I laugh. "He's gotten better about that."
Kristen raises an eyebrow. "Has he?"
"In his own way."
Two months.
Two months since Bruno took me to St. Catherine's.
Two months of something I never expected.
Happiness.
Real, actual happiness.
Bruno is still Bruno. Still gruff. Still demanding. Still possessive in ways that should annoy me but somehow don't. He still growls at anyone who looks at me too long. Still insists on knowing where I am at all times.
But he's softer now.
In his own way.
Miracles don't exist. I know that. Bruno won't wake up one morning transformed into a gentle, easygoing man. That's not who he is. That's not who I want him to be.
But he laughs now. Sometimes. When Lily says something ridiculous or when I tease him about his grey hair. He reaches for my hand during family dinners. He falls asleep with his arm around my waist and wakes up pulling me closer instead of pushing me away.
Small things.
Quiet things.
Things that matter more than grand gestures ever could.
"What about this one?" Kristen points to a dark chocolate torte with minimal frosting. "Simple. Not too sweet. Sophisticated."
"That could work."
"We could add espresso to the batter. Make it more bitter."
"Bruno would appreciate that."
Kristen grins. "A bitter cake for a bitter man."
"He's not—" I stop. Reconsider. "Okay, he's a little bitter."
"A little?"
"He's working on it."
The kitchen door swings open and Nora waddles in. Her belly has grown significantly in the past two months. She looks exhausted but happy.
"What are we planning?" She lowers herself onto a stool with a grateful sigh. "Please tell me it's something fun. I've been trapped in that bedroom for three days with nothing but pregnancy books and Pietro's hovering."
"Bruno's birthday party," Kristen says.
Nora bursts out laughing.
"What?" I frown. "What's funny?"
"Bruno." Nora wipes her eyes. "Having a party. With people. And cake. And presumably some form of celebration."