Overcoming Fear (Growing Pains #2) (35 page)

She laughed and looked at Krista, her eyes
twinkling. “Scoundrel, this one.”

Sean smiled.

Mr. Hartling joined them again, having
shaken off the overeager young businessman. “Mr. McAdams, good to
have you.”

“Please, call me Sean,” he shook Mr.
Hartling’s hand.

“And call me Tory. Your team delivered
today.”

“Thank you, Tory. I think our Krista here
saved the day,” Sean said, looking down on her with eyes that
glowed.

“Yes, she was the bulb to shed light on the
presentation. Once I knew what angle you were taking, though, it
all made sense. Insightful marketing strategies.”

“Yes, that’s Marcus. He’s brilliant, but
until now no one has really been able to...find his angle, as you
said.”

“And that angle was uncovered by Mr.
Simmons, correct? He produced some truly ingenious imagery.”

“Ben, yes. He and Krista worked on bringing
Marcus’s idea to life. Krista was the numbers, Ben was the graphic
design, and together—well, you saw the finished product.”

“Yes,” Tory said, thinking. “And where is
Mr. Simmons tonight?”

“He got a free pass to stay home.” Krista
laughed. “He’s not really into these types of things. He got duped
into helping us—he’s my roommate—then beguiled into joining the
team.”

“He’s your roommate?” Tory
said, a sparkle in his eyes. “And how did you
dupe
him?”

Emily excused herself, probably bored with
talking shop. Krista waited for Emily’s graceful exit before she
said, “I know his favorite takeout place. And also do his
budget.”

“They are good friends,” Sean said. “And Ben
is always willing to help. He’s currently finishing up an art
degree in graphic design, but he is also an exceptional
painter.”

“You seem to have found many exceptional
people for your team,” Tory remarked, looking at Sean.

“
I merely gave an
opportunity to those who had previously been passed over or hadn’t
yet received a chance.”

People were starting to take their seats for
dinner. Krista still had no idea what the dinner was for, but if
the cattle call was sounding, she needed to get to her trough.

“Yes,” Tory said reflectively as he looked
at Krista.

Sean stepped a bit closer. “Shall we take
our seats?” His arm curved around Krista’s waist.

Krista tried to bat down the fairy lights of
pleasure as they swirled around her. She had to remind herself that
it wasn’t the time for lovesickness. Sean wasn’t being respectful
of her space. Normally she wouldn’t mind, but with their history,
and with a prospective client right in front of them, space was a
good thing. A very good thing. She was sure her face was a lovely
shade of tomato red.

Krista nodded and smiled. “I have to get in
position for dessert,” she joked.

Tory, remembering her fondness for
chocolate, smiled with her and nodded as she let Sean lead her
away.

When they were out of earshot Krista asked,
“You afraid Tory is going to leave Emily for me or something?”

He chuckled, “I can’t imagine Emily would
allow that. No, I am afraid our neglect of your salary is going to
bite us in the ass.”

“Their company wouldn’t need a researcher,
so I can’t imagine he would try to steal me away.”

Sean was quiet on the matter. They sat at
their marked table and drank some wine while talking with John and
his girlfriend. His girlfriend was Krista’s age, platinum blond
hair, fake boobs that were too big, and a fake tan that looked
orange. It was amazing--she spent a bunch of money to look that
ugly. The bitch of it was she could have been attractive without
all that.

But then, John seemed to like it and he was
wealthy, so what did Krista know?

Salad came and went while John and Sean
talked sales. Marcus and his date were supposed to be at their
table, but were nowhere in sight. Judy and Ray were at another
table, gabbing merrily. Luckily for Krista, the blond girl was both
behind a center piece, and also didn’t seem all that interested in
talking to anyone. It meant Krista was bored, but that was better
than annoyed.

The other girl probably thought the same
thing.

