The Morning After the Wedding Before

Where did you get your bag? I need this!

Posting to her Instagram became a daily ritual. Even if Emma was only going for a coffee she’d get a photo, a fake image of her scanning the menu or a sultry pout looking into the distance as she shopped in London. Her inbox was always full of people wanting to know what camera she used or what her favourite highlighter was. It became so crazy that Charlie suggested Emma start an online blog which she linked to her Instagram page. Before she knew it, she had more and more freebies starting to come her way. She was constantly being sent free make-up, clothes and swimwear. So long as she posted about it, companies wanted her to use their products. Emma became obsessed with social media, gaining more followers and likes. Trips away started to become about taking photos, rather than actually enjoying herself and there had been times when Emma had to remind herself why she was doing it. When she became a bit too obsessed with it, Emma gave herself a few days off. Charlie was always enthusiastic to start with, taking selfies of the two of them and suggesting she posted a bit about their relationship to see if they could get any free weekend trips away. Charlie became a part of her account and her followers were always telling Emma how they were the perfect match. Their first freebie was a trip to Paris and Emma had to pinch herself over how well she was doing.

‘Hopefully this is the start of many more,’ Charlie had laughed, clinking champagne classes with her on the Eurostar as Emma filmed it for her latest story.

Despite what people must have thought when they looked on her Instagram page, Emma didn’t want to appear like she was showing off, but she knew that in order to get the brand deals she had to be able to influence others. People had to want to buy her latest outfit, watch or lipstick she was wearing; it was the way she made her money. So she had to make herself look the best she possibly could. Emma just hoped that people would see past her flawless newsfeed, and understand that beneath it all she was just a normal, ordinary girl. She hated people who thought too highly of themselves, which was why she liked to sometimes post before and after images to show how far she had come. Emma hadn’t always been someone to envy or desire; Emma had once been a size eighteen woman, who was very self-conscious and insecure. Despite now being a trim size eight, Emma certainly didn’t love herself and she was very aware of how superficial and shallow social media could be. It was a fabricated world; Emma knew this. She wasn’t completely ignorant.

Emma was brought back to the present when Charlie opened the bathroom door with a towel around his waist. Eyeing her up and down, he narrowed his eyes and his lips curved slightly upwards. ‘You look nice. Trying to impress someone?’

‘Haha, very funny. You’re the only person I need to impress, and you’ve agreed to marry me,’ Emma replied light-heartedly. ‘When you’re dressed do you mind…’

‘Taking a photo of you?’ Charlie interjected abruptly. ‘Of course.’

‘Thanks,’ Emma smiled gratefully. She knew how much her photos had begun to annoy him. What he found so interesting at first, he now found tedious and dull. He didn’t mind as much when it was of the two of them; Charlie seemed to love the limelight, especially if he was sent free things. But it was mainly Emma who was earning good money through her lifestyle blogging, not only through the advertising on her website, but she was now signed up to several apps where she advertised the outfits she was wearing. She was doing better than she ever dreamed of and she was getting fed up with reminding Charlie that she wasn’t just taking photos because she enjoyed it. It was all part of her job and one that he had insisted she did when they’d first met. A job that he used to find fascinating.

Emma stood on the balcony, looking out into the distance of the strip moments later; she knew the lighting was perfect and angled her head in a way she knew would look flattering on camera.

‘Done,’ Charlie said dryly, after a couple of clicks.

‘Do you mind just doing a few more please?’ Emma asked him politely. He knew as well as she did she usually needed lots of images to pick from. She sometimes took over a hundred, just to get that one special shot. Not that she was expecting him to take that many at that present moment. She knew she had no chance from the way he rolled his eyes.

He sighed loudly as he took some more. ‘You may have to stop all this once we’re married you know,’ he stated moodily. ‘I’m not certain I can put up with sharing you with the world forever.’

Emma ignored him and did her best pose.

Emma felt in good spirits an hour later when they met their friends at the bar in their hotel. She shot Holly a huge smile and hugged her as they met.

‘You look lovely. Is Kim too tired?’ she asked, noticing she wasn’t with her.

Holly nodded. ‘All dressed in her pyjamas and ready for bed. I’m sure it’s just for tonight. By tomorrow she’ll be out and enjoying herself, especially seeing as it’s your hen night,’ Holly said enthusiastically, looking around the bar. ‘Wow, this place looks nice and so do you, Em. I love that dress,’ she complimented her. ‘I still cannot believe how much weight you’ve lost – you look incredible!’

