Page 27 of Hers for the Weekend

“So, uh… Tara really likes women with a huge amount of curly hair, huh?” Noelle asked, shoving her hands in her pockets.

She looked so uncomfortable with this situation, escorting her fiancée’s ex-fiancée’s new girlfriend around. Holly had felt some general indignation on Tara’s behalf, about how Miriam and (perhaps unfairly) by extension Noelle had handled the whole situation last year, but watching Noelle squirm made Holly soften a little toward her. Besides, Tara hadn’t brought her here to fuck with Miriam and Noelle, so Holly decided to behave herself and try to put Noelle at ease.

She smiled. “I would have said sassy power bottoms, but I’m sure the curls help.”

Noelle sputtered, clearly laughing in spite of herself. There, now she wasn’t overthinking anymore.

From outside the door, she heard Tara’s and Cole’s voices coming down the hall. “I booked you in here,” Cole said, and the door opened, right into Noelle’s back.

Tara walked past Cole into the room and cut a suspicious glance at him. “I see you’ve booked us both into this beautiful room with one bed,” she said, her voice dangerously even.

“Well, it only made sense,” Cole explained gleefully. “The rooms with two beds are needed for families arriving together, and you’ll obviously be sharing a bed. Since you’re dating.”

Internally, Holly cheered.

“It’s so cozy and perfect!” she exclaimed, pulling Tara to her by her dress and snaking an arm around her waist. “We’ve been talking about how excited we are to have a few days away together, so don’t be surprised if we hole up for some quiet time. It’s so hard to get quality alone time in the city.”

Tara’s voice dropped to its most syrupy drawl. “We can’t wait. But y’all must have a million things you need to do! We won’t keep you any longer.”

Noelle obviously got the message, although Cole looked like he wanted to pretend he hadn’t understood Tara’s unspoken direction to get the hell out. Tara pinned him with a stare that made him actually shiver. He scuttled out after Noelle.

When they were gone, Holly cleared her throat. “This is a beautiful room.”

It really was.

Unlike the public areas (what little she’d seen), which were full of kitschy wallpaper and tacky antiques, this room had obviously been decorated by someone with an eye toward quiet minimalism—from what Tara had told her, Holly guessed it was Hannah. She also guessed that Cole had chosen this room specifically, of all the rooms with one bed, because he knew that Tara would need somewhere with less visual stimulation to escape to. He had, after all, spent many long hours in Tara’s Charleston house, including a stint crashing on her couch, so he understood her need for aesthetic quietude.

This room wasn’t white, like Tara’s house, but a muted, dusky rose. All the fabrics were a variation on the same shade, with greens sprinkled throughout, like leaves peeking through the petals of a rose. It should feel dated. The palette, in theory, was reminiscent of a 1980s office, but the lines and furniture choices were modern enough that it looked fresh.

Tara nodded in agreement, but she was biting her lip. “It’s very small.” She had kicked off her shoes at the door and set her purse down on the dresser and was now walking around the bed, which took up most of the room.

“It’s a converted Victorian mansion,” Holly pointed out. “Not exactly known for gigantic rooms.”

“Oh, I know,” Tara said, sounding distracted, “I just… don’t know where we’re both going to sleep.”

Holly frowned at her. “In the bed?” Why was this a confusing concept?

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Tara worried, smoothing the already perfectly smooth comforter. “We’re already not doing a great job of keeping our hands to ourselves.”

Here it was. This was Holly’s chance to convince Tara that they should have a fling.

They’d already bonded, been through hell (aka Aunt Cricket) together, told each other their darkest secrets. They had cemented the “friends” part of Friends with Benefits, so why not move on to the benefits?

“I think it’s an incredible idea, actually. I personally think we should stop keeping our hands to ourselves,” Holly told her, sitting down on the bed so that she could look up at Tara with big eyes, and Tara could see down her shirt. “I haven’t stopped thinking about that kiss. Have you?”

Instead of answering, Tara turned partly away so Holly couldn’t see her face. Holly was about to push a little, when a horrifying yowl came from outside, and something began rhythmically thumping the door. Because she was nearest, Holly went to open it, if only to stop the thumping. The most enormous tortoiseshell cat she’d ever seen sauntered in, tail twitching, and sat at Tara’s feet to yell at her. It was larger than Holly’s childhood family dog.

“What is that?” she asked. She’d known the farm had a cat, from her deep dive into their social media, but this was not a farm cat. This was a mutant.

“That’s a Kringle,” Tara said, looking down at the beast. “He’s a Norwegian Forest cat. No one knows where he came from. If you ask the people who live here, they’ll tell you he’s magic because he’s a boy tortoiseshell, but obviously there’s no such thing as magic cats.”

The cat in question continued screaming at her. She sighed and picked him up. He wrapped himself around her neck.

“Mostly he belongs to Levi and Noelle, as far as I can tell, but he goes wherever he wants, if his humans are to be believed,” Tara continued. He purred, whapping her in the face with his tail. Watching the perfect Tara Chadwick splutter as a pony disguised as a cat tickled her was a sight Holly would always remember.

“I think you may be too quick to dismiss the idea that he’s magic,” Holly told her. “That’s a forest spirit, obviously.”

A lanky man with a tall swoop of brown hair topped with a floral satin yarmulke stuck his head through the still-open doorway. He was wearing a fringed leather vest and smudged eyeliner. “Hey, Tara, I’m so glad you’re here! Have you seen—Oh, yep, you have seen Kringle. I heard him yelling and thought he was in trouble, but obviously he was being dramatic. Wonder where he gets that from?”

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