The main course came and went and the night
just got more boring. Krista looked longingly at Ray and Judy’s
table, thought briefly about texting people or playing a game,
realized that would be unprofessional, and sat there, drinking wine
and watching the room. Sean glanced over often, but he didn’t
include her in their conversation, which was just fine with her.
She didn’t want to talk sales, and she didn’t want to change the
subject to something personal John might want to talk about. She
saw the type of girls he liked—he couldn’t have anything to say
that Krista wanted to hear.

Krista spotted Marcus at the bar with his
boy toy, and very nearly got up to go talk to them. If it wasn’t
for the dessert showing up at that moment, she definitely would
have. Leaving chocolate uneaten was practically sacrilegious! Pure
evil!

“Good?” Sean asked.

Krista popped her head out of her chocolate
fantasy and noticed Sean looking at her mouth with heated eyes.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Delicious. Did you try it?”

Sean, still looking at her mouth, shook his
head slowly. Then started to lean in.

In a moment of panic that he would kiss her,
because it was very clear that’s what he intended, she speared her
syrupy cake thing with a fork and shoved it in his face.

“Try it,”
she said with a warning in her voice.

Sean’s hooded eyes lazily looked up into
hers. In a flash, realization dawned. His brows dipped and he
minutely shook his head.

“Sorry. I forgot myself,” he muttered,
eyeing the chocolatey goodness on her fork. “I have my own,
thanks.”

“You’re embarrassing me,
Sean,” Krista seethed quietly. “Please act normal.
John
is sitting beside
you for cripes-sakes!”

Sean’s shoulders hunched before he regained
himself and straightened up. It was at that moment that a string
quartet started at the end of the dining area. Tory and Emily got
up hand-in-hand and led the way.

They were excellent dancers. A few other
people got up to join them, and thankfully, so did John and his
blond.

“I’m sorry, Krista. I just saw that look on
your face, and your enjoyment—I’m sorry. I forgot…”

“It’s fine, Sean. Just—try to be more
careful in the future, okay? If we were dating it would be one
thing, but as it is, I don’t want gossip for something I’m not even
doing.”

“I know, Krista. I’m sorry.” Sean’s
shoulders hunched again as he surveyed the dance floor.

Krista followed his gaze, passing them into
miserable silence before Sean tried to switch directions, or maybe
erase what had just happened, by saying, “Painful, huh?”

Krista checked the direction of his eyes and
noticed he was looking at John and the blond girl haphazardly
making their way around the dance floor.

“The dancing?”

“Well, that and having to sit next to them.
John goes on and on about work. All he thinks about.”

“I didn’t listen in. But his date is
painful!”

“Definitely. What is up with the tan?”

“What is up with the
boobs
?”

Sean laughed, easing out of
his mope. “I was hoping you would comment! They looked like they
did
not
belong.”

“You were hoping I would comment so you
wouldn’t sound like a womanizer?”

Sean smiled bigger, sharing the joke. “I’ve
learned never to bring up breasts around women unless they bring it
up first. And then only comment if it is in the negative.”

“Wise,” Krista said looking at him. He was
looking back. The ensuing moment was intense with longing,
interrupted by John and the blond woman taking their seats.

“Would you like to dance?” Sean asked before
John could open his mouth.

“Sure,” Krista said, getting up.

As they left the table, John made a joke
about not being able to show him up.

“Does he actually think he’s a good dancer?”
Krista asked quietly.

“Not sure. I never wanted to ask in case the
answer was yes.”

“Again, wise.”

They reached the large dance floor. There
weren’t a lot of young people—as usual—so the dancers knew various
ballroom dances and made their way slowly but gracefully around the
dance floor. Sean reeled Krista in, his eyes intense, his focus on
her completely.

They started to dance, slowly so as to keep
the pace with those around them, and because they were sharing each
other’s embrace. They knew each other’s bodies pretty well by now.
Krista could take his subtle cues, and he likewise. They wouldn’t
win any competitions in a ballroom setting, but they fit in just
fine.

When the song was over, Sean grudgingly let
Krista go and continued to look at her as she clapped for the band.
They both headed back to the table, which lasted about three steps
before Krista was ambushed by some business guy and regretfully
couldn’t come up with a reason to turn him down other than, “Eww,
you’re gross.”