‘Thanks,’ Emma replied, feeling a flush of embarrassment yet again. She would never get used to compliments, no matter how hard she tried. ‘I was going to ask if you and Kim wanted to come to look at the flowers with me tomorrow?’

‘We’d love to. Just text us the time and place and we’ll be there.’

‘I will, and don’t worry, I won’t make it too early seeing as we’re drinking tonight. Speaking of which, shall we get some drinks? There’s more people out tonight for you to meet who weren’t at the pool today.’ Her eyes swivelled to Charlie’s cousin, Frankie, who was walking through a crowd of people staring at her. He shot her a smile, and Emma felt glad he was there as she wanted to talk to him about the car he was arranging for their wedding day. Frankie was so helpful like that; he was continuously offering Emma help to take the pressure off as Charlie hadn’t seemed to do much apart from arranging as much free stuff as possible. Emma was grateful for this, of course; it was fantastic that they were in such a lucky, privileged position to be gifted so many things, but it would have been nice if he was interested in helping organize some other things too. Frankie was always asking if there was anything he could do; Charlie was lucky to have such a thoughtful best man. ‘Hi,’ she mouthed to him, as Charlie slapped him hello on the back.

‘Let me get a photo of the bride and groom to be,’ Jason, one of Charlie’s friends, suggested over the music a few seconds later.

‘Here, take one on my camera,’ Emma offered, knowing her phone took great images, perfect for Instagram. She could do with updating her stories on Instagram; so many of her followers were keen to see her Vegas trip. They loved the photos she posted of her and Charlie. She was often seeing people write things under her images like #couplegoals. They really did think that she had the most perfect relationship.

Charlie was more than happy to oblige and he stood next to her, placing his hand protectively on her lower back and gripping her just a little too tightly as they smiled into the lens. ‘That dress is actually a bit low, don’t you think?’ he muttered quietly. ‘You look like you’re flashing to everyone.’

As usual, Emma pushed the comment aside and focused on the photo they were taking, knowing how happy she and Charlie would look together. Her followers would swoon, believing that Emma was really lucky in love and was about to marry her dream man.

That was the thing about social media: it was all one big, fat lie.

Chapter 4

Holly

Holly sipped her white wine, passing back Emma her gin and tonic after she’d taken her photo with Charlie.

‘Let me introduce you to the people you don’t know,’ Emma said kindly, tapping two women on the shoulder who were standing next to them. ‘This is Jenny and Stephanie who I used to work with.’

Holly smiled hello at them as Emma pointed at a group of four people by the bar. ‘The one in pink is my cousin, Gill, her husband, Doug, and I think you’ve met my friend Michelle and her boyfriend Peter at my thirtieth birthday drinks, didn’t you? I’m not sure if I told you that my parents won’t be coming?’ she smiled, but her eyes were shiny.

‘Oh no. Why not?’ Holly wondered. She felt sorry for her friend getting married without her parents there to watch, but she couldn’t say she was that surprised. Emma’s father was a stern man and her mother had always seemed cold and unaffectionate.

‘Dad’s arthritis is playing up badly, my mum told me; it would have been a bit much for them to fly all the way out here.’

It was a lame excuse and they both knew it. Holly remembered Emma complaining once that her parents had a different excuse every time Emma mentioned them returning to the UK to visit her. Arthritis was one of the usual excuses, but Emma often pointed out that her dad was always posting photos of himself playing golf with his friends on Facebook, so it couldn’t have been that bad.

‘That’s a shame, but like I said, anything you need help with, just ask. You’re right; I think I do recognize a few people here,’ Holly nodded, happy to see some more familiar faces.

‘Danni and Fran should be here soon,’ Emma explained as two men walked over and kissed her hello. Holly didn’t see them properly at first. ‘Do you remember Callum and Max from college too? Max is also a personal trainer and we’ve become great friends. Charlie works with him and Callum is their boss; he owns the gym they work at.’

