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All the players were looking good. Strong. We’d had a stellar preseason so far, and if we kept it up, the Leatherbacks would have another shot at the League Cup.
“This might be the year,” Jude said from beside me, echoing my thoughts.
My son and I had always been close. We’d always had an uncanny ability to read each other well enough to guess what the other was thinking.
It was part of why I’d been so thrilled when he’d decided to work with the Leatherbacks and me. I’d never wanted Jude to feel pushed into a career path, but I was grateful he’d decided to follow in my footsteps. And while I didn’t plan to step down anytime soon, I hoped that one day I could leave the team in Jude’s hands.
It was my job as his father to prepare him for the world. To prepare him to take over this team one day or to forge his own path. Just as my grandfather had prepared us to take over the family’s hotel dynasty or build our own empires.
I might have inherited a fifth of the Huxley Hotel fortune, but I’d tripled it, thanks to my investments. And I’d always tried to encourage Jude to do what was right for him—whether it was the Leatherbacks or something else.
“I know.” I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “We came so close last year. The team is hungry for it.”
He nodded. “I can see that drive, that determination, even in practices.”
“Yes,” I said. “It’s all coming together.”
We fell silent a moment, watching the players as they ran drills. The maintenance team was working on the digital signs, where the Ultim8 Hydr8 logo was currently displayed. The company was focused on distilled water with electrolytes, and they were one of the Leatherbacks’ biggest sponsors.
“So, were you ever going to tell me about Kendall?” Jude asked.
I’d been expecting—and dreading—this conversation. I was only surprised it had taken him this long to bring it up.
“I wanted to,” I said. “I really did.”
“I get it.” He laughed, seeming far too at ease, considering the subject matter. “She can be very persuasive.”
I fantasized about all the ways Kendall might bepersuasive. Then I remembered that my son had firsthand knowledge and cringed.
“Still—” I gripped the railing.
He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Dad, it’s fine.”
If he only knew…
“Really?” I asked, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Jude had accepted this so easily. That he wasn’t mad.
“Yeah.” He crossed his arms on the fence, his gaze following the team as they progressed across the field. “It was really nice to see Kendall again.”
I frowned. Did that mean he still had feelings for her? And what about his new girlfriend, Chrissy?
I was too chickenshit to ask. It was better to believe that he’d moved on. Hehadmoved on.
And, again, nothing was going to happen between Kendall and me.
No matter how much I might want it to.
No matter how many times I’d dreamed about it. Jacking off to the image of her in that damn neon-green bikini. Imagining how she’d feel wrapped around me. The sounds she’d make. The…
“How much longer are you going to pretend you need a house sitter?” His question caught me off guard.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on, Dad. You could’ve moved in a week ago—maybe more. Yet you didn’t.”
“Lauren’s still working on the finishing touches,” I said, which was true. But it wasn’t the whole truth.
He pushed back from the fence and crossed his arms over his chest. “Mm-hmm.”
