Samantha's heart never really healed after Peter abruptly left her and ended their affair, and she is shocked when he comes back into her life in the most unexpected way - as a potential thief of her company's new product. Samantha and Peter work to prove his innocence, and in the process rekindle their old romance. Samantha is an attractive, commanding corporate careerist on the outside, in charge of marketing for a rising upmarket perfume brand, and to others appears to live a charmed life in New York. But privately she is lonely and unfulfilled, uninterested in most of the men she dates and longing for an ex-boyfriend, who was really more just a passionate fling from eight years ago. He was a scientist named Peter, and his brilliant mind, authoritative manner and quietly commanding presence had driven her wild. She has never found a man to match up to his strength and his great conversation, but she also cannot forget that Peter could not be trusted. He had just been in it for the pure physical pleasure, and when he saw that Samantha was starting to fall for him, he broke the affair immediately and curtly, without any regard for her feelings. A few weeks later, she heard he was with another girl, and that devastated her.
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With her great career, it seems that none of this can touch her life now. Samantha is busy planning for the glitzy launch of their new product, a perfume called Miss Enchante (the cheesiest name ever), booking the venue, inviting the who's who of the world of fashion and beauty. Helping her is her witty and trendy friend Ruth, a senior sales associate who was passed up for the position of marketing coordinator two years ago, a job which Samantha got. But there are no tensions between the two women and they work alongside each other very amiably.
Meanwhile the formula of the new perfume is under lock and key, as are the samples, or so Samantha thinks until a month before the launch, when one of her subordinates reports that the sample of Miss Enchante is missing. A frantic and thorough search turns up nothing, but upon looking at the log book, the company finds out that the last man to view the sample in its room was Peter - Peter who had a fling with Samantha. As a chemist who specializes in the tropical woods and flowers that have been used as ingredients in the Miss Enchante perfume, Peter had expressed an interest in how the various elements of the perfume acted with one another. However, now he is accused of theft and will be made to appear in court to defend himself. Worried for his reputation and his future, Peter contacts Samantha and tells her that she must know he would never do such a thing. She is shocked to hear from him and it brings up mixed emotions, and she coolly replies that she doesn't in fact know anything of the kind, and that she realized how little she actually knew Peter when he ditched her so callously many years ago. He apologizes and says that he was young and foolish and scared by such strong emotions, which he had never expected. Despite herself, Samantha feels the magnetic attraction to him again, and something about his manner, and his sense of offended dignity, make her sense that here is a man who is telling the truth. together they begin to investigate. their attraction growing all the while.
Samantha's job is also on the line as the company has looked askance at what they consider her abject carelessness and lack of proper oversight. Samantha manages to figure out that the perfume was in its place at least a few hours after Peter left because a chemist at the company recalls telling Ruth that he had just been inside the room to work on his idea for another perfume and had looked at the Miss Enchante bottle, wondering why its sandalwood ingredient is praised so much. Ruth does not seem to recall this conversation, however. Then a senior staff member at Ruche, a rival French perfumery, gives Samantha a surprise call. This woman, Vanessa, has known Samantha for several years before she joined Ruche, and now she tells her that Ruche has gotten a secret offer to sell them the sample of Miss Enchante for a staggering seven-figure price. And the price is not from Peter, Vanessa says, but from a woman. Samantha is immediately determined to figure out who this is and begs Vanessa to help her. Vanessa agrees. Peter insists its too dangerous for Samantha to get further involved and protectively orders her to stay put while he goes with Vanessa, but she insists on coming along. The mysterious seller is told to meet Vanessa and her unnamed associates at a Ruche warehouse. When they arrive, the seller is none other than Ruth, and it turns out that she wanted to get back at Samantha for stealing her job while also making some serious money. Ruth is arrested, Peter is cleared of all charges, and Samantha and Peter reconcile. This time Peter begs her to marry him, and she finally agrees.
Best part of story, including ending:
It was a little too long for such a simple plot, but that's typical of these novels. I found the characters a little dull.
Best scene in story:
When Peter and Samantha finally attend the launch of Miss Enchante, it's very glamorous and fun to read.
Opinion about the main character:
I felt for Samantha when she was disappointed in love and liked how she behaved with Peter the second time.
