It's a Love Thing

It’s a Love Thing: An
Anthology of Love Stories

Compiled by Cindy C Bennett and Sherry
Gammon

Copyright 2012 Prose by Design,
LLC

Cover Design: Sherry Gammon, Prose by
Design, LLC Copyright 2012

Cover Photo: Copyright Petr Malyshev |
Dreamstime.com

Book Design: Prose by Design,
LLC

Smashwords edition

All rights reserved. No parts
of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any
printed or electronic form without permission. Exceptions are
reviewers who may quote short excerpts for review. Please write
to
[email protected]
for
permission.

Each story in this book is a work of fiction.
Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events is
purely coincidental. The characters are products of each author's
imagination and are used fictitiously.

A Prose by Design Book

Distributed by Prose by Design, LLC

www.prosebydesign.com

ISBN-13: 978-1477481653

ISBN-10: 1477481656

All Rights Reserved

USA

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click on Link to Go Directly
to Story on enabled devices)

Pete & Tink
by Sherry Gammon

Pete Pancerella loves two
things in life: Video games and Spongy Crèmes. He’s happy, content,
and he’s also a geek.

All that is about to change when his
mother wishes upon a star and Tink answers the call. But will it
take more than a five-and-a-half inch faery to whip this
manga-loving goofball into shape?

This book is dedicated to:
Geeks everywhere and to those who love us ;}

Temptation
by Jamie Canosa

Melody isn’t thrilled about moving
away from everything and everyone she knows thanks to her mother’s
demanding job, but maybe living in Hotsville USA isn’t such a bad
thing. First there’s the drop dead gorgeous boy next door, Lucas,
who also happens to have a chip on his shoulder a mile wide. Then
there’s Jason, the helpful, funny boy from town.

When both sexy studs take an interest
in her, Melody is left trying to navigate Lucas’ ever shifting
moods and Jason’s offbeat attitude towards all things questionable.
But, things aren’t always as they seem. In the end, will she make
the right decision? And will her choice effect more than just her
heart?

To my husband, Matt,
without whom none of my dreams would have come true.

Haven
by Raneé S. Clark

In order to save her boyfriend from
his path of personal destruction, Sera takes over the body of
another girl to save his soul.

Seeds of Love
by J.C. Willibat

Blanca is city-girl from Chicago who’s
tired of healthcare politics and men who refuse to look her in the
eye. So, she finds a job working as a Nurse Practitioner in central
Idaho, thinking the small town of Crouch is just the sanctuary she
needs.

What Blanca doesn’t factor in,
however, is the ramifications of being the only health care
provider in the heart of redneck country. It takes endless hours of
work to care for an entire community, and violence and natural
disasters put her independence as a doctoral level nurse
practitioner to the test.

Forest Longbow, a sexy and mysterious
neighbor, tests Blanca’s resolve to stay clear of men and focus on
her career. An Apache smoke-jumper, who fights forest fires through
the summer, Forest is nothing like the men Blanca left behind in
Chicago. His strange but effective ways of speaking to Blanca’s
soul will leave her breathless and hoping for an early
Fall.

To Pat Fennel, Joseph
Youren, and Marie Graham. Three teachers who influenced my life and
my dreams.

Xeno
by Alyssa LaFever

You would think that having a father
who works in Area 51 would be absolutely thrilling for a teenager.
Well, you would be wrong. Emily’s life in the suburbs of California
is far from extraordinary, that is until she meets the boy next
door. Or rather, the boy who just moved across the street, Xeno.
His arrival sparks a new friendship just in time for the beginning
of summer.

As the summer progresses and Emily and
Xeno become more than just friends, her father’s crazy rantings
become more than just fairytales. As secrets are revealed and
enemies are made, Emily finds that the term “alien” means more than
just a sci-fi character.

To Sarah and Jen

Ye Olde Summertime of
Love
by Calvin Kern

A young knight finds himself
completely in love with a girl, who seems to have something special
about her. She works for the King in his secret council, made of
unique individuals. Just as they get to know each other, disaster
strikes the kingdom.

