Page 42 of Bumping into You

Like that duet we did . . . damn.

When he started singing, my heart practically jumped out of my body. And then when he began dancing, it shattered any lingering annoyance and fear I had of being around him and letting him in. He’s so goofy and adorable, but damn, the look in his eyes when he picked me up and spun me around at the end of the song was intense. My skin prickled the rest of the night, the lingering warmth from his touch staying with me long after we left the Hurdy-Gurdy.

“Morning,” I say as I move around an older couple walking the path.

“Good morning,” they call back after me as I continue to run ahead of them.

If I’m being honest with myself, I think it was the feeling of someone looking out for me that made me sleep so soundly last night. When Niall noticed that Bradley and Tammy were at the Hurdy-Gurdy, he did what I never thought possible. He made me forget all about them.

Just as I’m thinking about Niall, he, Greg, and Trent appear beside me.

“Hey, Gwennie,” says Greg.

“Hi, guys,” I say, frustrated they popped up just as I am finding my rhythm running.

“We haven’t seen you on the track yet,” says Trent.

“Nope, I went to yoga yesterday,” I answer.

“Didn’t want to go today?” Niall asks, the guys all easily keeping pace with me.

“Couples yoga today,” I reply.

“Well,” says Greg, “don’t let that stop you. Niall would love to go with you. Right, Niall?”

“Um, yeah,” says Niall.

I narrow my eyes at Greg. What is he thinking suggesting Niall and I go to couples yoga together?

My mind jumps back to Niall shirtless outside the gym as I wiped the spilled green smoothie off him. I need to change the subject before I lose myself in this memory. “Don’t forget this afternoon we have the cupcake decorating class with everyone.”

“Thank you,” says Greg, “for adding the cupcake class to the itinerary. I know it will make Holly so happy.”

“Of course,” I say. “It’ll be fun for all of us.”

“As long as you and Holly don’t make a giant mess,” says Trent, “like you did baking at the cabin.”

We laugh at the memory, then run in silence for a while.

“As much fun as this is to run with you three,” I say as we round the corner at the back of the ship, “it’s feeling a little crowded.”

“Right, well, we’ll get out of your hair,” says Trent.

“See you around, Gwennie,” says Greg.

Trent and Greg speed up a bit, but Niall calls after them, “I’ll catch up in a minute, need to ask Gwen something.”

The guys wave at him so he knows they heard him, and Niall settles in next to me. He quietly keeps pace with me before saying, “So about the cupcake decorating class, I was thinking maybe we could pair up.”

“Pair up?”

“Yeah, I looked into it, and it requires groups of two.”

I glance over at him; he’s grinning at me like the Cheshire cat with a secret.

“Yes, I know that. But don’t you think it will be weird if we pair up together in front of everyone?”

“Well, you mentioned that everyone would be attending thecupcake decorating class, right?”

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