He was a middle-aged, balding, short and
portly dude who had too much money. What’s more, he tried to hold
her too close and the entire dance was spent trying to wriggle
away. Even worse still, he wasn’t married.

After that another guy asked her to dance,
and in a desperate glance up to be rescued, she saw Sean with a
woman about his age and pretty, and Marcus at the bar pointing and
laughing. She got a shock of jealousy at Sean before she pushed it
away, and sent a glare Marcus’s way. She had no choice but to dance
with the tall, gangly partner. But as soon as that dance was over,
she nearly sprinted to her table, telling the next yahoo that she
was too tired to keep going. If that failed, she would blame her
prosthetic hip!

Back at the table, sitting alone and
ignoring Marcus laughing at her with Judy—she would get him back if
it killed her—she watched Sean, who got asked up yet again by
another attractive woman. Were there no attractive men to ask her?
What the hell?

She realized someone sat down next to her.
It was Emily, thank God. She was half worried it was John. Or one
of her aforementioned partners.

“So...girl talk. How long have you been with
Sean?”

Krista did a double-take and started
stuttering.

Emily laughed, “Relax! I recognize a woman
in love. My lips are sealed. So?”

Krista sighed and looked back at him
miserably. “I’m not with him. He’s afraid he’ll treat me badly, so
he ended it before it really began.”

“Men
.”

“I hear that a lot.”

“He seems to really like you. Tory was like
that once upon a time—lamb-eyed, I mean,” Emily laughed. “I would
say this to you, being that I am old and have been there a few
times myself. I would say, sometimes all a man needs to know is
that we aren’t breakable. Back that up with how you feel about him,
and his insecurity won’t be as big of a problem anymore.”

Krista wasn’t so sure. She continued to look
at Sean, who was breaking away from his partner and heading back to
the table.

“Think on it,” Emily said as Sean arrived.
She made an excuse to leave and glided away.

“Don’t leave me alone again,” Sean said as
he sat down, face shiny from fatigue.

“Why? You get all the pretty girls whereas I
get a bunch of ugly old dudes.”

“My girls are the dates of your dudes.
Wealth doesn’t attract you?”

“Not as a sex
stimulant.
Eww
.”

Sean laughed at her and they fell into
silence, watching the dancers for a minute while sipping their
wine. As the silence lengthened it got less and less easy. Krista
knew she needed to say something to ease the tension, but she just
didn’t know what else there was to say.

It was then that she figured she might give
Emily’s advice a chance. Why not? It couldn’t hurt.

Krista took a breath to steel her courage,
then let it out just as quickly when John’s voice sounded behind
them.

“We were just invited to Mr. Hartling’s
house for a pool party tomorrow! You are both going. You are
celebrities. Make it work. Sean, can I talk to you for a
minute?”

Sean looked over at Krista in agony,
noticing her in consternation with the need to talk. But if he told
John to buzz off it would make matters worse for them both. The
last person who needed to know he and Krista had something going,
or had something once, was a creep like John.

Sean gave her a look of concern before
stepping away.

Krista took that as a sign to look after
herself. Being that she needed to steer clear of the dance floor,
or anyone even remotely interested in shaking a leg, she went
straight to the bar. People up that way were more likely to be
drinking than dancing.

She had just ordered champagne when a
non-Sean-like presence leaned up against the bar next to her. She
quickly thought of an excuse why she couldn’t dance.

“Krista, where has your knight in shining
armor gone?” Tory asked.

“Thank
God
, I thought I was going to have to tell
you I had a bum leg.”

Tory looked at her quizzically.

“I thought you were one of the random guys
who keeps asking me to dance. I didn’t know it was you…” As his
expression cleared, replaced by a smile, she quickly continued, now
trying to hide her lack of professionalism, “I assume you mean
Sean, and he went to talk shop with John.”

Tory
tsked
, “A woman should never be left
unattended.”