Page 52 of Cream Pie

He sighs heavily. “Right now, I’m going to leave.”

I nod.

“That doesn’t mean…” he shakes his head. “I don’t know what that means, actually.”

“Dad—”

“I love you, Amy,” he smiles. “And nothing would or will ever change that. And frankly,” His smile hardens and he glances at me, “you could probably do worse than this asshole.”

He half smiles and turns to his daughter, pulling her into a hug before he looks at me.

“Sorry about your face.”

“Don’t be.”

“Yeah, I’m not really.”

I chuckle through the pain in my face, and he grins.

“Listen, Marshall—”

“We’re gonna be good, Javier. Probably, at least. Just give me a little bit to process all of this.”

I nod and hold a hand out. Marshall looks at it for a second, and then turns his gaze to look at me. But slowly, with a push from Kendall next to him, he nods and takes my hand with his. His grip is tight, and he pulls me close.

“If you hurt—”

“If I ever hurt her, I’ll throw myself off whatever building you’re thinking about tossing me of.”

He grins. “I think we understand each other.”

“Crystal,” I chuckle, wincing a little at a bruised rib.

But suddenly, Kendall butts in.

“So, we do have a trip to pack for, but here’s the thing,” she says matter-of-factly as she eyes Marshall.

“I’m not going on our honeymoon with you brooding about this.”

“Kendall—”

“No, you listen to me,” she growls at him. “Amy’s a big girl, and Javier is a smart, successful, kind man, who’s obviously crazy about—”

“Baby,” Marshall starts, but Kendall’s not done.

“Nope,” she snaps, shaking her head. “Don’t you ‘baby’ me on this one. You two are friends, so kiss and make up.”

Marshall sighs, and he glances at me with a sidelong grin before he looks back at her. “Kendall—”

“Kiss and make up or this is going to be a very, very lonely honeymoon for you.”

Marshall’s brow furrows, and Amy grins and elbows Kendall.

“Bad ass,” she murmurs.

“Not bad for a stepmom, huh?”

Amy groans as her friend giggles.

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