Release Tour, Excerpt & Giveaway:
Short Stack by Lily Morton
A Short Story Collection
What happens after the happy ending?
Drawn together for the first time, this is a collection of Lily’s short stories about the much-loved men from her Mixed Messages and Finding Home series. Follow them through awkward marriage proposals, birthdays, a fraught babysitting job, and a very drunken Eurovision Song Contest party.
It includes stories previously written for her website and readers’ group, along with deleted scenes and four brand new and exclusive short stories - Bad Valentine, Marrying Jude, Babysitting Billy, and House Hunting.
Universal Link
Excerpt:
Dylan comes towards me, and before I can duck, he sticks something on my head.
“What the fuck is happening?”
Dylan pulls something over my shoulders, unfolding a flurry of bright fabric before tying it around my neck. He decorates me with a few more things and takes a step back. As if synchronised, he and Jude burst into peals of laughter. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I’m wearing a white tabard with a red cross on it and a Union Jack flag that he’s tied around my neck like a cape. He’s accentuated the outfit with a bright red wig with pigtails.
“What am I supposed to be?”
Dylan blinks in quite a disbelieving way. “You’re Saint George, the patron saint of England.”
“Was he a lawyer?” I fiddle with my cape. “And a part-time superhero?”
He tuts and reaches out to straighten my cape. “I tried to get you another costume, but it didn’t come in time, so I’ve improvised.”
“And where does the wig come in?”
He shrugs. “It was the only one they had left in the shop.”
I’d like to point out that they’re not wearing wigs, but by now I know the wisdom of not arguing with Dylan when he’s got that look. I glance in the mirror again. “Dylan, really? Are you angry with me in some form or another?”
“No, why?”
“Because why else would you do this to me?”
“For fun,” he says and nods his head emphatically. There’s a somewhat messianic gleam in his eyes which usually only occurs at festivities like Christmas and birthdays.
“Oh, okay. Fun. Is this the Mitchell brand of fun where there’s a vague threat of violence if I don’t enjoy myself?”
He steps closer, and I inhale the scent of his shampoo. “It’s not a vague threat,” he whispers and sticks a piece of cardboard in my hand.
“What is this?”
“Eurovision Bingo,” Jude says earnestly. “I hope I win. There’s a bottle of Advocaat for a prize.”
“You were a supermodel. Didn’t you save enough money to buy your own?”
“Pfft,” he says dismissively. “It’s not the same as winning one.”
“Or drinking it. Have you actually tasted Advocaat? There’s a reason why it’s always a prize in a raffle.”
“Don’t listen to him, Jude,” Dylan says briskly, pushing me down into a chair and straddling my lap. “It’s easier if you don’t take any notice of the words.”
“I knew you never listened to me,” I say, my hands coming up to cup his hips. “It was blatantly obvious with the amount of errors I had to live with at work.”
“You’re so funny,” he says sweetly. “I wonder how much funnier you’ll get before I won’t sleep with you tonight.” I shut my mouth with an audible snap, and he laughs before kissing me gently. “That’s what I thought, lover.”
My review:
I love Lily's book-world and I was happy to read these short stories with her characters. Although I haven't read all of the books yet, I really enjoyed this book.
First I thought I only read those stories where I know the characters, but after I started it, I thought fck it and read it all!
But be aware before you start it, it's really addicting and the next thing you know is you're sitting in front of your shelf and in a need of reading all the full length book. I was tempted many, many times to open the books and read them again, so be sure you have enough time before you start it!
My favorites:
Gabe & Dylan
♦Scrambled Eggs and Lemsip
♦The Valentine Do-Over
♦Babysitting Billy (OMG THE BEST♥)
Jude & Asa
ALL OF THEM - and I'm so so sad that I love them the most and their story is one of I haven't read YET! Jude and Asa are so adorable and awesome, can't wait to read their book♥
Henry & Ivo
I loved both stories
Oz & Silas
♦Merry Ozzy Christmas - Oz and Silas are the other couple whom book I haven't read YET, and I'm really looking forward to that too ;)
Milo & Niall
♦The Big Four-Oh' - since it's their only short, I'm a bit sad, but I really enjoed it!♥
Gideon & Eli
♦When Gideon Met Asa - hilarious! I LOVED it!
