Quickies

By Livia Lang

Quickies is a collection of four steamy short stories. Filled with romance and humor, each tale follows a different woman as she searches for love during a special holiday event. If you crave sugar-sweet romance and lots of dirty surprises, then this is the anthology for you!

The stories are standalone, but they are all connected to each other. Perfect to read on your lunch break or while spending some 'alone time' in bed - if you know what I mean.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Livia Lang
• Release date: Mar 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393700722

Book preview

Quickies

Quickies

Livia Lang

© Copyright 2017 Livia Lang

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, or to any actual events is purely coincidental. Please respect the author’s work and do not make any unauthorized copies or distributions. 

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Contents

The Sweetest Surprise

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Epilogue

An Irresistible Surprise

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Epilogue

A Noel Surprise

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Epilogue

The Lovely Surprise

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Epilogue

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Also by Livia Lang

About the Author

The Sweetest Surprise

Chapter 1

Emily’s boyfriend was going to break up with her. Or, at least that was the impending disaster that all the signs pointed towards. The worst part? Valentine’s Day was approaching, and she had a feeling he would drop the bombshell on one of her favorite holidays.

It had started about two weeks earlier, when Jason had suddenly become quiet and withdrawn. At first, Emily had thought he was distracted by work. After all, he seemed to be taking a lot of extra emails and calls at night in their home office, and his tech firm had always demanded long hours. So she wasn’t immediately concerned when he’d disappear to his desk all evening. However, other foreboding signs soon began to pile up.

For the first time, he had forbidden her from touching his computer in the office. In fact, he had started locking the door! This was particularly annoying since her sewing machine was in that room, and he had completely blocked her from quilting. He shut down any of her attempts to talk about the situation.

He had also started sneaking away from the house during the weekend and refusing to say where he was going. He would slip out of bed early in the morning, and creep away out through the garage door. Whenever she caught him, he would say he was going on a run. However, he never seemed to be wearing his running shoes for these ‘runs’.

Worst of all, she had noticed the money in their savings account decreasing in small increments. He kept making up excuses for money emergencies, such as forgetting to pack his lunch and having to eat out, but it seemed like a lot of cash was suddenly gone. The idea that he had developed a sudden and serious cocaine habit was becoming an uncomfortable possibility.

To say that all of this was out of character for Jason would have been a grand understatement. He not only prided himself in honesty and openness, but she had long held a suspicion that he had some genetic abnormality that physically prevented him from lying. From their very first date, he had spent the last three years dragging Emily – kicking and screaming – out of her emotional shell and into the happiest, healthiest relationship she had ever been in. She was painfully shy, but being around him and his honesty had allowed her to slowly open up.

His sudden personality change and clandestine activities were giving her emotional whiplash and a very nasty feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had spent several long nights in a row staring up at the ceiling, going over all the facts. And as much as she tried to deny it, there was no escaping the coming truth: Jason was going to leave, and soon.

While she had spent the beginning of February giving herself an ulcer, everything came to a head two days before Valentine’s Day, on a sunny Saturday afternoon. It had started innocently enough; she had wandered into the kitchen to grab an afternoon snack. However, while looking out of the window over their sink, she saw Jason pacing the backyard in big circles while talking animatedly on his cell phone. Choosing to take a phone call outside on a chilly day was decidedly odd, and she opened the window to ask him what he was doing.

Before she could call out to him, snippets of the conversations cut through the air and drifted towards the open window. The phrases doesn’t know, secret, can’t tell her, and everything will change all floated through the crisp air, each word like a balloon filled with misery. Granted, what she heard wasn’t much, but it was enough to make her stomach drop to the floor and her knees turn to jelly. Her Jason, the sweet, gentle man she was in love with, never kept secrets from her. And yet there he was, mumbling in agitation while pacing the backyard like a caged dog.

Shutting the window, she watched him for a few minutes more, trying to decide what to do. On one hand, she could ignore the entire situation and go back to making herself a grilled cheese sandwich. However, anxiety had made her appetite disappear quicker than snow in an Arizona parking lot. The only other option was to go out and confront him, but with him pacing like a tiger she wasn't eager to start that discussion.

What should I do? she moaned to their pet goldfish, Felix, who sat in a fishbowl on the kitchen counter, trying to eat a plastic plant.

Felix blinked slowly at her, his yellow eyes seeming to say as a grown adult, you needed to stop avoiding the situation by eating cheese, and instead go talk to your boyfriend directly. Felix had a tendency to take on a bossy, authoritative tone in Emily’s head, but he wasn’t often wrong.

I hate when you’re right, she mumbled to the fish as she moved to the doorway. Taking a big breath, she slammed open the screen to alert Jason to her presence, and then made her way slowly across the lawn towards him. A fake grin plastered on her face, and she hoped that her rapidly beating heart wasn’t making her shirt flutter in the cold air. She felt like a zombie as she crossed the dry winter grass in her heavy warm boots. Everything was numb and dull inside of her, and she wanted nothing more than go find something warm to eat. Perhaps my body is getting ready for the anguish it knows is coming, and is providing the anesthesia before Jason performs open heart surgery, she thought dryly to herself.

As soon as he saw her coming across the lawn, Jason’s face flushed and he barked a quick goodbye into the phone before sliding it into his pocket. She was still ten feet away, but he moved so fast to hide the screen from view that his hand was a blur. As he pocketed any evidence of his call, his face assumed a carefree, relaxed expression that reeked of falsehood.

His fake calm and my fake smile – is this who we’ve become? she thought sadly, every crunch of her boot on the dry ground echoing the cracking of her heart.

Hey, Babe. What are you doing out here? she asked softly, finally reaching his side.

He looked good that day. She couldn’t help but notice it, even with her heart breaking. He had recently shaved his head, which gave him a sexy, serious look that drove her wild and showed off his sharp cheekbones. He was dressed in a bright yellow polo, highlighting the rich, brown tones of his dark skin. Clinging to his broad back and thick biceps, the shirt drew her attention to his muscles. Yet while his clothing made him look delectable, it wasn’t the wisest choice of attire for standing outside, and he shivered slightly as she drew near.

Just enjoying a fine winter day, he replied tightly, gesturing out at their barren backyard.

It was early February, and