To my time keeper, Lindsay
Ann Bennett

In the
Beginning
by Cindy C
Bennett

Before coming to Earth Alashon and
Vindar vow to find one another. The vow is not made lightly: if
they fail, they will spend their eternity’s alone.

Drake has lived a hard life. In and
out of trouble with the law, sentenced to juvenile corrections and
finally released to the custody of his parole officer, the strange,
surfer-dude Tom, Drake is forced to move to the tiny beach town of
Seaside. There, he meets Megan, Tom’s off-limits daughter. Though
he tries to avoid her, it seems she turns up constantly in his
life. It isn’t long before he finds himself looking forward to
visits from the ultra-optimistic Megan. But does she really care
for Drake, or is he just another charity case? And why does she
seem so very familiar to him?

This book is for all the
lovers in the world who have found their soul mates, or are still
searching for one.

I Was Here—Before You
Came
by Camelia Miron
Skiba

Legend has it … centuries
after Spartacus another hero is born—Ilias, the bastard son of King
Decebalus. Thirsty for revenge and eager to unshackle the Roman
oppression, Ilias' obsession to fulfill his oath has no bounds,
even if that means kidnapping Nerva, the beloved daughter of
Emperor Traianus.
What he doesn't know is
his own heart threatens to betray his conscience. What will
prevail: his mind or his heart?

Note from Cindy and
Sherry:

As we began looking at
submissions from authors with full-length novels, it occurred to us
that it might be fun to have occasional writing contests for
authors to be able to submit short stories for various themed
anthologies.
It’s a Love Thing
is our first such anthology.

We wanted to compile a
book of love stories that occurred during or somehow surrounded
summertime. Summer is a great time for love—the world is renewed,
hope is in the air, the long, dreary months of winter have passed.
And it’s the perfect time to pick up a book to read during your
days at the beach or around the pool. And if you can read a book
full of romance in short snippets of stories, even better. Hence,
the idea for
It’s a Love Thing.

We’re grateful to the many
authors who submitted their stories for the anthology. We’d have
liked to have taken them all, but of course we were unable. So we
read them, talked about them, stressed over having to turn some
down, and finally came out with what we feel is an amazing
collection of stories. In one book a reader can read contemporary,
fantasy, paranormal, and historical stories of love and
romance.
Even we became caught up in the
excitement and each added a short story of our own to the
collection.

As you relax and stretch out under the
sun, we hope you’ll enjoy these stories. Who knows, maybe they’ll
inspire you to have your own amazing, wonderful, giddy, heart-felt
summer romance. Oh, and don’t forget the sunscreen ;}

Pete & Tink

I jumped back at the sharp stab of
light. It wasn’t necessary, but my reflexes were on edge. "Nobody
gets Pete ‘The Stud’ Pancerella that easily," I smirked. The energy
level indicator on my 752 Macro Laser Pistol read: Recharge
soon.

“
Come on, you freakin'
snake in the grass. Come out where I can see you.” I squatted low
to the ground, as if it would help.
I’m so
on today. Simon Crawford’s going down if it kills
me
!

“
Warning! Battery life is
about to expire! Must recharge immediately,” squawked a sultry
voice from the computer chip in my gun. The warning rang out
ridiculously loud, and if I wasn’t expecting it, I'd've jumped
several inches.

Despite the warning, I couldn't stop,
not yet. I'd lose Simon and be back to square one. No. I had to
keep up my pursuit. I was so close now I could almost feel his
presence. I just needed a few more minutes.

I eyeballed the direction my opponent
headed, but didn't see him so I slid back against the metal trunk
to wait. He had to come out of hiding sometime. Simon never stayed
hidden for long.

And there he was! “I see you, slime
ball. Prepare to meet your maker,” I whispered reverently. I lifted
the gun and aimed directly at Simon’s head. I gave the trigger
several pulls, each time missing him.