FINAL LAP - Erin McCarthy
Fast Track , Book 8
Berkley Sensation
ISBN: 978-0-425-26175-0
October 2014
Contemporary Romance

North Carolina - Present Day

When Harley McLain runs into Cooper Brickman at a wedding, the driver she has crushed on for years, it seems as if it could be a great night.  Except, after telling him she's a nanny, Cooper proceeds to spend the next hour telling Harley all about his troubles with his twelve year old sister who is now living with him.  It's not until Harley's identical twin, Charity, walks by that he takes a break from the subject, and then only to drool over Charity.  It was bad enough when Cooper said Harley was matronly, but to have him get all hot and bothered—over someone who looks exactly like her!—is too much.  So when Charity, who is sick of having men treat her like an idiot because she's blond and dresses to accentuate her assets, suggests the sisters switch dresses, Harley can't help but wonder what kind of reaction she'd get from Cooper if she dressed a little sexier.  What she gets is an invitation to his bed and a night of smoking hot sex, but she leaves before morning to avoid having to admit the switch.

She hadn't intended to ever see Cooper again, but after losing her job, she eventually gives in to his request for help with his sister, Mary Jane.  Much as she'd like to avoid Cooper, Harley figures MJ is a little too old for a nanny, and she agrees to help Cooper learn how to be a father figure to the girl, while becoming a confidante to the tween.  She's a little surprised to find that he's not quite the player she's always assumed him to be, but she hadn't expected to find the real Cooper to be so much more intriguing than the fantasy she's had.  He also hadn't expected for him to be attracted to her.   Yet how can she get involved with the man, considering he doesn't know the truth about their one night stand?

The final book in the Fast Track series, FINAL LAP brings together the characters from the earlier books, while finally giving Cooper, the last driver of their set to still be single, his own story.  He's always had it easy with women, but having his twelve year old sister dropped on his doorstop while their mother flits around Europe has thrown him for a loop.  MJ has an affinity for ordering expensive, and sometimes bizarre, items online, and Cooper isn't sure how to handle her.  Bringing Harley into his life and home was supposed to make things easier, but instead it's just confusing things more.  As Cooper starts to see her as an attractive woman, he can't help but regret the one night he spent with her sister, but is it possible to get past that?  Harley has some regrets also, about the lies and the impossible situation she finds herself in now.

A fun story that concludes an interesting series, FINAL LAP should not be missed.

Jennifer Bishop