Page 16 of Bumping into You
“Sure am,” says Niall, flashing that amazing smile. “Have been since the day my mam birthed me.”
“So, what brings you two on the cruise?” I ask, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.
“Tammy’s here for a friend,” says Bradley, gesturing toward his fiancée. “I’m just an extra plus one for her.”
Why does the name Tammy sound so familiar?
“Yeah,” says Tammy, “I thought, ‘Why waste a perfectly good trip?’” She grabs Bradley’s arm. Seeing her touch him makes me want to throw up. “And we’re here for a wedding. So romantic, right? So, I thought Bradley should join me. Then I won’t be all alone in my room.”
“Wait,” I say, suddenly looking between Tammy and Bradley.“Tammy, are you friends with a Vivian?”
“Why yes, I am.”
“A Vivian Palmer?”
“Yes!” exclaims Tammy. “She and I have been friends since we started working at the same company years ago.”
“Well, that makes so much more sense then.” I look at Bradley. “You’re the fiancé.”
“Yeah, that’s what I literally just explained,” Bradley says.
Bradley is the unexpected plus one Vivian’s Tammy brought with her. That means he’s going to be around this whole week.
There is no getting rid of him.
None.
What the hell am I going to do? Especially now that I’ve dragged Niall into this fake boyfriend bit that I thought was going to last all of five minutes?
Internally, I groan. Why, oh, why do embarrassing things have to keep happening around McHottie? First the rideshare, then the heated ending to our conversation at Duke’s Diner, and now this with Bradley—when will it end?
Then, to my relief, Niall jumps in. “Well, as lovely as this has been, we’re supposed to be meeting up with a few other people. Don’t want to be late. Right,mo ghrá?” Niall squeezes lightly on my hand that is still clasping his.
I finally look up at him, wonder in my eyes. This man, who has no reason to be kind and helpful to me after how rude I’ve been to him, has rushed in like a knight in shining armor. Realizing he asked me a question, I nod, before looking back over at Bradley and Tammy. “Of course, yes, the others. I must have lost track of time.”
Bradley furrows his brows at my statement. “That doesn’t seem like you to lose track of time.”
“Well, I must have changed in the last eight months. Seems like we’ve both been busy that way,” I snap, a fire raging through menow that I’ve got my bearings and a little help from McHottie. The shock of seeing Bradley, much less of finding out who Tammy is, has me heated.
But Niall’s presence is giving me courage. Not that I need a man to feel confident, but seeing as this is the first time Bradley and I have spoken since he moved out of my apartment eight months ago . . .
“I guess we will be seeing a lot of each other,” says Tammy, “since we’re going to the same wedding and all.”
“Right, I guess so,” says Bradley. “We’re heading out anyway. See you around.” Placing his hand on Tammy’s back, the two stand and leave. I stay there watching them until they’ve walked out of the Imperial Bar area.
Chapter 10
Niall
Did Tammy just say they were all here for a wedding? It can’t be the same wedding, can it?
Before I can put much more into that thought, Rose drops my hand. “Thanks for going along with that.”
“Don’t be worrying yourself,” I say. “Helping people, it’s ingrained in me. My job and all.” I feel hollow at the lack of contact with my Rose.
My Rose?
Since when did I start thinking of her as mine?
