Page 9 of Bumping into You

“I know I did,” Greg says, smiling ear to ear.

“Your accent is so much more prominent in person than on thephone,” says Holly.

“Yeah, I’ve always had my Irish accent. The prominent Irish community in Boston was my mam’s home away from home, since Ireland was so far away. And because of that, I’ve grown up surrounded by people with strong Irish accents. My mam would roll over in her grave if I ever lost this accent.”

“Well, you better hang on to it then,” says Holly.

“I plan on it.”

“Did everything go alright with your arrival?” Holly asks.

“It did. Got in around noon yesterday and was able to get a good night’s sleep.”

Holly eyes me curiously, then nods. “We got in kind of late last night, but I’m so used to getting up at the break of dawn that instead of sleeping in, we decided to head on down for breakfast.”

“When we’re done eating,” says Greg, “we should ride over to the ship together.”

“Cúla búla, sounds good,” I say.

Chapter 7

Gwen

On the cruise ship, I reach the boarding agent in record time due to my priority boarding. Being an event planner has its perks. The agent scans my passport, takes an updated picture, and asks, “Anything change from your submitted health screening answers?”

“Nope,” I answer.

He nods and motions for me to pass. “Up the stairs to your right. Have a great trip!”

“Thank you,” I say as I walk by.

I love walking onto the ship. It has a red carpet and greeters to welcome me aboard; just another reason why I love to cruise with Regal Voyage Cruise Lines. They go above and beyond to make guests feel like royalty. Not one for pictures, I skip the photographers. Plus, with a wedding in a few days, there will be plenty of pictures to last me the next few years.

Looking around the Grand Promenade, my pulse slows as I take a deep breath. It’s almost time. My brother and my best friend are getting married. This is going to be the greatest cruise and wedding.

A ping from my phone breaks me out of my calm.

Mom

I don’t want to make you nervous, but we ran into some traffic and we’re running a bit behind.

What the hell?! Seriously, why couldn’t they just listen to me and get here yesterday? I love my mom and dad, but forPete’s sake, it’s not every day your only son gets married to his childhood crush—someone who has been like a daughter to them for years. You’d think they would want to make sure they were here early!

Gwen

How far away are you?

Mom

I don’t know, like 5 hours away?

Five hours? Let me think. Okay, there are about six hours left before the set cruise departure time. That’s cutting it a bit close for my taste, but if they don’t make any stops until they get here, it should work out.

Gwen

Ok, you can still get here in time. Just don’t stop for anything, not even a fast bathroom break. You cannot miss this cruise!

Mom

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