Page 2 of Sinful Temptations

My brain flitted from one image to the next. Mother’s gaunt frame. Luca’s muscular torso. The dark bags under Mother’s eyes. Pierre’s chocolate irises and how they devoured me. Mother passed out with a needle in her arm.

The images flashed in and out like I was trapped in a panic room with a faulty light.

I’d seen Mother drugged out of her mind with that needle often enough. Only now the needle would be morphine.Does that give the patient a high?Even in the hospital, Mother would probably find a way to get her fix.

Rain burst from the sky like it’d been released from a dam, drenching me in seconds. Grabbing my glass and phone, I scurried back inside and shut the glass door. Rivers of water streamed down the glass like tears.

After drying my arms, I topped off my wine and returned to my little breakfast table.

My notepad, with my list of firsts, caught my attention.

It was still hard to believe what I’d done this month.

First oral sex.

Oh yeah.Luca’s hot tongue had been incredible. I still couldn’t believe it’d taken me twenty-nine years to discover that little delight. Luca . . . A warm glow washed through me as I pictured his rock-hard abs and his treasure trail—the line of coppery hair that ran from his navel to his cock.

I wanted to see that again. I wanted to see Luca again. And Pierre.Hmm . . .Pierre.

But it wasn’t just the men I wanted to see. It was Europe. And more of London while I was between tours.

I wasn’t ready to leave. Not Europe, and I didn’t want to leave Roman.

I wanted to help him so bad it hurt. He needed me.

But if Mother’s photos were real, and she really was dying, then she needed me too.

Damn it!Why did I even care about her?

She’d never cared about me.

Yet it niggled at me. I felt like Ishouldsee her.

This was a job for Zali. She’d know what to do.

Grabbing my phone, I jabbed out a text.

She’s dying

Edna!!

Damn.Of course she’d think of my landlord. I’d told her enough times about the poor woman’s crippled frame.

Sorry. No. Mother

Again!!!

I wondered if it was karma. Perhaps all those times Mother had pretended to have cancer actually gave her cancer.

She sent me the doctor’s letter and a photo of the scan. She has breast cancer. She wants me to go home and help her

I stared at the phone, and when Zali’s response wasn’t instant, a bolt of guilt shot through me. Here I was bitching about Mother dying when Zali had had to change her entire life to look after her sick mother. With confusion weighing me down like a concrete blanket, I jabbed the FaceTime button.

Azalia’s face appeared on the screen. Her skin was pale. Her blonde hair was a scrambled mess with a dark stripe through the middle, and her eyes confirmed just how tired she was. “Hey there. This is a nice surprise.”

When she smiled, my guilt hit a whole new level. Zali didn’t need my pathetic shit adding to her already miserable life. “I’m sorry, babe, need to chat. Are you busy?”

“Never too busy for you. How are you?”

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