Single Wide Female: The Bucket List Mega Bundle - 24 Books (Books #1-24) by Lillianna Blake

cooking came from my mother’s insistence that a man only came running when delicious smells were coming from the kitchen.
    Our house was always filled with food, and my father was a very happy man. But they didn’t exactly get along, despite all of my mother’s cooking. I always felt like she was telling me that the only way a man would love me was if I could cook him a meal. I wanted a man who would love me no matter what. Or better yet, a man who would cook for me! Still single at thirty-two, for me so far that plan hadn’t worked out so well.
    Luckily, Chef Vincenzo offered a cooking class for all of us who were inept in the kitchen. Luckily, I stumbled across his website while doing some research for my blog; luckily, he had an opening. It seemed to me that the universe was trying to direct me straight into Italian cooking and my third bucket list item. I was looking forward to learning how to create nutritious and delicious meals in my own kitchen.
    When I heard a knock on the door, I was surprised and slightly suspicious. I didn’t have many visitors, other than Max, who always let himself in with his key.
    “Who is it?” I called out and slowly approached the door. I had a baseball bat stowed just for these occasions.
    “It’s me, Max,” he called back from the other side.
    My heart skipped a beat as I heard those words. Yes, I had crossed “be with Max” off my bucket list, but my heart didn’t seem to understand that. I opened the door to let him in.
    “Did you lose your key?” I asked.
    “No, I didn’t,” he said with a shrug. “But I figured that it might be better if I knocked first.”
    “You don’t have to knock.” I laughed. “What’s the worst thing that could happen — you see me naked?”
    He raised an eyebrow. “Is that a possibility?”
    “Not likely,” I said with a laugh and shook my head. “Anyway, you caught me at a bad time. I’m just heading out.”
    “Another adventure?” he asked as he watched me gather my things.
    “Maybe…”
    Max had been trying to figure out just what I was up to for quite some time. But I was determined to have at least one secret from the man who knew me better than anyone else in the world.
    “Where are you off to?” he asked.
    “I’m going to take a cooking class,” I said as I finished loading up my purse.
    “Why?”
    “Because I want to learn to cook more than just waffles and macaroni and cheese,” I said as I walked past him into the living room.
    “Well, that sounds good.” He grinned and rubbed his stomach. “I’ll be happy to be your guinea pig.”
    “Great.” I smiled. “I will keep that in mind when I burn my first official meal.”
    “Okay, maybe you could practice a little first.” He laughed.
    “Not so brave now, are you?” I winked at him. “I have to get going soon, but first you have to tell me how your date with Angela went,” I said as I started toward the door.

Chapter 2

    Max flopped down on my couch as if he had no intention of leaving. “Angela,” he said and shook his head with dismay.
    “That bad?” I asked as I turned to look at him. I did my best to hide my amusement, but he was being overly dramatic on purpose to keep my attention.
    “It was not bad exactly, just horrendous.” He sighed.
    “Horrendous?” I said, thinking that Max could really be very dramatic. “I hardly think that’s possible on one date.”
    “Look, I took your advice. I took her out to a nice meal and then we spent time walking together by the water — so that we could talk.” He groaned.
    “You mean you attempted to create real intimacy?” I asked, teasing him.
    Max was more of a finish-line kind of guy when it came to dating. Everything was about how fast he could get a woman back to his place. I had mentioned once or twice that that might be part of the reason he never seemed to have a second date.
    “I tried,” he said as he looked up at me with the gorgeous eyes that always managed to catch me by