Page 116 of With a Cherry On Top

“I figuredwecould talk instead.” I study Ian, who’s watching me with a rare seriousness. “If you don’t mind.”

I shift in my chair, bracing for his words. I have a feeling I know where this is going.

He’s going to ask about me and Amelie. Probably wants reassurance that I’m not out to get his wife or something. It’s to be expected, I guess, since these guys all know about Josie.

“What’s up?” I ask, forcing casualness into my tone.

“I wanted to thank you.”

I blink. “For what?”

“For your friendship with Amelie, of course.”

“Oh. Well, I’m the one who’s grateful.”

He glances past me, toward his wife. “I think it was cathartic for her—passing her knowledge on to someone else the way her dad did with her. You know there were a lot of unresolved issues between them when he died, and she’s been struggling to face the fact that she won’t get the chance to solve them.”

“She’s been going through a lot.”

“And you made it better.”

I look down at my glass, running my finger along the condensation. “I thought...I thought you’d warn me that—you know.”

He cocks his head. “What? That I’d be jealous of how close you two got?”

“Maybe, yeah.”

Ian laughs, loud and unapologetic. “Dude. I mess with you, but...I’m just fucking around. I hope you know that.”

“It’s not because of you,” I cut in quickly. “It’s...”

“Oh.Oh, your—” He gestures vaguely at Logan before tucking his hand away. “Right, right. Well, look, my wife was engaged to another man when I met her. I’m hardly going to judge you.” He snorts. “Of course, her fiancé wasn’t mybrother.”

“Still not judging?”

He beams. “Not even a little.”

I hold his gaze for a beat. “As long as you know that Amelie and I...”

“You’re like a brother to her.”

“She’s like a sister to me.”

Ian squeezes my shoulder. “And I want her to live a life surrounded by amazing people who love her, so...we’re cool. Really.”

I nod, raising my glass slightly. I didn’t even know how much I needed to hear this, but now that I have, I feel ten pounds lighter. “Thanks, man.”

“Unless you hurt her, that is.” He takes a sip of beer, then winks. “Then we’renotcool.”

“Okay, uh . . . the bouncer,”Logan says with a smirk.

“Not the bouncer!” Kyle cries.

The whole group erupts into laughter as Logan points toward the entrance, where the large, angry-looking man is standing.

Kyle hesitates, then saunters toward the big guy. Though the music is too loud for any of us to hear a word, we wait.

“Ten dollars says he smacks him,” I wager.

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