Lily stirs in his lap, making a small sound. Bruno's attention snaps back to her immediately. His hand resumes its slow stroking, soothing her back to sleep.
I remain stuck in the doorway, watching the scene in front of me.
Watching this man I thought I understood reveal himself to be something far more complicated than I ever imagined.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Bruno
Kristen appears in the doorway behind Antonella.
"Oh," she whispers, spotting Lily in my lap. "I'm so sorry."
"It's fine." My voice comes out rougher than I intend.
Kristen moves past Antonella and crosses the room to me. She reaches down and carefully lifts Lily from my lap, cradling her daughter against her chest. Lily mumbles something unintelligible but doesn't wake.
"She loves your stories," Kristen says quietly. "She talks about them all the time."
I don't respond.
Kristen adjusts Lily's weight in her arms and glances between me and Antonella, who still stands frozen in the doorway.
"I'll let you two," she says.
She carries Lily out of the room, pausing briefly beside Antonella.
Silence fills the space between us.
Antonella remains by the door. She doesn't move closer. Doesn't cross the room to sit on the couch or pull up a chair.
She keeps her distance.
I notice it immediately. The careful space she's maintaining. The way she's positioned herself near the exit, like she might need to leave quickly.
Something hot and ugly twists in my chest.
"You wanted to talk," I say.
"Yes."
She still doesn't move.
The hot feeling spreads. Anger. That's what it is. Anger at the distance she's keeping. Anger at the way she's watching me, like I'm something dangerous she needs to be wary of.
Last night she was in my lap. Last night she had her mouth on me. Last night she told me she didn't want to leave.
Now she won't even come within ten feet of me.
"Then talk." The words come out sharper than I intend.
Antonella's chin lifts slightly. That stubborn tilt I'm starting to recognize.
"I need to ask you about my father."
My hands tighten on the armrests of my wheelchair.
"What about him?"