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Kendall gasped as I stepped forward to shield her. “That’s enough.”
“Wait,” Kendall said from behind me. Her hand on my back. Giving me strength. “You think I stayed in LA for Knox?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know what to think at this point. I don’t believe a word either of you has to say. For all I know, you were together before we broke up. And maybe you made up the ‘move’ so you could be together in secret all this time.”
“Listen to yourself, Jude,” Kendall said. “That’s insane.”
He leaned forward, his cheeks growing redder by the moment. “Any more insane than the fact that my ex isfuckingmy father?”
I flinched at his crude description and the harsh tone of his voice. “It’s not—”
“Like that. Right.” He kicked at the deck.
“Jude,” I said in a warning tone.
Jude shook his head. “Don’t ‘Jude’ me. Actually, better yet, don’t talk to me.”
“Now, son—”
“No.” He sliced a hand through the air. “You lost the right to call yourself my father.”
I flinched. I hadn’t expected this conversation to go well, but I’d also hoped it wouldn’t be quite the disaster it was turning into.
“I’m sorry. Okay?” I dragged a hand through my hair.
Jude ignored me and turned, jogging down the stairs. I gripped Kendall’s shoulders, asking her to stay put. Her expression haunted me, even as I chased after my son.
“Please, Jude. Let’s just talk about this.”
“Talk about what?” He spun to face me. “The fact that you slept with my ex—a woman who’s young enough to be yourdaughter. Or that the two of you were lying to me about it. Sneaking around behind my back.”
“I’m sorry,” I said again, pleading. “I never meant for this to happen. I never meant to hurt you.”
I’d always known that telling him would be painful, but I’d never imagined it would feel like this. As if someone had reached inside my chest and ripped my heart in two.
“Youknewhow I felt about her.” The agony on Jude’s face was heartbreaking.
I tried to choose my words carefully. I needed to handle this situation delicately. Even more so, considering how he’d found out. I worried that if I said the wrong thing—if I made it worse—I’d lose any chance of being part of his life.
“In the past,” I said. “Yes. But I thought you’d moved on. If I’d realized there was any chance…”
“Oh yeah?” He scoffed. “So, you just expect me to believe that you’ll, what? Step aside if I ask you to?”
“I—”
Jude lurched forward, his index finger inches from my nose. “Ha! You hesitated. Because you’re lying.”
“No.” I inhaled slowly, trying to calm myself. How did you comfort your child when you’d been the one to hurt them? “I just—”
“What?” he yelled. “You just what?”
My shoulders slumped. “I didn’t realize it was ever that serious between the two of you.”
Kendall had never let on that her feelings for Jude had been that deep. Not that I was going to tell him that. In fact, I was thankful she’d stayed on the upper deck.
Jude’s nostrils flared. “I was in love with her.”
I tried to put myself in his shoes. I imagined what it would be like to want a second chance with Kendall, only to find out she was with someone else. To find out she was with him.