♦House Hunting - it was so cute. Like really, really cute♥
Exclusive Excerpt:
He hoists himself up to sit on the counter, swinging his legs and looking like a five-year-old. He grabs another mince pie and chews it while glancing down the list. I know when he spots it because his whole body stiffens. He looks up at me. “Oz, what does this say?”
“What?” I ask innocently, putting the mince pies onto a cooling rack.
“This list.” He brandishes the paper at me. “And more particularly item number fifteen. What does this say?”
I put the tray in the dishwasher. “Oh, I don’t know,” I make myself say carelessly although my half-hidden smile must give me away. “There are so many items on there, it all blends into one.”
“Well, let me refresh your memory. I’m looking at item fifteen which says ‘make time to fuck Silas.’”
I bite my lip to stop myself laughing. “And you have a problem with that? Oh,” I say innocently. “Should I have put ‘make love’?”
“You can say it any way you like as long as it’s not item bloody fifteen. It should be at the top.” He opens the junk drawer and rummages through it before coming out with a biro. He scribbles on the list triumphantly.
I watch him as I lean against the oven with my arms crossed. “What are you writing? That’s my master list.”
“I’ve moved item number fifteen up to number one where it belongs.” He nabs another mince pie and jumps down from the counter. Grabbing my hand, he starts to tow me out of the room. “Come on.”
“Where are we going and why do you need a mince pie to take with you?”
“I need sustenance because I’m going to very forcibly knock one of the items off your list.”
“Did that sound sexier in your head?” I ask, fighting laughter.
“Come on. You can scrub my back in the shower.” He looks me up and down. “If we’ve got time to remove the twenty-seven layers of clothing that you appear to be wearing.”
“Okay, we’ll do it in the shower, and then I can clean the grout when we’re done and knock item number ten off the list.”
“Why is that even on your list? I’ve had some strange Christmases in my time, but I’ve never had one where the guests ate their dinner in my shower.”
“You might mock, but what if a shower breaks and a guest has to use our bathroom?”
“Then they’ll use it, but we’ll just make sure that we’re first in the queue given how quickly the hot water runs out. I’m a good host, but I’m not a great host if you know what I mean.” He stops and pulls me to him. “Listen, they’re friends and family, not Kim Woodburn. They won’t care if the grout is clean or not. They just want to see us.”
I run my foot across the worn carpet. “I just want things to be right. This is our first Christmas together, and I want everyone to enjoy it and know that we’re happy.”
Silas hugs me tight, kissing my forehead. “Sweetheart, they’ll only have to spend twenty seconds with us, and they’ll know that. It must shine out of me.”
I burrow my head into his chest, taking in the clean, sweet scent of his cologne mixed with fabric softener. It never fails to relax me. “I love you,” I whisper, “and I’m the same.”
He tilts my head and gives me a warm, lingering kiss. “Then relax.” He grins. “Anyway, Henry and Ivo grew up here. They’re well used to the fact that if you touch something around here, it’s likely to fall off.”
“I hope not,” I say huskily, rubbing my hand over the front of his jeans. I smile as I feel him harden.
“Never that,” he mutters. He looks around as if surprised to find that we’re still at the foot of the stairs. He looks at his watch and pulls me after him. “Come on. I promised you a fuck in the shower.”
Enter the Giveaway:
To celebrate Lily's new release, we are giving you a chance to win your choice of any book from Lily’s backlist! Three winners will be chosen!
Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/cc0f2a5778/?
About Lily:
Lily writes contemporary romance novels, and specialises in hot love stories with a good dose of humour.
Lily lives in sunny England with her husband and two children, all of whom claim that they haven’t had a proper conversation with her since she bought her first Kindle.
She has spent her life with her head full of daydreams and decided one day to just sit down and start writing about them. In the process she discovered that she actually loved writing, because how else could she get to spend her time with hot, funny men!
She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations – chocolate Baileys! Her lifetime’s ambition is to have a bath in peace without being shouted by one of her family.
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