Page 105 of Temptation

“Jude’s former teacher or something?”

Or something.

“Look, Nate. It doesn’t really matter.”

“Yeah, except for the fact that now I’m fucking curious. And the more you keep quiet about her, the more I want to know who she is. A celebrity crush,” he blurted, reminding me of Jude when he’d found out I was seeing someone.

“No. Fuck.” I dragged my hand down my face. “Can you please focus? I need solutions.”

“And you’ve tried talking to Jude?”

“Of course I have. He keeps shutting me out. And I’m worried—” I gnashed my teeth, grabbing his arm and pulling him into a quiet corner for privacy. “I’m worried this rift,” I said, for lack of a better word, “will have serious ramifications for the team.”

Jude hadn’t stepped foot in the office in nearly two weeks. Even though he was still responding to emails, his absence was already impacting the Leatherbacks.

I’d heard the whispers around the office. From the team. Everyone was worried about Jude, and I didn’t have a clue what to tell them because it was clear they weren’t buying my story about him researching a new project.

“Maybe he just needs some space. It sounds like this came as a big shock.”

I nodded. “He definitely didn’t see it coming.”

“So, give him time,” Nate said with a sympathetic smile.

“How much time?” I asked, exasperation bleeding into my tone. “I’ve never gone this long without talking to him. I’m about to go out of my damn mind. And it’s hurting her too.”

“Interesting,” he said. “Because ofherrelationship with Jude?”

Nate was clearly fishing for clues, but it was a valid question. I’d opened the door to this conversation, and I was desperate for a solution. This wasn’t just hurting my son or me; it was hurting Kendall.

“Yes,” I huffed. “Look, I thought I could handle the situation with Jude. I thought he’d come around eventually, but I’m beginning to worry he never will. I mean, he was the one who told me to get out more. To start dating. And I didn’t mean to fall for her. I tried to stop it…stop myself.”

“Okay, now you really have to tell me,” Nate said.

I groaned and stared at the ceiling. “Not until I fix things with Jude.”

“Seems like I could be waiting a long time, then.”

I blew out a breath.You and me both.

Later that night, back in my hotel room, I tried calling Jude. I wasn’t surprised when it went straight to voice mail again. Nor by the fact that my texts continued to go unanswered. But I was still disappointed.

I took a few deep breaths and decided to call the one person who could cheer me up. The one person who would understand.

“Hey,” Kendall answered, and just hearing her voice put me at ease. “How was the event?”

“Fine.” I rubbed my forehead. “Good.”

The Huxley Family Foundation had donated a ton of money to a number of important causes, but it all felt so hollow. Because all it did was remind me of my own broken legacy. My own shortcomings and how badly I needed to fix things with Jude.

“I’m ready to come home,” I said. “And I talked to Nate. He’s spoken to Jude recently.”

“Oh, I’m so glad,” she said on a rush of air.

“Me too.” It was a relief to know where Jude was.

And in a few days, I’d be heading home—to Kendall. The thought of climbing into bed with her, of holding her in my arms, was the only thing helping me keep it together when it felt as if everything else was falling apart.

I pressed the button to connect to video, and Kendall finally accepted.

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