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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 looked up at once. “You and your dad take Loulou out for a walk.”
Daniele’s head rose even higher, peering up at Cassio.
“Come on, it’s cold outside. Let’s put on your snowsuit,” he said. He picked up Daniele, who remained quiet. Five minutes later, Daniele was dressed in his warm suit, and Cassio had tossed on a coat. I held the leash out to him. He took it in a way that made it clear he’d never held one in his life. The moment I opened the door, Daniele and Loulou slipped out. Cassio followed them, ignoring Loulou’s tugging toward the beach. I watched them for a moment until they reached the ocean. It was such a beautiful sight. Cassio’s enormous frame and beside him a tiny fluffy dog and a small boy…
I didn’t have much experience baking, so I could only hope everything would work out. At least I had experience painting, so maybe food coloring would literally be a piece of cake.
Simona sat in her high chair so she could watch me. Usually she preferred to stay mobile, but watching me bake a cake seemed to grab much of her attention. I split the dough into three parts and colored each differently. After covering it with buttercream, I sprinkled everything with funfetti.
Simona was obviously fascinated by the colorful sprinkles and made grabby hands, but I didn’t want her to choke on the tiny pieces. I put the finished cake into the fridge then grabbed Simona, wrapped us both in a thick wool coat, and walked out onto the porch. Despite the blistering cold, Daniele played in the sand. Cassio sat on the edge of a lounge chair right beside him, typing on his phone and darting the occasional glance at his son. Loulou perched right beside Daniele, her nose lifted into the breeze. I walked down the wooden steps to the beach.
