The coffee shop wasn’t very busy. Only a couple of tables were occupied, with
several more people standing in line. Manny sat rather nervously at her table
sipping her third vanilla latte and wondering if she was as crazy as Rebecca
and Daisy claimed. This would be her fourth interview today of a potential
travelling companion and she hoped this guy would be more of a possibility than
the other three she’d already met. Oh, they all seemed nice enough, but Olive
had been jittery and they’d quickly realized their personalities would never
mesh well enough to travel together for six months. Isaac had had a predatory,
speculative gleam in his eyes as he looked her over–and she hadn’t needed
Harvey to tell her to stay as far away from him as possible.
Darius was very sweet and charming, just eighteen, but
he couldn’t pay his own way, and Manny wasn’t about to support him for six
months. He’d shrugged and accepted her decision with an adorable smile and she
offered to call Daisy’s boss, Max, to see if he had any work that Darius could
do. Darius had thanked her and even paid for their lattes, and they’d chatted
for a good forty-five minutes before he’d finally gone on his way. Yes, he
would have been a good choice–and she might change her mind if she didn’t find anyone
before she left in two weeks.
You can always go by yourself.
I know. But it would be more fun with
someone else.
You’ll have me.
Manny glanced at Harvey sitting in the chair across
from her. He was dressed casually in jeans and a button down shirt open at the
throat to show the strong lines of his neck and chest.
You’re not real.
Harvey winked at her. Just checking.
She shook her head and Harvey blinked out of existence
as the door opened and a darkly handsome man walked in. He paused in the
doorway and removed his sunglasses as he glanced around the small room.
Securely hidden in her corner, Manny considered him.
Tall; over six feet. Dark. Handsome, with large, dark
eyes and full pouty lips. His black, tousled hair and dark stubble on his face
gave him a sexy, scruffy appearance. He was slim, with broad shoulders, narrow
hips and long legs encased in jeans.
I’ll bet he has a great ass.
I’ll bet you’re right.
He’s like a younger version of me.
Manny blinked at the man standing in the doorway and
realized Harvey was right. Oh, they didn’t exactly look alike, but they had
similar colouring, and a similar underlying confidence and arrogance in their
stance. Probably something natural when you’re that naturally gorgeous, Manny
thought ruefully, or, in Harvey’s case, that unnaturally perfect.
I’d almost be jealous...if I was real.
But you’re not–and he’s quite something. I
wonder who he’s here to me...eeet.
Her internal dialogue trailed off as the stranger’s
gaze met hers. He gave a half smile and headed towards her.
A life Less Ordinary
Title: A Life Less Ordinary
Author: Victoria Bernadine
Genre: Chicklit, Contemporary
Fiction
For the last fifteen years,
Rose “Manny” Mankowski has been a very good girl. She turned her back on her
youthful fancies and focused on her career. But now, at the age of 45, she's
questioning her choices and feeling more and more disconnected from her own
life. When she's passed over for promotion and her much younger new boss implies
Manny's life will never change, something snaps. In the blink of an eye, she's
quit her job, sold her house and cashed in her pension, and she's leaving town
on a six month road trip.
After placing a personal ad for a travelling companion, she's joined in her mid-life crisis by Zeke Powell, the cynical, satirical, most-read – and most controversial – blogger for the e-magazine, What Women Want. Zeke's true goal is to expose Manny's journey as a pitiful and desperate attempt to reclaim her lost youth – and increase his readership at the same time. Leaving it all behind for six months is just an added bonus.
Now, armed with a bagful of destinations, a fistful of maps, and an out-spoken imaginary friend named Harvey, Manny's on a quest to rediscover herself – and taking Zeke along for the ride.
After placing a personal ad for a travelling companion, she's joined in her mid-life crisis by Zeke Powell, the cynical, satirical, most-read – and most controversial – blogger for the e-magazine, What Women Want. Zeke's true goal is to expose Manny's journey as a pitiful and desperate attempt to reclaim her lost youth – and increase his readership at the same time. Leaving it all behind for six months is just an added bonus.
Now, armed with a bagful of destinations, a fistful of maps, and an out-spoken imaginary friend named Harvey, Manny's on a quest to rediscover herself – and taking Zeke along for the ride.
Author Bio
Victoria
Bernadine (a pseudonym) is, as the saying goes, a “woman of a certain age”.
After twenty-something years of writer’s block, she began writing again in
2008.
Victoria enjoys
reading all genres and particularly loves writing romantic comedy and
post-apocalyptic science fiction. What those two have in common is anybody's
guess.
She lives in
Edmonton with her two cats (The Grunt and The Runt). A Life Less Ordinary is
the first novel she felt was good enough to be released into the wild.
Links
Twitter:
@vicbernadine
Blog: victoriabernadine.wordpress.com
E-mail: loveofwords@shaw.ca
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AMJBOSQ
Barnes and
Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-life-less-ordinary-victoria-bernadine/1114941600?ean=9780991810215
Other:
CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/4164575
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/299257
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