"Came a moment she just slid over, hooked her arm through mine, and gave me one of those dazzling smiles that she'd worn back in the days when I was courting her. Didn't fool me for a minute. I hoped it would. Fool me, I mean. At a certain point in his life a man wants nothing as much as he wants be fooled - irrevocably, completely and everlastingly fooled. And for me this was one of those times. I don't have an analytical mind, but I do have a talent for daydreaming." From "American Love Story" Like the penetrating aroma of a Cohiba Robusto or the sweet afterbite of a dirty Mojito, these stories leave an impact on the senses that lingers after the pleasure of the initial sampling. In a parked car or in a getaway car; at a nightclub or on a train; at a beachfront motel or in the sanctimony of the suburban bedroom, these 25 stories deftly explore the arc of a love match, the shelf life of a romance. They take us on a journey through the landscape of poignant liaisons, orphaned passions, and unintended consequences in the tradition of Raymond Carver or Richard Ford. You'll meet stand-up guys, lovely ingenues, charming rogues, and downbeat dames - the brave, hopeful, and susceptible survivors of love. But there's not a single innocent bystander. The author has a particularly American take on sex, love, and so much that falls in between. "It's like taking a pull at your Cuba Libre about the time the jukebox is kicking in." During a writing career that spans 50 years, Peter Devine has been a reporter, an editor, has written sports and travel pieces, celebrity pro?les and is the author of six novels, a memoir, two books of essays, and over 200 short stories. He lives in Texas with his wife Maria and their two dogs, and currently publishes a blog entitled "Devine Intervention" which can be accessed at: www.apeterdevine.com Cover design by the author, author photo by his wife