Chapter 9 - home

The girls were all pretty quiet on the flight home; hungover from the night before, they hadn't expected to be up so early. They all slouched in their seats like a row of pot-bellied pigs, tired and overfed. They didn't even care that each of them had a least a little extra flesh on show in their tight summer clothes.

Nick and Emma soon said their goodbyes to the girls and headed back to Emma's car to go home. It had been a strange weekend, but certainly a fun one.

'See that wasn't so bad was it?' asked Emma as she drove back.

'No, it wasn't. I had a great weekend,' admitted Nick. 'Thanks for inviting me. The girls weren't like I remembered them at all.'

'Yeah, they've all put on a lot of weight haven't they?' laughed Emma.

'I meant they're all a lot more mature than when I met them at the wedding,' chuckled Nick. 'But yeah, you're right they have all put on a bit.'

'Not as much as me though!' grinned Emma, winking at Nick and laughing as she pulled up outside his house.

Nick heard about what happened next when his dad called him up later that night. After dropping Nick back at his place, Emma then went home to find her husband Chris, in bed with her best friend Jane.

It turned out that Jane had planned it all perfectly, packing Emma off on a girls' weekend so she could have the weekend with her husband. It would have all gone perfectly as well, had she not messed up the return flight times; resulting in Emma getting home five hours earlier than expected. Although, Nick wondered whether that was Jane's intention all along; no one would ever know the truth, he reasoned.

Nick made sure to text Emma to ensure she was okay, but he kept his distance, not wanting to interfere. His brother really was an idiot and Nick wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he upset Emma further by reminding her of that.

Nick thought back to the happy times he had had with Emma and how upset she must be now. His heart was breaking for her. But, as he sat up in bed one night, unable to sleep, he realised that his heart was breaking for himself too.

Had Emma married the wrong brother?