The Dictator (Banker 2)

I sat down with Mother in the dining room.

She greeted me with a hug and let me kiss her on the cheek. “Where’s Siena?”

“She’ll be down in a bit. She’s having a hard time deciding what to wear.”

“Oh, she doesn’t need to impress me.” She waved her hand as she sat down. “I already like the girl. She’s growing my grandbaby.”

“She’s having a hard time fitting into her clothes, so she’s trying to find something comfortable.”

“Oh…I understand.” She sipped her wine and cleared her throat. “That’s the worst thing about pregnancy—gaining all the weight. You’re so uncomfortable all the time. But then when the baby comes, it’s all worth it.” She smiled as she looked at me, motherly affection in her eyes. “I’m sure she’s as beautiful as ever.”

“She is,” I said immediately. In fact, I thought she was more stunning than ever before. That round belly did interesting things to my desire. There was a new glow to her cheeks, a new joy in her eyes. The difference in her hips and thighs did nothing to stifle my appetite. Her pregnancy turned me into a caveman and spiced up our love life.

Mother watched my eyes as I said those words, like she was looking for something deep in my gaze. “Are you two together yet?”

I didn’t know what we were. I shared everything with Siena, but there was still an invisible barrier between us. I didn’t quite trust her, but I’d stopped pushing her away. “No.” If I told her there was anything romantic, my mother would pressure me to marry Siena.

Like she hadn’t heard what I said, she followed up with another question. “When are you going to ask her to marry you?”

Stunned by the question, it took me several seconds to respond. “I told you we aren’t together. I’m not asking her to marry me.”

“Then why do you look like a man so deeply in love?”

“I’m just hungry.”

She chuckled. “Cato, I’ve been studying your expressions since the day you were born. I’ve never seen your eyes so blue, seen that slight smile that you’re constantly trying to fight. Even when she isn’t in the room, you light up when you talk about her.”

“Because she’s having my baby.”

“You’re excited to have a baby but feel nothing for the woman delivering it?” She shook her forefinger at me. “I don’t buy that for one moment.” She grabbed her glass and took a sip. “I don’t know why you insist on lying about how you feel about this woman. But let me tell you something, that woman is stunning. She would have no problem finding another man to love her, even with a child in the mix. So, if I were you, I would get my shit together and make sure that doesn’t happen.”

I smiled slightly at my mother’s bluntness. “I’m just not looking for that kind of relationship.”

“Even though you love her?”

My voice came out as a whisper. “I don’t love her.”

She continued to stare at me with a slight smile, like she didn’t believe a word I said. She drank her wine then licked her lips. “Whatever you say, honey. I just hope you realize what you want sooner rather than later.”

Siena and my mother were two peas in a pod.

They got along better than my mother and I ever did.

They made each other laugh, talked about cheese, and excluded me from most of the conversation.

Not that I minded. Watching Siena’s face light up was entertaining enough.

When we told my mother we were having a girl, her eyes welled with tears just the way Siena’s did. She would have been happy no matter what we were having, but knowing the sex made it more real.

Even to me.

Siena and my mother talked for hours, long after my mother usually went to bed.

I actually had to kick her out. “It’s getting late, and Siena needs her rest, Mother. Let me walk you to the door.”

We gathered in the entryway then said our goodbyes. Mother hugged Siena for a long time then squeezed her belly with her hands. “I’m so excited to meet her.” She kissed her on the cheek then walked to her car in the roundabout.

My mother didn’t even say bye to me.

“Your mother is so great.” She rubbed her stomach as she headed for the stairs. “I love her.”

“That makes one of us,” I said as I walked behind her.

“Shut up. Yes, you do.”

Not right now.

We made it to my bedroom. Once the door was shut, I dropped my suit and tie onto the floor. I’d been wearing it all day, and having the tie around my neck got old. I was rich enough that I didn’t have to wear a suit at all—but it was part of my image.

Siena slowly peeled off her clothes and hung them in the closet, sticking to the side that I’d given her. I’d moved my suits to the other side and gave her enough room to hang up her essentials. She didn’t have a lot of clothes. Actually, she had significantly fewer shoes and items than I did.