, a rare freezing Austin winter. His body draped over me in bed, hands cradling my face. The way he’d pulled back from kissing me, eyes suddenly serious. And I’d known in that moment what he was going to say, could read it plain in his eyes before his mouth formed the words…
For a while, things had been more than good.
“Then what?” Zoey prompted. I’d paused for too long. Annie was giving me one of her knowing looks.
I cleared my throat. “Then all the normal things that happen in relationships started happening. We argued, I didn’t trust him, he wanted more of my time than I was willing to give—”
“She started snooping through his phone,” Claire snorted.
“I won’t apologize for gathering evidence,” I said hotly. “People keep secrets in relationships, and I’ve learned I’d rather know what those are up front instead of waiting for them to hit me out of nowhere like a ton of bricks.”
I left out mentioning that in this particular case, the overly friendly texts from a classmate I’d found on Ben’s phone—the ones that had inspired me to cheat on him in revenge—hadn’t amounted to anything more scandalous than a study partnership. Oops.
Annie shook her head at me. I could practically see her diagnosing my trust issues. But so what. By the time my stupid heart had made the mistake of falling in love with Ben, I’d come by those issues earned and honest.
“Stoner thought Ben was cheating,” Mac said. “Or, like, thinking about cheating. So she went out and cheated on him with his law school rival right before his final exam.” Mac said this with a little too much relish. Apparently, dissecting my love life was a welcome change from her own.
Connor Holliday. I could still picture the moment I’d walked into that bar—the law students’ regular haunt—and locked eyes with him from across the room. Kept his gaze as I downed a shot of tequila. He’d smirked, and there’d been a dash of triumph in his expression that had nothing to do with me. We’d both known what would happen next.
Because that’s just who I am.
“Ouch.” Zoey grimaced. “His rival? Harsh.” She knocked Annie’s knee. “Never ever.”
Lee Stone: A Cautionary Tale.
“You know those days when you wake up knowing you’re going to get into some trouble, and nothing will satisfy you until you’ve gone and done the worst possible thing you can think of?”
A deck full of blank stares.
I sighed. “I was just doing it to him before he could do it to me. Everyone cheats eventually. It’s practically a scientific law.”
I remembered being sick with the certainty of it, sick with the lack of control: knowing one day, and probably soon, Ben would find another girl he liked as much as me—maybe a girl he liked more. And that would be that. Those texts from his classmate seemed to prove it.
Even though I’d accepted the inevitability, it still hurt. And that was the problem with Ben. Even though I knew it would end the same as the others, it was painful to think about. Knowing was supposed to shield you from pain, but it didn’t with Ben. Maybe because of the small, rebellious voice inside me that kept whispering, With him, it could be different.
Tiny baby idiot Lee.
Annie kissed the side of Zoey’s head and smiled. “Not us.”
“Oh, it’s coming for you.” I gave the two of them, sitting cozy under one blanket, a pitying look. So adorable and in love; so naive and trusting. “Just give it time.”
“If Simon cheated on me, I’d divorce him, take half his money, move back into the city and force him to take full custody of the kids.” Claire flopped back in her chair. “He knows a part of me would enjoy it. It keeps him in line.”
Claire and I had been best friends since high school. When we went to the University of Texas for undergrad together, we added Mac. Since we were eighteen, the farthest away Claire, Mac, and I had ever lived was when Mac and I stayed at UT—me for my MA in environmental policy and Mac for her MBA—and Claire moved to Virginia for law school at UVA. When Claire finally moved back, with a husband and kid in tow—Simon and Mikey, now an apple-cheeked four-year-old—they’d gone straight to the burbs, a place teenage Claire had sworn she’d never live. She was still adjusting.
“Hate to break it to you, but betrayal is inevitable, even for the Claires and Simons of the world.” I settled into my chair and looked around the deck. We’d gathered here at least once a week, ever since I’d bought the house two years ago. I was very proud of it. My bungalow was our place, the epicenter of our friendship. A girly nest filled with overstuffed pillows and candles and wine. Where the four of us watched movies, ate dinner, got ready for nights out, and escaped children (Claire), terrible first dates (Mac) and needy clients (Annie). It, and they, were my constant. The center of my world. They were the only people I knew for certain wouldn’t let me down.

Excerpted from Fool Me Once by Ashley Winstead, Copyright © 2022 by Ashley Winstead. Published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

ASHLEY WINSTEAD is the author of FOOL ME ONCE (April 5, 2022; Graydon House) and IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE (2021; Sourcebooks Landmark). She holds a Ph.D. in contemporary American literature and a B.A. in English and art history. She lives in Houston, Texas, where she drinks red wine and dreams up novels. You can visit her online at ashleywinstead.com.
Synopsis for FOOL ME ONCE:
In this fierce and funny battle of the exes, Ashley Winstead’s Fool Me Once explores the chaos of wanting something you used to have.

Lee Stone is a twenty-first-century woman: she kicks butt at her job as a communications director at a women-run electric car company (that’s better than Tesla, thank you), and after work she is “Stoner,” drinking guys under the table and never letting any of them get too comfortable in her bed…

That’s because Lee’s learned one big lesson: never trust love. Four major heartbreaks set her straight, from her father cheating on her mom all the way to Ben Laderman in grad school—who wasn’t actually cheating, but she could have sworn he was, so she reciprocated in kind.

Then Ben shows up five years later, working as a policy expert for the most liberal governor in Texas history, just as Lee is trying to get a clean energy bill rolling. Things get complicated—and competitive—as Lee and Ben are forced to work together. Tension builds just as old sparks reignite, fanning the flames for a romantic dustup the size of Texas.

Excerpt. ©Ashley Winstead. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
 
 

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Meet the Author:

Ashley Winstead is an academic turned novelist with a Ph.D. in contemporary American literature. She lives in Houston with her husband, two cats, and beloved wine fridge. You can find her at www.ashleywinstead.com