Page 4 of Bumping into You

“One year,” she emphasizes. “I mean it. One year from me passing and you better be trying to find someone.”

“I will do my best to keep that promise,” I say, squeezing her hand.

“That’s a good lad,buachaill maith. Now help me lie down. I’m feeling a bit tired.”

My deadline for keeping that promise is up, and even though it’s hard to move on, I won’t disrespect the memory of my mam by disregarding her last wishes.

“Well, you never know,” says Johnny, bringing me back to the conversation. “Just don’t miss out on a good time or keep yourself from having a little fun if it bumps into you.”

“I won’t,” I say.I can’t. My year’s up, and I promised Mam.

“Good,” says Captain Frank. “You need to get rid of the black cloud that’s been hanging over you.” Captain Franks turns to look at the rest of the crew. “Now stop this lollygagging. You’ve been working for the past twenty-four hours. Everyone get home and get some sleep, and I’ll see you back here in forty-eight hours. Except you, Niall. You have a nice time on that cruise.”

Chapter 3

Gwen

It’s finally happening. I never thought this day would come. My best friend, Holly, and my brother, Greg, are getting married. I am over the moon for both of them!

Holly asked both me and her younger sister Margot to be her bridesmaids. I also get the honor of helping her plan the event. Sure, the cruise has its own wedding coordinator, Courtney, who I’ve chatted with a few times, but I need to make sure everything is just right for Holly and Greg. Never has there been two people who deserve to have a perfect day more than them. I’m not going to leave their wedding to some stranger. I’ll be managing it—the most important event of my career.

They won’t have to worry about anything because I’m always prepared for the craziest or most random things to go wrong at any event. Weddings in particular seem to always need some of the most outlandish fixes.

Groomsmen shave off the groom’s eyebrow the night before the wedding? Well, I have a fix for that.

Bride loses her something blue? I’m prepared for that.

I pull out my emergency bag and triple-check everything is packed and ready to go for the wedding. I’ll make sure everything goes off without a hitch.

My thoughts slip back to the wedding I had planned for Bradley and me.

Ugh, Bradley, why do I let that man take up space in my brain?Well, Gwen, maybe it has something to do with the fact that youhad your perfect wedding all planned out, and instead of him proposing to you, he dumped you.

It’s been eight months since our breakup, and I can’t help but think that if Bradley hadn’t broken up with me, I would’ve been close to walking down the aisle now.

Forget him.I put the rest of my clothes in my suitcase.You have a thriving business, and he couldn’t even stand by you as you made it successful.

It was all about him and his needs.

Ugh, why are men so frustrating? Who needs them anyway?

I have been just fine without Bradley, happily spending my time building my business up. I’ve even been able to hire more people to help with the influx of events we get asked to do.

Plus, it’s not like he was right. I don’t work all the time. I put other people before my work sometimes. I get out and do things.

I just went to that event-planning conference in Florida last month, and I somewhat regularly see Holly, Greg, and Trent. Okay, I mean I guess I don’t see them all the time, and I mostly see Holly when I stop by her bakery to make sure an order for an upcoming event is good to go, but they understand. They, unlike Bradley, know how important my event-planning business is and how busy it keeps me.

I sigh, zipping up my suitcase. With Greg and Holly getting married, the dynamic of our friend group won’t be the same. I’m starting to realize how quiet my own company can be.

Music rings on my phone, and I dig through my purse to find it. That ringtone can only mean one person is calling.

“Hi, G,” says Holly cheerily from the other line.

“Hi, Hols, you have everything packed up that you need?” I ask.

“Of course.”

“And the lists I sent you and Greg, did you go over them?”

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