Petty in Pink

A Novella

By: L.J. Shen

Narrated by: Erin Mallon, Christian Fox

Return to the bestselling world of The Devil Wears Black in this Valentine’s Day spin-off where longtime friends with benefits unwittingly find themselves in a serious predicament.

In New York Times bestselling author L.J. Shen’s valentine-themed novella, a surprise pregnancy shakes up expectations between a romance-phobe and her longtime hookup who’s always wanted more.

Layla Schmidt has artfully dodged Cupid’s arrows for six years now, keeping things casual with her standing booty call—no romance, no strings.

As far as Layla’s concerned, it’s the perfect setup. For both of them. With her painful track record, the lively teacher wants nothing to do with commitment, and Grant Gerwig, dedicated oncologist, is too busy for it. Truthfully, Grant wants to make the time, but he knows better than to push where Layla won’t budge.

Their emotional standstill can’t last forever, though.

When a coworker’s wedding brings a blast from Layla’s past, it blows a hole through her future too. Swirling emotions lead to impulsive decisions, and after an adrenaline-fueled night, she finds herself pregnant.

Layla and Grant have a lot to talk about…and a lot to prepare for. Falling in love was never supposed to be part of their equation, but even the best-laid plans unfold with some surprises along the way.

©2026 by LJS Publishing Inc. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Loved It!

I cannot say enough about this novella!

Grant and Layla have a complicated background. They live in NYC. He’s a busy physician. She’s a preschool teacher. They have an on and off casual relationship. They enjoy one another, yet have no commitments until there is an unexpected pregnancy.

Christian Fix and Erin Mallon narrate the audio beautifully!

#unexpectedpregnancy
#shesafreespirit
#hesawalkinggreenflag
#liverhebanter

Quick & Cute

Cute Valentines Day novella
Christian Fox is dreamy as the friend whose been in love forever

The perfect valentines novella!

This was so freaking cute and sharp and sassy and fun. LJ never misses!! 5/5 on narration, 5/5 on plot, 🌶️🌶️ in spice. I loved it so much!

Short and sexy!

I adored this short and sexy novella set in the same universe as LJ Shen’s The Devil Wears Black novel. It was so wonderful to catch up Chase and Maddie while simultaneously falling in love with Grant and Layla.

What I loved:
I’m a sucker for babies and they’re everywhere! lol
Grant is the absolute sweetest! LJ Shen is my go to author for enemies to lover, but Grant brings a whole new vibe to her repertoire. He’s the first to fall and he’s completely a green flag hero. I loved him immensely!
The writing is fantastic as usual and while the book is fast paced, the reader doesn’t feels as though they missed out on anything.
It’s the perfect novella!

Highly recommend this one.

A cute Valentines novella

Cute not corny novella just in time for Valentine’s Day. Love FWB turned something more!