Holly had to look twice at them before it actually dawned on her who these two were. They had been in the year above them at college and Holly hadn’t seen either of them since they left all those years ago. Max immediately caught her eye with his fierce smile, light brown eyes, dark hair and olive skin. He looked like he had impressive biceps underneath his tight fitted black shirt and she could only imagine his athletic body underneath. He was absolutely gorgeous and she instantly felt self-conscious in a way she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Callum was extremely attractive too, but with bright green eyes with fair hair, he wasn’t her usual type. Holly had always gone for tall, dark and handsome. They certainly hadn’t been as striking when they’d been at college as they were now. They’d both grown up. They were men now instead of lanky teenagers.

‘Hi,’ Max smiled, revealing immaculate teeth, ‘I think I remember you. Holly, right?’ he asked her confidently. ‘I vaguely recall you trying to set me up with your friend Kim once,’ he gave a light laugh, ‘but it never happened.’

‘Ah yes, I think I remember,’ Holly said amicably. It was coming back to her now. It must have been one of the few times she’d ever spoken to Max. Kim had been going out with some idiot, Lee, who had been cheating on her. Holly had been in their local club and when she’d bumped into Max and they started chatting, she told him she was going to set him up with Kim. Kim hadn’t been there and it had just been an idea to attempt to separate her from Lee. It hadn’t happened though, because the next time Holly had spoken to Kim, she had told her she wasn’t interested in anyone else. She wanted to give Lee another chance. Their rocky relationship lasted about another six months after that and Max had been forgotten about.

‘Long time ago,’ Max noted. ‘Can I get you another drink?’ he offered, touching her shoulder lightly.

Holly felt a fluttery feeling in her stomach. She had forgotten what it felt like. It both scared and enthralled her. This was a man she was interested in getting to know a bit more. This was a man she was attracted to. This rarely ever happened. Apart from when she’d first met Rob, Holly couldn’t think of the last time she’d actually fancied someone. ‘Yes please. A white wine please,’ she requested timidly, ‘if that’s okay.’

‘My pleasure,’ Max grinned, before turning to Callum to take his order. It was at this point that Holly glanced at Max’s ring finger. It was bare, much to her delight. No news of a wife to disappoint her. That didn’t rule him out of being in a relationship of course. She decided to get some information about Max from Callum. He was clearly the quieter, more laid-back of the two, but he had a friendly, warm face.

‘So, are you both here with your girlfriends?’ Holly enquired in a nonchalant tone.

‘No, we’re both single,’ Callum replied. ‘We’ve both recently split with partners,’ he told her. He looked up at her inquisitively. ‘What about yourself?’

‘Also single,’ Holly told him, flicking her hair behind her shoulders. ‘I split with my boyfriend about eight months ago. We have two children though.’

‘Boys or girls?’ Callum asked, looking genuinely interested.

‘One of each,’ Holly replied, glancing over to Max who was just being served their drinks. She wondered if the fact she had children would put Max off. After all, it wasn’t just her now. Then again, perhaps he was a father too?

‘I have a five-year-old girl called Eva,’ Callum told her, smiling with pride.

‘Oh really? I’m hoping the tantrums stop by five?’ Holly laughed.

‘I hate to disappoint you,’ Callum said, a light laugh escaping his lips, ‘but no, not yet. In fact, I think they get worse. But maybe that’s just Eva.’

‘Does Max have children too?’ Holly asked, her brow furrowing.

Callum looked at Holly as though the thought amused him. ‘No, not Max. Max doesn’t have any children yet.’

Holly didn’t know whether this was a good or bad thing. She was glad Max was single, but perhaps he wouldn’t consider someone with children if he didn’t have any of his own? Holly came as a package. It was always going to be her plus two. Would it be hard to find someone willing to take on the three of them? Lottie was a handful at times and Jacob was still only a baby. Why was Holly even thinking about this when it had never bothered her before that men may be put off by extra baggage? She was perfectly fine on her own and had actually sworn to herself she didn’t ever want to rely on a man again, but she was starting to question whether she really did want to be single forever. Would she be lonely in years to come? Just seeing how happy Rob and Nikki were was making her question things. Her mother was always telling her that one day her children would grow up. One day they wouldn’t need her to clean their faces and brush their hair. They would know exactly what they wanted to wear. They wouldn’t want their mother to drive them places. What was she going to do then? Perhaps Holly had believed she was okay all alone because she’d never met anyone else she actually liked and had feelings for?

