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“I know. I’m sorry. Fuck.” I could just imagine him dragging a hand through his hair. “I feel like I’m letting everyone down.”
I could certainly empathize with that. But I just listened. That was what he really needed—someone to listen.
“You’re not letting anyone down,” I said. “Least of all me.” In fact, the opposite was true.
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Go take care of what you need to. I’m always here for you.”
“Thanks.” He sighed. “Sorry to ditch last minute. I guess I’ll be meeting your mystery lady at the yacht party after all.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked, trying to hide the panic from my tone.
“Because I’m out of town until then, remember? I have that trip to court the sponsors.”
“Oh. Right.” I gnashed my teeth. “Okay. Well, we’ll figure something out. Have a good trip.”
“Bye, Dad. Love you.”
“Love you too,” I said, disconnecting the call.
“He’s not coming,” Kendall said, sinking down onto the couch. We’d been building up to this. Preparing for it. And now…
I let out a heavy sigh. “No. He’s not.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “What are we going to do?”
I sat next to her, pulling her into my arms. “We’re going to eat a nice dinner and enjoy our evening alone.”
“About Jude,” she said flatly.
“We’ll tell him soon.” I kissed the top of her head.
“Not on the yacht, though, right?”
I scoffed. “Fuck no. But you should still come.”
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
“We don’t have to decide anything tonight. How about some dinner? Or a swim?”
“Mm.” Her eyes darkened, probably thinking back to our first night together. “Definitely. But dinner first. Javier prepared an incredible meal for us, and I’d hate for his efforts to go to waste.”
I pulled her into me, rasping into her ear, “And I’ll have you for dessert.”
She gave out a sexy little squeal when my beard grazed her neck. “Yes, please.”
* * *
“Oh my god.How many people did he invite?” Kendall asked, peering into the distance where a large group was talking and laughing at the entrance to the yacht club.
Sea gulls swooped in the distance, hunting for scraps of food. The surface of the water was calm. The sky clear. It was the perfect weekend for going out on the yacht.
Everyone was still far enough away that they wouldn’t be able to make us out. So I joined Kendall at the railing, wrapping my arms around her. If the crew members remembered that she’d dated Jude, they didn’t remark on it. There were no raised eyebrows. Though I expected nothing less than complete discretion from my employees.
“You know Jude,” I said. “He loves a good party.”
Kendall spun to face me, her hands braced on the railing behind her. It had the effect of pushing her chest out, and my mouth watered at the sight. Now was not the time to be thinking about all the things I’d imagined doing to her on this boat, but it was a good distraction.
