Page 94 of Temptation

“You’re on!” Jude yelled back before I could protest. Then he called over his shoulder to me, “Hold on!”

They took off. Jude whooped and cheered, pushing the Jet Ski—and my patience—to the limit. It was almost as if he kept taking tight turns and fast curves to force my body against his. Between the adrenaline rush and trying to avoid touching him any more than was necessary, I was exhausted.

As soon as Jude won, the others sped away. Chasing one another around.

When Jude finally slowed and then stopped, I wondered if something was wrong. But then he pointed in the distance. “Dolphins.”

I smiled, loving the sight of a pod of Pacific bottlenose dolphins. They were a big reason why I loved going out on the Jet Skis, even if I didn’t like driving them. “They’re beautiful.”

He squeezed my hand that was resting on his stomach. “So are you.”

“Jude…” I said, sensing we were veering into dangerous territory.

“What?” he asked.

“You just got out of a relationship.”

“So?” he asked. “If you remember,we—”he gestured between us “—used to be in a relationship.”

“I remember,” I said. How could I forget?

I wanted to believe there was a reason for everything, but if the purpose of my relationship with Jude was to connect me with his dad, well…I wished the universe could’ve found another way to have made that happen. Because the longer we spent on the yacht, the more awkward and untenable this situation was becoming.

Jude clearly had the wrong idea about us. Or maybe he was just looking for a rebound. But a rebound with an ex? That sounded messy.

Was it really any messier than the situation I currently found myself in?

“Maybe we could be again,” Jude said. “Maybe there’s a reason you stayed in LA and that our paths crossed again.”

“Yeah, my mom had cancer.”

I hadn’t meant for the words to come out as sharp as they had. I hadn’t meant to say them at all. But I was cranky from bouncing on top of the waves and nearly being thrown off. And I didn’t like where this conversation was headed.

“I know,” he sighed. “I’m sorry. I…”

I smoothed my hands down my thighs. “Jude, it’s fine. It’s no one’s fault that she got cancer.”

“I’m sorry she did, but I’m not sorry about seeing you again. Spending time together this weekend, these past few months, has reminded me of how good we were together. I mean…didn’t we have fun?”

What was I supposed to say? We were in the middle of the freaking ocean, and he’d effectively trapped me in this conversation.

“We did.” And I’d been naïve to think it wouldn’t get to this point again. But he’d moved on. He was happy with Chrissy—at least until a few days ago. “But—”

“But nothing,” he said, taking my hand in his. “Please, Kendall. Let’s give this another chance.”

“I-I—” Suddenly, the sun was scorching, and I scrambled for a response. Any response that didn’t involve telling him about Knox. “I’m actually seeing someone.”

And now I understood why Knox had told Jude he had a girlfriend.

He jerked his head back. “You are? Since when?”

I cleared my throat, sliding my hand out of his. “It’s still sort of new.”

He let out a heavy sigh and stared toward the sky. “Does he make you happy?”

I smiled at the thought of Knox. “He really does.”

Jude nodded, glancing out over the water, the sunlight sparkling off the surface. “Then I’m happy for you.”