Page 58 of Bumping into You

Smiling, I glance up at him to see one of his half smiles. He’s got such a gorgeous face, and the way his eyes shine . . . it’s just not fair.

I keep working to move away the sand, with Maggie helping. As my hands brush against Niall’s warm skin, a tingle runs through me. My cheeks turn hot at the touch.

Maggie and I finish getting most of the sand off Niall, and he pushes himself fully upright.

Niall brushes off the remaining sand. “I’ll definitely be needing a shower after this. I have sand in all the wrong places,” he says.

Maggie giggles, and I can feel my face growing brighter.Do not think about him in the shower. Nope, don’t do it.

An image of Niall in nothing but a towel fills my mind as I lock eyes with him.

“I’m just going to . . . Maggie, let’s go help pack up.” I quickly reach for Maggie’s hand before turning to find anyone who needs help packing up. I can feel him watching me walk away, and I swear I hear a slight chuckle from behind me.

Shaking the memory of Niall and his too little towel from my mind, I tune into what everyone else needs and keep busy until we head back to the ship. We break off in groups, and Maggie falls asleep on her dad’s shoulder during the walk back.

With the distraction from the others in the group, I manage to make it all the way back to the ship without thinking about Niall. But the moment I’m back in the quiet of my room with the shared door as the only thing separating our rooms, my mind is once again back to Niall in that towel, droplets of water falling from his wet hair to his bare chest.

Chapter 24

Niall

Growing up near Revere Beach, I’m no stranger to sand. But it’s been a very long time since I’ve been buried in it, and I completely forgot how uncomfortable sand is when it gets under the clothes. After taking a long shower, making sure I removed all the sand, I dry myself off and throw on a pair of shorts. We haven’t left port yet, but it won’t be long now.

The view from the balcony room looks out toward the ocean. Sliding the door open I step out to enjoy the breeze. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Gwen on the balcony with a book.

“What are you reading?” I ask Gwen.

She shrieks and drops her book. “Now look what you’ve done. You’ve gone and made me lose my place,” she says as she picks her book up.

Chuckling, I try to see what it is she’s reading.

“Don’t you know that snooping isn’t nice and—” she says, looking over at me before freezing mid-sentence.

Her eyes slowly roam over me, and it causes my pulse to race. Being a fireman, I’m used to the occasional ogling from women when my house brothers and I go for our runs and when we’re cleaning the fire engine. I know I look good, but I’ve never felt like this before from just a look.

Or ever, really.

I’ve always been dedicated to the job and taking care of Mam that I’d never really gotten serious about dating someone. My firehouse brothers tease me constantly, saying I’m a player, butnothing could be further from the truth.

Do I take the occasionalbeoreout on a date? Sure, I’m not dead inside.

But I always let them down easy and typically stay on good terms as friends, or I set them up with someone I think would be good for them. A couple of the pairings started to turn serious. But it wasn’t something I’d been looking for.

Not, that is, until Gwen. She makes me want to throw my reservations overboard and jump headfirst into a real relationship with her. That thought scared me at first, but the more time I spend with her, the less scary it seems, and the less alone I feel.Is this what Mam meant when she said I’d find the right person if I just open myself up to it? Because Gwen is definitely someone I am starting to think could be the right person.. . .And Mam would have loved her.

Gwen finally glances up and meets my eyes, her cheeks going that delicious flushed color. A darker shade of pink that tells me she’s not upset by my lack of shirt.

“Like what you see?”

“No,” she narrows her eyes at me. “Just wondering why you don’t have a shirt on. You’ll get a sunburn.”

“Oh, I’m feeling the heat alright, but it’s not from the sun.” I step closer to her, and she sighs.

“Can’t a girl read her book in peace?”

“Didn’t mean to stop you. I honestly had no clue you were out here. Lucky coincidence.” I shrug. “But now that I do have your attention, I’m cashing in on one of our dates.”

She stares at me blankly, just blinking.

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