I turned toward him then rolled over and propped myself up on his chest, my chin on my linked fingers. “You sound guilty.”
“Sometimes I feel guilty.”
“You had to kill Andrea. Even if you hadn’t killed him in a fit of rage, you’d have to kill him for being a traitor.”
“I never got confirmation. I didn’t question him nor Gaia. I should have, but I killed him before I could torture the truth out of him. And her… I simply couldn’t press information out of her like that. She wouldn’t have told me anything anyway.”
I gnawed on my lower lip. “Andrea was a traitor. Everything pointed to it, so his death was inevitable. Gaia’s death was a result of their forbidden affair and thus was inevitable too. It was her choice, and you couldn’t do anything to stop it.”
“I killed Daniele’s and Simona’s grandparents also.”
“Daniele is going to ask questions one day, and we’ll answer them. We’ll tell him Andrea was a traitor who ran away. His betrayal broke his sister’s heart, so she killed herself, and their parents couldn’t live having lost both their children. It’s a story few people could challenge and those that could, won’t.”
His palm caressed my back. “I didn’t think you’d be someone who’d opt for a lie.”
“If it protects you and the kids.”
Cassio sighed, his strong chest rising under my chin. “First, he’ll have to forgive me for whatever it is he holds against me.”
Two days before Daniele’s birthday, when it was certain we would spend the weekend in the beach house, I called Mia. I hadn’t talked to her since the wedding and only exchanged the occasional short texts of pleasantries.
“Giulia, what a pleasure. Is everything all right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Of course?” Her curiosity was unmistakable. I wondered how much she really knew about the reason for Gaia’s death. Judging by Cassio’s words, she only knew the basics.
“We’ll be spending the weekend at the beach to celebrate Daniele’s birthday, and I was wondering if you and your family would join us. Or is it too strenuous for you?” Mia’s due date was in only three weeks, so I wasn’t sure if she wanted to risk even a short trip.
“He’s taking you there already?”
I frowned. “We already spent a weekend in the house.”
“Oh. That’s wonderful, Giulia.”
Her joyous surprise caught me off guard. I thought the house was for the family, not just Cassio.
“And of course we’ll join you. Do you want me to ask Ilaria and my parents if they want to come too?”
“Yes,” I said, relieved. I had even less interaction with them and would have felt awkward calling them out of the blue, especially Cassio’s parents.
It was cold but sunny when we arrived at the beach house on Friday afternoon. Cassio had gotten Daniele’s present, which surprised me. My mother had always taken care of buying us things, but I was glad that he was trying to be involved with his kids.
After we settled in, I began assembling the ingredients for the birthday cake. Cassio scanned the display as he came up behind me. He was dressed in chinos that accentuated his long muscular legs, and his sweater did nothing to hide his broad chest. His aftershave, a spicy scent that always filled me with astonishing warmth, reached my nose, and I had to resist the urge to lean back into him. So far, we hadn’t shared any kind of intimacy in front of the kids, and I wouldn’t initiate anything.
“What’s all this for?” Cassio asked. With his body shielding me, he brushed his hand along my side, coming to rest on my hip for a brief squeeze, before he stepped back.
“A funfetti rainbow cake.”
I could see his confusion. Before doing online research, I hadn’t known such a cake either. I smiled. “You’ll see.” Daniele hovered in front of the terrace door, peering out toward the beach. Loulou sat beside him, her gaze locked on the seagulls roaming the sky. “Maybe you can take a walk on the beach with him, so he doesn’t see his cake before tomorrow?”
Cassio’s dark brows snapped together. “I can try.”
Simona crawled toward us then, using my leg to pull herself up. After her initial suspicion toward me, she now barely left my side. “I didn’t think Daniele and Simona would take to you so quickly.”
“I suppose it’s an advantage they’re so young.” Too young to really understand what had happened, especially Simona.
“Yeah.” Cassio regarded Daniele.
“Why don’t you take Loulou with you?”
Cassio’s expression morphed to reluctance at once.
“Hear me out,” I said before he could argue. “Daniele loves her. If Loulou trusts you, maybe Daniele will too. I think it’s why he started trusting me.”
“That dog won’t let me anywhere near it. It’s a miracle the thing stopped snapping at me.”
Lifting Simona up, who kept tugging on my skirt, I faced Cassio. He peered down at me and his daughter, and his expression became softer. “You could start by calling it Loulou. Give it a try. Please.”
He frowned, shaking his head, then leaned down and kissed me, catching me by surprise. Simona made grabby hands for his chin, and he snatched her fingers up with his mouth, causing her to giggle. When he pulled back, my gaze found Daniele, but he still stood with his nose practically touching the window. “All right. But won’t Loulou run off once she’s outside with me?”
“She might. Keep her on a leash.”
I grabbed the leash on the way to the window front. Cassio followed close behind. It was strange seeing a man as tough and as used to ruling over fellow mobsters at a loss on how to handle a small boy. I supposed it was easier keeping dangerous men in line than gaining back the trust of a little boy. It wasn’t something he could force, coerce, or demand. I put Loulou on the leash, and Daniele
