Sofia hears that and cheers immediately, and I sigh and grumble.
I wanted to get permission to go to town, and that'd put us later in the day to get started, but if I get the guts to ask him while we're walking, maybe it will loosen him up a bit.
"All of us?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at Sofia, who's celebrating too much for the amount of breakfast she's eaten.
"Yes. All three of us."
I don't know what to make of this.
Dante proposing family traditions feels strange.
Almost manipulative.
But when I look at his face, I don't see deception.
I see sincerity and warmth.
And I hate myself for noticing.
"Alright," I say. "We can take a walk."
Sofia cheers again, louder this time, and slips off her seat without asking to be excused.
She runs upstairs to get her shoes while Dante and I walk to the living area waiting for her.
We don our jackets, but he's awkwardly silent, and when he moves closer and his arm brushes against mine, the contact sends a spark of heat through me.
I step away and cross my arms.
"Are you alright?" he asks.
"I'm fine."
"You don't seem fine."
"I'm just tired."
He doesn't press me, but his eyes are studying me.
It's like he thinks fucking me changed something between us.
It didn't.
Sofia comes running back down the stairs with her shoes on and Dante helps her into her jacket.
We walk through the villa and out into the garden where the air is warm for December.
The sun sits high in the sky and feels nice on my skin.
I can't remember such a warm start for winter before, but it's not unpleasant.
Sofia runs ahead of us and stops to examine the rosemary shrubs, picking a few sprigs.
She brings them back to show Dante.
"Marta says rosemary is good for cooking," she says. "Can we use these?"
"Yes. Give them to Marta when we go back inside."
