Overcoming Fear (Growing Pains #2)(86)

“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.”