LJ305
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After a bitter breakup with her husband, Carla decides a change of scenery is what's needed.
She answers an add that is looking for someone to house and pet sit for an older couple, while they are away on a month long cruise.
It's completely out of Carla's comfort zone, but with everything going on at home, she decides that time away to herself, in a remote cottage in the middle of nowhere, sounds like a great idea...until it isn't.
Between being at one with nature, the eccentric locals and the blonde that has her experiencing uncharted feelings that seem to be going beyond a simple friendship, can Carla last the month in a mostly isolated place? Or is she not as alone as she first thought?...
Bookmarked by LJ305
08 Jul 2026
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"Oh, please tell me you haven’t had an argument with your mother in front of the whole family".
"Worse" Lisa muttered, suddenly looking very interested in the floor. "I lied".
"You? Detective Sergeant Lisa Swain, pillar of truth and justice, told a fib? Colour me intrigued. What did you say?"
"I told them I was already dating someone."
Carla let out a sharp bark of laughter. "No! Brilliant. Who’s the lucky imaginary lady?"
"Mum went into absolute overdrive. She didn't even pause for breath. She immediately declared that if I’ve been seeing someone, they have to come on the family holiday. I started panicking, trying to make up excuses – said she was busy, said she hated the beach, said she had a terrible phobia of flying. But they wouldn't have it. Mum was relentless. She demanded to know her name".
"And? What did you tell her?”
"I said Carla"
Bookmarked by LJ305
04 Jul 2026
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“Ever felt like you're living under a microscope, trapped in a petri dish, bound to keep being slapped in the face by your past?” Carla Connor, businesswoman, factory owner, independent woman needed space. Space from the scrutiny that came with living your life out loud on Coronation Street.
Detective Sergeant Lisa Swain needed help. Help to make ends meet and not further break her daughter's heart by having to insist on a house move away from the only home she had ever known, the one which contained all the memories of her late mum, Becky. The same Becky who was the reason Lisa was up to her eyeballs in debt, having forged Lisa's signature and borrowed significant amounts of money against the house before her death. In desperation, Lisa advertises the spare room to rent out, a last ditch attempt to avoid what seemed inevitable.
When Carla places a call to enquire about the room, could it mark the beginning of something both of them never knew they needed?
- Language:
- English
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- 244,728
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- 61/?
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Bookmarked by LJ305
04 Jul 2026
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There’s something they both know, a secret they share between them in this room: it’s not always been easy for Lisa to articulate the depth of her feelings in this way — not with words. In the past it’s happened when they were arguing, or breaking up — or trying to get back together. But something slipped into place in recent months, like a gear that they knew had been stuck but didn’t know how to shift. Maybe it was from the shock of being separated from the love of her life — almost forever. Maybe it was because death had stared them both in the face not long after. Or perhaps it was just a natural repercussion of them somehow finding their way back to each other; the sweet relief of being given a second chance.
Whatever the reason, the words come more easily now.
Carla’s thumb is still rubbing against Lisa’s leg.
Then the spell breaks when the game continues.
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or: a version of the Mrs & Mrs game that we didn't get to see at Carla's hen do, featuring frivolity, teasing, and a lot of love.
(part of the Swarla Summer 2026 event on Tumblr ('Holidays/Celebrations' & 'Drunk/Hungover' prompts))
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 9,355
- Chapters:
- 1/2
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- 1
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- 25
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Bookmarked by LJ305
01 Jul 2026
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Twenty-year-old Lisa never expected one reckless night to mean anything at all. Carla was supposed to be a stranger — someone she could leave behind by morning.
But weeks later, just as Lisa is trying to move on, something unexpected throws Carla back into her world. Suddenly, avoiding Carla becomes impossible, and the connection between them grows harder to ignore with every passing day.
As feelings deepen and secrets threaten to surface, both women are forced to decide whether what they have is worth the risk of everything falling apart.
Bookmarked by LJ305
30 Jun 2026