‘One white wine.’ Max shot Holly a devastating smile as he handed her the drink. ‘The barman was so slow, I actually ordered us all two drinks each,’ he explained, heading back over to get the other three.

‘Thanks.’ Holly’s lips turned upwards as he walked back.

‘So, where we off to next?’ Max asked, gazing round the bar.

‘There’s a club here in the hotel, I think; Charlie mentioned we were going there earlier. I’m certainly up for it; I’ve heard Vegas clubs are amazing.’

‘Sounds good to me,’ Max replied enthusiastically, licking his drink from his lips. His brown eyes met Holly’s and her insides turned to jelly. He was just so sexy. She couldn’t believe she hardly knew him and he was having such an effect on her. Holly made her way to the ladies’ after twenty minutes of chatting to Max and Callum and bumped into Emma again.

‘Having fun?’ Emma asked curiously, looking as though she knew Holly’s secret. She was smirking as she asked the question.

‘He’s gorgeous.’ Holly couldn’t help herself.

‘Which one? They both are!’ Emma giggled. ‘Slightly improved since college, haven’t they?’

‘Yes, they really have. They’re both good looking but I was talking about Max though. What’s the deal with him?’ Holly asked as she washed her hands.

‘He’s just split up with his ex-girlfriend, Carmen,’ Emma revealed, applying some lipstick in the mirror. ‘He was with her about five months; I never knew him to have a girlfriend before that, and I’ve known him ever since I started going to the gym about two years ago. He gets tons of attention from women, not surprisingly. I think he’s a bit of a charmer, to be honest.’

‘Yes, I can imagine,’ Holly replied, brushing her hair. ‘He’s so lovely though.’

‘He likes you too,’ Emma smiled widely, giving Holly a reassuring smile.

Holly felt a slight colour coming to her cheeks. She felt so silly and childish. Clubbing. Having a little crush. Finding out he liked her back from her friend. She was reminded of her past when this kind of thing was a regular occurrence. It had been so normal back then. ‘What? How do you know?’

‘I just asked where you’d gone and they told me. Then they both said they thought you were really nice and Max gave a cheeky laugh saying he hoped you weren’t long as he was hoping to get to know you even better.’

Holly’s tummy did another somersault. ‘He just said that?’ She adopted a tone of surprise.

‘Yep,’ Emma grinned. ‘I think you could have yourself a little summer romance here in Vegas.’

Holly couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. ‘We’ll see,’ she said, as they left the ladies’ room.

Thirty minutes later, Holly was entering the dark nightclub, following behind Emma. A small group of them had decided to go on, including Max and Callum, while a few of the others had decided to call it a night. The nightclub was absolutely huge, the music was blaring and there were tables full with gigantic bottles of champagne and vodka. Half-clothed waitresses were parading round with trays of shots. It felt crazy to Holly that she was actually here. Once again, she was taken back to the time before she’d had children when she used to go out with Kim. This environment had been her life at one point (not that the local clubs at home were even a fraction as good) and Holly remembered sometimes actually getting a little bored with it. Some nights she didn’t always want to go to a club; it was the thing they did every weekend and it could sometimes get a little dull seeing the same faces and going to exactly the same places. Holly couldn’t imagine ever finding Vegas dull. She was having the time of her life so far, enjoying every single second. She was going to make the most of her little trip, of that she was certain. She was in no rush to get back to the hotel room and go to sleep; all previous thoughts of being jet-lagged and tired had completely disappeared now she was out enjoying herself.

Max took her hand, pulling her backwards as Callum and Emma walked ahead, following a pretty waitress to their table.

‘What’s up?’ Holly asked, confused.

Max didn’t say anything, he just smirked amusedly before pulling her closer towards him, his hands around her waist.

Holly’s heart raced as she gazed into his blazing eyes and without thinking, she leaned in for a kiss.

‘I’ve been wanting to do that since I first saw you,’ he told her with a wicked grin, before walking ahead assertively still holding her hand.

Holly caught her breath as she followed him, unable to believe what had just happened. Kissing Max had felt like the most natural thing to do and her stomach bubbled with anticipation. Max was rugged, confident and intriguing, exactly the type of man she found attractive.

Holly was hooked.

Chapter 5

Kim

Kim woke up and immediately sat up in a panic. Why weren’t the children awake yet? It took her a few seconds to realize everything was okay. She wasn’t at home. There were no children here. She was in Vegas, with Holly lying in the bed beside her.

