Erin Lawless - The One with the Hen Weekend

Character List Character List Please Save the Date for the wedding of NORA EILEEN DERVAN and HENRY ROBERT CLARKE New Year’s Eve Nora Dervan, the bride Harry Clarke, the groom Bea Milton , a bridesmaid – Nora’s godsister and best friend since birth Cleo Adkins, a bridesmaid – Nora’s best friend from university Daisy Frankel, a bridesmaid – an American girl Nora befriended while travelling in their early 20s Sarah Norris, a bridesmaid – the wife of the Best Man Cole Norris, the Best Man – friends with Harry, Nora and Bea since primary school Eli Hale, a groomsman – friends with Harry, Nora and Bea since primary school Barlow Osbourne, a groomsman – Harry’s best friend from university Archie Clarke, a groomsman – Harry’s younger brother Eileen Dervan , Nora’s mother and Bea’s godmother Cillian, Aoife, Alannah and Finola Dervan – Nora’s younger brother and sisters Hannah Milton, Bea’s mother and Nora’s godmother Gray Somers, a colleague of Cleo’s teaching at the Oakland Academy Claire, a friend of Nora and Bea’s since secondary school Darren, Daisy’s current boyfriend Kirsty, Bea’s flatmate Bec, Abbey, Nish and Jayne, assorted friends and the rest of Nora’s hen party

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Coming Soon From Erin Lawless

Also by Erin Lawless

Erin Lawless

About HarperImpulse

About the Publisher

As I arrived in my mid-twenties, something very strange started to happen – my friends started to get engaged. Seriously? – I thought, staring at the fat, glossy invitations appearing through the post – I swear it was only this time last year you were snogging strangers in clubs, and now I’m Saving the Date? And I should put how much aside for your Hen Do!?

Ever since then, my weekends – particularly in the summer – have been a veritable nuptial string of engagement parties in pubs, dress fittings in boutiques, hen dos in spas and clubs and, of course, the weddings themselves (I gave as good as I got, of course, when I got married myself in 2014). The narrative of being a wedding guest (or knowing a bridezilla) has been so woven into the lives of my friends and I for so many years (and for so many more years to come, no doubt) that I really wanted to capture some of that in a story.

So here we have: one bride, and four bridesmaids, from proposal to altar.

Interspersed through the books, I’ve collated some real life anecdotes about perfect proposals, disastrous dance floors, suspicious strippers, bad bridesmaids and gorgeous groomsmen. Get in touch on social media and share your stories!

Please Save the Date

for the wedding of

NORA EILEEN DERVAN

and

HENRY ROBERT CLARKE

New Year’s Eve

Nora Dervan, the bride

Harry Clarke, the groom

Bea Milton , a bridesmaid – Nora’s godsister and best friend since birth

Cleo Adkins, a bridesmaid – Nora’s best friend from university

Daisy Frankel, a bridesmaid – an American girl Nora befriended while travelling in their early 20s

Sarah Norris, a bridesmaid – the wife of the Best Man

Cole Norris, the Best Man – friends with Harry, Nora and Bea since primary school

Eli Hale, a groomsman – friends with Harry, Nora and Bea since primary school

Barlow Osbourne, a groomsman – Harry’s best friend from university

Archie Clarke, a groomsman – Harry’s younger brother

Eileen Dervan , Nora’s mother and Bea’s godmother

Cillian, Aoife, Alannah and Finola Dervan – Nora’s younger brother and sisters

Hannah Milton, Bea’s mother and Nora’s godmother

Gray Somers, a colleague of Cleo’s teaching at the Oakland Academy

Claire, a friend of Nora and Bea’s since secondary school

Darren, Daisy’s current boyfriend

Kirsty, Bea’s flatmate

Bec, Abbey, Nish and Jayne, assorted friends and the rest of Nora’s hen party

Cleo tapped her thumb and her forefinger together, giving the fetching impression that she was doing an impersonation of a crab. She winced at the flare of pain, immediate and sharp along the underside of her arm.

‘I think its Repetitive Strain Injury,’ she moaned at her colleague, Gray, who grinned into his mug of coffee.

‘Wait, isn’t that what teenaged boys get once they discover internet porn?’ he smirked. ‘Busy weekend, love?’

‘You’re not far off the mark, with “teenaged”,’ Cleo admitted, smiling as Gray spluttered on his drink. ‘I’ve been helping to hole-punch heart shapes out of old Smash Hits! magazines from the nineties.’

‘Right. Okay… Well, everyone’s gotta have a hobby I suppose!’

‘It’s for the wedding,’ Cleo clarified, laughing. ‘It’s quite sweet really. It’s going to be used as the confetti.’

‘Because it’s not matrimony unless you have little heart shaped pictures of East 17 and Billie Piper thrown over the bride and groom?’

‘Exactly.’ Cleo helped herself to a second chocolate chip cookie from the packet that Gray had produced when they first sat down. (She’d be good closer to the big day…)

‘Okay, you know you really do need to explain…’ Gray prompted.

Cleo swallowed her mouthful of cookie. ‘Well, you see, when she was a kid, Nora LOVED Smash Hits! magazine…’

‘Who didn’t?’ Gray allowed.

‘But her mum was quite strict and didn’t like her being in to all that.’

‘All that?’ Gray echoed, amused. ‘What, pop music?’

‘Apparently. So, anyway, Nora used to scrimp and save up her lunch money so she could buy it every fortnight. But she couldn’t bring it home, or her mum would find it, so she gave it to her friend and he kept all of her issues for her. For years. That friend being Harry.’

‘Ah.’ Understanding dawned on Gray’s face.

‘And, years later – when they fell in love and moved in together and blah, blah, happy ever after – he turns up with three huge cardboard boxes stuffed full of old issues of Smash Hits! And they’ve been a right ballache to store, but they didn’t just want to throw them away… so this seemed like a really good idea.’