That had nothing to do with this. “I’ll ask her when I’m ready to ask her. I don’t want it to be planned, because life happens while you’re making plans. I want it to be spontaneous, in the moment. When that special moment arrives, I’ll know it.”
“But…do you have a ring?”
“Does it matter?”
“Women like diamond rings.”
“Siena doesn’t care about stuff like that.”
“But it’s not very romantic without a ring.”
“I never said I didn’t have a ring,” I countered.
He leaned forward. “So, you do have a ring?”
“I didn’t say that either.”
He grabbed a piece of paper off my desk, crumpled it, and threw it at me. “I’m your brother, man. Tell me.”
“When I ask her, you’ll be the first to know. But until then…this is between her and me.”
I was relieved to be back at the gym. I couldn’t run as long as I used to, but I would build back up endurance over time. I couldn’t lift the same weight either. My muscles weren’t as strong as they used to be, and instead of pushing it too hard, I started easy.
I started over.
I was just grateful to be on my feet again.
After I finished my two-hour workout, I showered and got ready for dinner. “How was your day?” I asked after I shaved in the sink.
“Good. Martina and I went for a walk. There’s only a little bit left of summer. Trying to enjoy it.”
I patted the aftershave onto my face and then pulled on my clothes.
“How was your day?”
“Good. We made a deal with the Skull Kings. They were supposed to assist us with Micah, but since they didn’t, we reverted to our previous deal.”
That information seemed boring to her. “Oh.”
“How was Martina today?”
“She’s good. She’s growing so fast, you know. I can see her become more aware of things as she ages. It’s like she’s beginning to understand we’re her parents, this is her home, things like that. She’s a sponge, and she’s just absorbing everything.” She spoke like a typically proud mother.
“She’s smart like you.”
“More like you. But thank you.”
We went downstairs and had dinner. I held Martina in the crook of my arm because I was finally strong enough to do that. I ate with one hand since Siena had been with her all day. Giovanni made us chicken with vegetables, putting us both on low-carb diets. Siena wanted to lose weight after the baby, and I wanted to get back into shape. “I’m glad you and Bates are getting along.”
“I couldn’t hate someone who loves you so much. Not possible.”
Well, I still hated him a bit. Forgiveness wasn’t easy for me, unfortunately. Not even when it was my own flesh and blood. You couldn’t even see Siena’s injury anymore because her hair hid it from view—but I hadn’t forgotten.
“You’ve been doing well in the gym?”
“Yeah. I’m not close to where my strength used to be, but I’ll get there.”
“Baby steps. No need to rush.”
“Yeah, I know.” I missed being the most powerful man in the room. Siena still looked at me the same way she used to, like my decrease in size didn’t affect her attraction to me. That was the most important thing, that I still turned my woman on.
“I’ve been working out every day, but I’m not a fan of it.”
“I’ve noticed. Your legs get sexier every time I see you.”
She smiled. “Well, I need to work on this gut right now.”
I scoffed. “You don’t have a gut.”
“It’s a baby gut. It’ll take a while to go away.”
“It’s not a gut. You’re perfect.”
“Well, that’s nice of you to say, but I still need to hit the gym.”
“Unless you become pregnant again.” As far as I knew, she hadn’t started her birth control again, and we were having lots of sex every night. She seemed hesitant to have another baby right away, but at this rate, we were bound to make one. I’d knocked her up when she was on birth control. I could only imagine how quickly it would happen when she wasn’t on it.
“I guess that would give me an excuse to stop the gym,” she said with a laugh.
“Especially if you’re just going to get sexy again.”
“I don’t know if being pregnant is sexy…”
“It is to me.” I’d never been more attracted to her, watching her waddle around the house and touch her stomach every time the baby kicked. “I hope we have a son this time. If these are the only children we’re going to have, I want to have one of each.”
“I’d like a son too. I guess we’ll see.”
20
Siena
I’d considered telling Cato how I felt.
But it seemed like a moot point to me.
He already knew my feelings.
He knew I didn’t want anything to do with this life.
I already had a daughter with him, and considering how much we screwed every night, I was probably having another child soon. Our family had already begun, and I was loyal to him. But I still didn’t want this.