She took a deep breath, stretching out in bed as she noticed the time on the clock by the television. She’d slept for over thirteen hours, only waking once in the night to notice that Holly wasn’t yet back. Thirteen hours of pure, uninterrupted peace; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to do that. One of her children always woke her. If not in the middle of the night, then at the crack of dawn. They were such early risers and Kim found it difficult to think of the last time she’d slept past seven o’clock. Seven was late for her nowadays. If one of the kids woke and she saw seven anything on her clock she felt like it was an achievement, that she was winning at life and she would give herself a pat on the back in triumph.

Kim glanced over at Holly’s bed, pleased to see her friend was now sleeping soundly. She hadn’t heard Holly come in, but she knew it must have been very late because when Kim had woken at three, Holly still wasn’t back. She honestly didn’t know how Holly did it. Kim had been really looking forward to their summer trip away, but she had to admit she planned on relaxing as much as possible. She needed to relax a lot more than she needed to party. She completely understood that Holly was single and probably more interested in going out drinking than nice dinners and shows; luckily there were other people Holly could go out with if Kim felt like having a chilled one.

Kim reached across the side of the bed for her Kindle. She would have a nice few hours in bed reading before Holly woke up; this was what holidays were all about.

‘Morning,’ Holly stretched out, yawning loudly an hour and fifteen minutes later.

‘Hey,’ Kim smiled. ‘How was your evening?’

‘I met up with Emma and the others,’ Holly told her. ‘We went to a bar and then onto a club; it was such a good night, Kim. You should have come.’

‘And miss out on the best night sleep I’ve had in years?’ Kim gave a little laugh. ‘No chance. Were there a big group of you?’

‘In the bar there was, but only a small group of us went on to the club. There’s a few people here we know. Danni and Fran from college are out here and do you remember me trying to set you up with someone called Max from the year above us when you were with that guy called Lee who cheated on you?’

‘Vaguely,’ Kim said frowning as she racked her brains. She didn’t have the best memory. She was forever forgetting people’s names and events that happened years ago. She wasn’t even great at remembering to pack important things when she went out, like baby wipes and Willow’s dummy. It was well known that Kim was a bit of a nightmare. Luckily she always had someone else around her that had the particular thing she needed on them. Someone super-organized and on the ball like Holly.

‘Well they’re here too. They’re really nice guys. It was amazing,’ Holly said, shutting her eyes briefly. ‘Honestly Kim. The clubs here are so good. It’s so much fun; you’re going to love it. I had so much to drink; I’m so glad I feel okay today. God knows what time I came back.’

‘Did you have to come back alone?’ Kim asked, feeling guilty she’d left her friend to fend for herself in a foreign place.

Holly bit her lip, trying not to smile. ‘Actually I didn’t. Max and Callum brought me back. They just wanted to check I got home safely, which was nice of them.’

‘What’s that smile for?’ Kim asked her quickly, knowing her friend well enough to know she was hiding something. ‘Which one of them do you like?’ She asked wisely with a smile.

Holly laughed gaily. ‘Is it that obvious?’ There was a pause. ‘I had a little kiss with Max, that’s all.’

‘Oh my goodness. I can’t believe I’ve missed only one night and you’ve already been kissing people!’ Kim clicked her tongue in mock-outrage. It was most unlike Holly to meet people she liked enough to kiss. She’d never really been the kind to kiss in a club, even when they were younger. That was usually Kim’s job. She was the one who kissed people and then woke up the next morning with absolutely no memory of doing it. Holly would have been mortified if it had been her, but Kim couldn’t have cared less. It was only a kiss. It seemed so bizarre that Holly was still single, stealing kisses in nightclubs with someone who was practically a stranger. The thought of doing anything like that seemed like a lifetime ago to Kim. She was married with two children. She only ever kissed Andy, and she was glad about that. It had been fun when she was younger, dating various men and not knowing what was going to happen, but Kim realized she was actually far happier now she was grown up, in a loving relationship with a family of her own. She’d had her fun and hung up her boots. Since becoming a mother she had transformed into the person she’d always swore she didn’t want to be. She used to think being a housewife and taking care of children would be so boring and dull, so nothing stunned her more than when she got pregnant by accident, enjoying every second of being a mother when Mylo was born.