Evan's Amazing Life List
1.Ride a motorcycle across America
2.Kiss a girl in the rain
3.Swim in every ocean…
When Evan Chance gives up a successful corporate law career to tackle the bucket list he wrote when he was twelve, he has no idea where the road will lead him.
Caitlyn Sorenson is a happily settled small town doctor. When a sexy drifter rolls into town after a motorcycle accident leaves him stranded in Miller's Pond for a few days, she can smell trouble even as she's drawn to a man who is only passing through town.
But some scorching hot nights and a blooming tenderness mean two people will have to face up to the challenges of love.
From USA Today Bestselling Author Nancy Warren comes the first in an exciting new series of sexy romances about a family named Chance.
A Sneak Peak!!
When Evan Chance read the bucket list he’d penned when he was twelve years old, he caught a glimpse of the man he‘d wanted to be when he grew up. Now, at nearly thirty-five, he knew he was not that man.
Lists were important to Evan. He had master lists of ten-year, five-year and one-year goals, broken down all the way to daily task lists. He kept a catalogue of people he hoped to meet, all corporate movers and shakers or folks who could advance his career. Ruthlessly organized and efficient, he was a top corporate lawyer at a premier firm in Seattle. Seeing his pre-teen scrawl should have made him smile at his young self. Instead, somehow that naive list of unaccomplished dreams pulled at him.
His mom never should have sent him his list of dreamy-eyed ideals along with the birthday card she’d hand made with pressed flowers and a reminder to come home for the weekend to celebrate his milestone birthday.
Thirty-five.
Evan strode across the marble lobby leading to his law firm’s offices like a man in a hurry. In fact, he had ten minutes to spare before his next client meeting. A lot of people might use those minutes to grab a coffee, chat with a colleague or relax. Evan used his elevator ride to read a priority email; the time spent walking from the elevator to his office to consider his client’s question. By the time he hit his office, he was task-ready and sat down at his computer to email back his advice.
Even as he worked, in the back of his mind he realized that his big birthday was almost here and he wasn’t anywhere near where he’d planned to be when he was a pre-teen. Okay, he was a millionaire, but that was exactly the sort of lame goal a twelve-year-old would consider important.
But lists were important to Evan. And the fact that his mother, Daphne, had sent him that old one, as though it were a thing to be prized, bothered him.
Not that a hint of his thoughts showed on his face when he walked into The Rainier Room, one of the smaller meeting rooms. Half a dozen worried-looking executives were settling themselves around a mahogany conference table while Martha, Evan’s assistant, poured coffees and sparkling waters. Evan introduced himself and shook hands all around.
These five men and one woman were here seeking legal ways to raid their company’s pension plan. He had utter contempt for the naked greed of the president and vice presidents sitting in front of him in their hand-made suits and year round suntans hoping they could bail their asses out of the financial jam their fat paychecks and ludicrous bonuses had got them into. However, nothing on his face would give away his personal feelings. He was too good for that.
When the meeting ended, it was six o’clock. He returned to his office, typed up his own notes, then he stared out his office window at the other lighted high rises in Seattle’s financial district where he lived most of his life. In the distance he could see the harbor that led to the rest of the world. He pulled out the list. It was a bucket list made before that term even existed.
EVAN’S AMAZING LIFE LIST
Make a million dollars before age 30.
Ride a motorcycle across the country
Kiss a girl in the rain
Run a marathon
Learn Spanish
Have sex with a woman!
Learn to play an instrument
Travel to India
Fly a plane
Scuba dive a ship wreck
Swim in every ocean
Swim with dolphins
Hike the Grand Canyon
Leave the world a better place than I found it
As if.
He picked up his phone and called his parents’ number. His mother answered. “Well, hello darling,” she cried when he’d identified himself. He’d learned early that when there are eleven kids in the family, you have to identify yourself on the phone or risk insane time-wasting conversations. In the background he could hear rhythmic thudding that made his heart pretty much sink. “What’s that noise, Mom?”
“Your father’s remodeling the kitchen.”
“Again?”
“Well, we had a little problem with termites from the last renovation.”
As usual, he was filled with affection and irritation in equal measure. How many times when he was growing up had they been without the most basic necessities, like running water, because their dad was ‘renovating’. Which pretty much meant grabbing a sledgehammer and bashing down walls or cabinets or bathroom fixtures. Then standing in the midst of dust and destruction trying to figure out what to do next. Jack Chance was a man of strange visions and few handy man skills. But that never stopped him.
“Please tell me there will be a working kitchen this weekend?”
“Of course there will.”
An almighty crash sounded from the other end of the phone.
“Mom?” He wondered if he should call 9-1-1.
“It’s nothing, Evan. I guess that cabinet wasn’t attached to the wall after all. Don’t worry, the kitchen will be back together when you come for your birthday weekend.”
“I’m bringing Tessa with me,” he said.
“Great. We finally get to meet her.” Then she squeaked. “No. Jack. The electric – oh, dear. Evan, I’ve got to go
“Wait. Why did you send me that stupid list of kid dreams?”
“Because you should do some of those things,” she said. “Love you. See you Friday.” And then she was gone. He suspected his birthday dinner would be raw food. Eaten by candlelight.
About Nancy Warren:
Nancy Warren has always loved to read books by funny, daring women. Bonus if the books are also about funny, daring women. Her influences are: Jane Austen, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jenny Crusie, Susan Isaacs and Jennifer Weiner to name a few. Naturally, when she began writing, she chose romantic comedy featuring -- you guessed it - funny, daring women and the men who eventually win them. She believes in happy endings, the antidepressant effects of good chocolate and that if you want to enjoy the view from the top, you have to hike up the mountain. She has two amazing kids and the unconditional love of her Border Collie, Max.
Nancy Warren is the USA Today Bestselling author of more than fifty novels and novellas for Harlequin, Kensington and now her own publishing company, Ambleside Publishing. Nancy is an avid hiker, a lover of good wine and chocolate and a true believer in the power of love to change lives. That's what all her books are about. Her latest, Kiss a Girl in the Rain, launches a brand new series called Take a Chance, about a family named Chance. For more than you ever needed to know about Nancy, check out her website! http://www.nancywarren.net/.
You can also follow her on twitter: https://twitter.com/NancyWarren1
My Take On It:
He's handsome. He's successful. He's in a relationship with the "perfect" woman. He's got more money than he'll ever spend. He's miserable. It takes a note from his 12 year old self and the death of his mentor to make him realize that having the perfect life just isn't what it's cracked up to be.
She's beautiful. She's happy. She's successful. She's alone. She's already learned about the perfect life and has made her escape.
A stray dog. A lonely stretch of country road. Fate has decided that together they have just a little more to learn. Enter a cast of characters that will warm your heart and make you smile. A little slice of rural living to remind you of simpler pleasures and small town adventures.
I thoroughly enjoyed Kiss a Girl in the Rain and I can't wait to read the rest of the books in this series!
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