"Can't I just have cereal?" Sofia whines, clearly not happy about being out of bed already.
"Sofia, please," I chide gently, noticing Marta chuckle.
"Children are so innocent, aren't they?" she asks, and I shake my head and smile.
We eat in the kitchen while Sofia talks about the cookies we made yesterday and asks if we can eat those for breakfast instead of jam and toast, but I encourage her to choose the breakfast Marta has already prepared.
I'm working up the courage to approach Dante and ask if I can have a trip to town for a bit of shopping when he enters a few minutes later.
He wears dark jeans and a black sweater that makes him look less intimidating than usual.
He looks at Sofia and smiles softly.
"Good morning," he says. It's such a striking difference from the way I picture him.
It feels foreign to imagine a man who can kill so easily and yet in the same breath be so gentle.
"Good morning," I reply.
He walks to the table and crouches down beside Sofia.
"What are you eating?"
"Bread and jam. It's yucky," she says.
She holds up the plate to show him. "See… Mama won't let me eat cookies."
"But it looks delicious…" His eyes flick up to meet mine, and I roll my eyes at him.
Sometimes, she just gets in a mood and all you can do is ride it out.
He'd know that if he weren't a Mob boss and too scary for me to have brought him into her world earlier.
She beams at him.
"Can I go see the Christmas tree?" she asks proudly, but I scowl at him, and he gets the point.
"Of course. Right after you finish eating," he tells her and winks at me, then stands while she starts sulking again.
He walks over to sit by me, and I notice that I’m not tensing or cringing the way I was a few days ago.
Then I rationalize to myself that we had sex, so it broke the ice, but that doesn't mean anything, right?
He's still him and I'm still me.
Worlds apart and not compatible at all.
But it's at least more comfortable being in the same room with him now.
"I wanted to ask you something," he says.
"What?"
"The weather's above average. It'd be good for Sofia to get some fresh air."
I study his face but I'm not catching on.
"Do you want to take a walk in the garden?"
