Page 87 of Bumping into You

“That . . . that is true.”

“And you told her about the engravings, right?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, then rest easy knowing Courtney is on it. It’s literally her job to make sure cruise weddings go off without a hitch. I’m sure this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. She’s got it.”

I smile, starting to feel a little better about the situation and also a little bad about biting Trent’s head off, though I’m sure he understands.

Considering it is just the rehearsal dinner tonight, we don’t have to have either the flower girl or the rings with us. We still have some time before the wedding.

When it’s finally time for the rehearsal, I’m feeling much calmer. I am still hoping that Maggie feels better and Trent finds the rings, but I know we have backup plans. For now, I’ll just focus on the rehearsal.

The rest of the evening goes off without a hitch. The bridesmaids and groomsmen don’t actually walk in, so we stand at the front near the alter. The flower girl would enter first; Gillian is filling in for this part. She said Maggie is asleep and seems to have broken her fever, so that’s a good sign.

Mr. Kenton and Holly walk in, and even though it’s just the rehearsal, I’m tearing up along with our parents.

Knowing everything Holly went through, I couldn’t be happierfor her.

As much as I love to tease him, Greg is such a good guy and loves her with his whole heart. Holly deserves nothing less.

I look at the groomsmen and catch Niall looking at me. His gaze is heated, even though the night air is cool, and a shiver goes through me as goosebumps race up my arms. A bump from my right has me glancing over at Margot.

“That is the look of someone who is head over heels for you,” she says.

“You think so?” I whisper to Margot.

“I do.”

“We haven’t talked about what will happen with us after the cruise,” I tell her, “and after Bradley, I’m not getting my hopes up. Not again.”

She nods and whispers back, “Well, don’t let the mistakes of the past keep you from potentially great things in the future. You deserve all this too.”

I nod in agreement. I do deserve happiness and a man who loves me for all of me. I just don’t know how we are going to make this work when I live in Tennessee and he lives hours away in Boston. What would we do about our jobs, our homes, our friends? Would we be too busy to even spend time together?

Nope, not going to think about it right now. Focus on the wedding, then after that, you can have a mini freakout.

Chapter 38

Niall

After the rehearsal, it’s late. It looks like everyone is heading to their rooms. But I notice Gwen head another direction.

Catching up to her, I ask, “You’re not heading to bed?”

“No, not yet. My nerves are still a little on edge, so I thought I’d go to the piano bar and listen to them play.” She taps her phone and turns it for me to see. “They should start in less than thirty minutes according to the events list.”

I nod. “Care for a bite of pizza? I could pick some up and meet you at the piano bar?”

“I’m always up for some pizza.”

After picking up a couple slices for each of us, I meet up with Gwen at a table a few feet away from the piano.

I sit next to her and hand her a plate full of pizza. “Hope this helps,” I say. The fact that she was in bits when things started to go wrong for her best friend and brother shows a lot about the type of person she is. She would do anything for the people she cares about.

But who takes care of her?I am going to.

“Pizza always helps,” Gwen says, picking up a particularly cheesy slice.

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