Page 60 of Be More Octopus

'I'm not sure everything's ok between those two.' Ella continued. 'There was a weird atmosphere when we went out with them last weekend. Not exactly frosty, but I could tell something wasn't right. You never know. You might be able to win him back.'

Em looked disgusted at the prospect.

'We need to find you another man to take your mind off it,' said Neema.

'What about Jack?' Sylvie gave Em a wink. 'I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers.'

'Jack's not available,' Em said.

Lucy raised her eyebrows.

'It's true. There are limpet mines that are less clingy than the current Mrs Carver. He's moving back in with her.'

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Lucy had surpassed herself. The AirBnB cottage she'd booked was more like a manor house, with five huge bedrooms, a large garden which led down to the dunes and beautiful furniture. Em was thrilled. 'How can we afford this?'

'It was a new listing. I think the owner was desperate to get some bookings. I didn't mention it was a hen party.'

'Technically, it's not now.'

After much discussion about who snored (Freya), who insisted on getting up at 6 am to go for a run (Charlotte) and who couldn't possibly share with anyone else because they had restless legs (Neema, though the rest of them thought it was just a ploy to get exclusive use of the best en suite), they'd finally agreed who was sleeping in each room. Em was in with Lucy, which suited both of them.

Em lay on her side of the double bed and sighed, relaxing into the soft mattress. It was bliss. No one to clean up after, no admin to do and no worrying about Jack. Stop it. She had made a pact with herself not to think about him all weekend.

Lucy was busy unpacking. 'I know you said you didn't want to talk about Jack, but I just wanted to say he has a certain charisma. I can see why you fancy him.'

'You could tell all that from your two-minute encounter earlier?'

'Yes. I always trust my instincts. Just a pity he's going back to his wife. Are you absolutely certain about that?'

'I overheard him telling Nancy earlier.'

'How long do you think that will last?'

'I don't know. But I wish he'd told me. Im going to miss him.’

'Oh, Em.' Lucy hugged her. 'And I thought this weekend was about forgetting Connor.'

'I know how to pick them, don't I!'

'You're no worse than the rest of us.' Lucy looked thoughtful.

'Is everything alright with Lars?'

'Yes. That's just it. It feels too good to be true.'

'Are you scared it's getting serious?'

'Possibly.' Lucy laughed.

'What's he doing this weekend?

'Catching up on his sleep, hopefully. He's spent the whole week at mine.'

'Were you holding him prisoner?' Em grinned.

'No. I let him go to work in between shags.'