Page 7 of Bumping into You

“Here we are,” says Miss Trudy cheerily as she pulls over in front of Target. “Hope you find everything you need!”

“Thank you,” I say as I give her five stars on the app and a nice-size tip for not trying to get me to engage in small talk. Normally, I don’t mind the occasional small talk, but to be honest, I’m a bit embarrassed after the whole wrong-car, sexy-Irish-man thing and need a breather—and an extra strong cup of coffee.

By the time I’ve walked around the store, downed a coffee from Starbucks, and found about half the items I need, my phone rings.

“Hi, Hols,” I answer brightly.

“Hi, G, I can’t wait to see you tonight. Did your flight go alright?”

“Yes . . .”

“Oh no, what happened?” Holly asks, hearing the hesitancy in my voice.

I laugh at how in sync we are sometimes. Of course she’d know something is up. It doesn’t matter that Holly and I haven’t hung out as much as we used to. She can still read me like a book.

“Nothing wrong with the flight and nothing big, just had a super weird moment when I mistook someone for my rideshare.”

“Tell me more,” she said earnestly.

I spent the next few minutes regaling her with my most recent vexing moment and the man with the Irish accent.

“The whole thing was so irritating. Even if he did have a sexy Irish accent,” I finish.

“An Irish accent!” she squeals. “It’s meant to be! So did you think he was cute?”

Ugh, of course she wants to know if I was attracted to him. She’s been wanting me to get back out there ever since Bradley. I blush at her statement, the image of Niall passing through my mind and making my heart race as I recall his rugged good looks and the pierce of his sky-blue eyes. Thank goodness Holly can’t see me now.

“Umm . . .” I start.

“You did, didn’t you! Oh my gosh, G, what if this was your meet cute?”

I can picture Holly grinning, mischief sparkling in her eyes. She loves romance books and thinks everything could be a meet cute. It would be funny and I’d play along if this wasn’t the seven hundredth time she’s asked me that in the last month.

“Okay, don’t get all crazy on me, Hols. Meet cutes only happen in Hallmark movies. They don’t happen in real life and certainly not to someone like me. Plus, we’re going on a cruise tomorrow. I seriously doubt I’ll ever see him again.” I laugh, placing myhand on my fluttering stomach.

I must have eaten something funny; that’s what’s causing this. I make a mental note to pick up some Tums too, just in case. I don’t need anything else to go wrong. And I definitely don’t need Holly to get it in her head that Murphy’s Law is out to get me on this trip.

She chimes in over my thoughts, “G, I don’t want you being a workaholic on the cruise. It’s as much a vacation for you as it is for the rest of us. Once we’re on the ship, the wedding coordinator will take over, and you can just sit back and relax. In a few hours, we will be on the cruise, and I can’t wait for all of us to do the escape room, hit the spa, and just spend time together!”

“Okay, okay, I won’t be a workaholic,” I say, crossing my fingers. There is no way I will let the wedding coordinator be in charge of making sure Holly and Greg get their happily ever after. I will make sure that everything goes off without a hitch.

I wake up the next morning to anxiety hitting me and making me think that I’ve forgotten something important. I get up and double-check all my lists and unpack and repack everything I brought. Nothing is missing, and I breathe a bit easier.

After brewing a much-needed cup of coffee and then downing it almost as fast as it brewed, I push myself through a thirty-minute yoga routine to help me wake up. By the end of my routine, I am lightly sweating and feeling better about the day. After taking a shower, I dress and dry my hair, opting for a slight wavy look this morning. I’m sure the breeze from the deck of the cruise ship will make my natural wavy hair have a mind of its own, so no use wasting time straightening it.

Throwing a bead necklace over a simple white shirt and sage green jumpsuit, I finally feel like I can conquer the world.

Well, I will once I get another cup of coffee, or two, in me.

Walking down to the hotel’s breakfast buffet, I make a beeline straight to the coffee. I pour myself a nice strong cup; no milk or sugar for me. No, thank you.

Yes, this is my third cup this morning, but can you blame me? It’s most definitely needed.

I grab a bagel and cream cheese before finding a booth to sit and enjoy the last few moments of calm before things start ramping up for the day. Leisurely drinking my coffee and glancing around the open space, I see Holly and Greg. Thank goodness; I have a million things I need to discuss with them.

Chapter 6

Niall

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