Page 157 of Vicious Temptation

“When something matters to you, you get trapped in your own head. You overanalyze and overthink every conversation, outcome, and possibility until you’re no longer paying attention to what’s right in front of you.” She pauses. “Other times, you do the exact opposite and act before you’ve thought anything through.”

I hate how accurate that sounds.

“That’s why you’re losing,” she adds.

“Or maybe you’re just good.”

“I am good,” she says without hesitation. “But you’re better than this. You’re better than me.”

She crouches beside me. “You know what makes the difference between a good fighter and a dead one?”

I sigh. “You’re going to tell me anyway.”

“The ability to stay present. The second your attention drifts or you let your emotions start making decisions for you, you become vulnerable, Remi.” Her gaze hardens. “And right now, you’re so busy thinking about that man that you haven’t landed a clean hit in ten minutes.”

Heat floods my face as I groan, letting my head fall back against the mat. “Can we go back to discussing government conspiracies?”

“No,” Aunt Leni says as she stands and offers me a hand. “Because those are far less interesting.”

Against my better judgment, I accept it.

The smug smile on her face tells me she just won far more than the sparring match.

A few minutes later, the three of us are sitting on a bench against the wall, drinking water and catching our breaths.

“We had a fight,” I blurt out. “Sort of. I told him not to contact me anymore, and he listened.”

“And you didn’t want him to?” Aunt Eva asks.

Staring down at my water bottle, I shrug. “I guess not,” I finally admit. “But I’m not going to beg him, either.”

“Sweetheart,” Aunt Leni says, taking a drink of water, “have you seen yourself? Begging anyone has never been an option for you.”

I sigh. “Me and him...we’re not dating or anything. We’re just...”

How exactly am I supposed to explain this? Neither of my aunts is judgmental. If anything, they’ve always been open-minded, but that isn’t the problem. No matter how old I get, there are still certain details I don’t want to share with two women who are basically my mothers.

Aunt Eva’s eyes widen slightly. “Oh.”

Aunt Leni points her water bottle at me. “Well, maybe you have a little soul-searching to do. You need to figure out what you really want from him and whether you’re willing to admit it to yourself.” She takes another drink before adding, “Then you can decide whether he’s worth it. I say that loosely because he’ll have to be one hell of a man to measure up.”

“Agreed.” Aunt Eva nudges my shoulder. “You know you’re one of my girls too, right?”

The knot that’s been in my chest since that day in my mother’s office loosens a little.

“I know,” I murmur, unable to keep the smile from my face.

Aunt Eva reaches over and squeezes my hand. “Val is just a phone call away, and we’re all here for you. So stop carrying all of this by yourself.”

I look away before either of them can see how deeply those words affect me.

“Now, please go visit Amalia,” Aunt Leni adds.

“She knows I love her.”

“She does,” Aunt Leni says gently. “But she’d probably like to hear it from you anyway.”

I let out a long sigh. “Fine.”