Overcoming Fear (Growing Pains #2)
OVERCOMING FEAR
Growing Pains, Book 2
by K.F. Breene
Website: http://kfbreene.com/
Blog: www.kfbreene.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorKF
Twitter: @KFBreene
Smashwords Edition: September 2013
Copyright © 2013 by K.F. Breene
Other Titles by K.F. Breene
Skyline Series (Contemporary Romance)
Building Trouble, Book 1
Uneven Foundation, Book 2
Solid Ground, Book 3
Jessica Brodie Diaries (Contemporary Romance)
Back in the Saddle, Book 1 – FREE
Hanging On, Book 2
A Wild Ride, Book 3
Growing Pains (Contemporary Romance)
Lost and Found, Book 1 - FREE
Overcoming Fear, Book 2
Butterflies in Honey, Book 3
Darkness Series (Paranormal Romance)
Into the Darkness, Novella 1 - FREE
Braving the Elements, Novella 2
On a Razor’s Edge, Novella 3
Demons, Novella 4
“True love doesn’t happen right away; it’s an ever-growing process. It develops after you’ve gone through many ups and downs, when you’ve suffered together, cried together, laughed together.”
--Ricardo Montalban
Overcoming Fear
Prologue
“Krista, we meet again.”
Krista looked up from a book as she crossed the parking lot, spying the speaker immediately. It was hard not to, eyes found him whether they’d intended to or not. Jim was six-foot-four and built like a football player, standing with complete confidence in his body, owning space like Elvis owned the stage. Hulking shoulders stretched his shirts, his thick arms corded with muscle hung loose at his sides.
“Hi, Jim,” she breathed, not stopping the smile that was curling her lips.
When he’d walked across the bar to talk to her the other night, she’d been the envy of every woman there. His flashing eyes had caught and held her, marking her as his, and not bothering to notice anyone else. He was dashing and handsome, and had that bad boy flair in need of taming.
There wasn’t a woman out there who wouldn’t raise her hand to the challenge.
“Can I walk you?” he asked cordially, stepping to the side to allow her to pass.
“Sure,” her stupid face turned red as she slowed her step, falling in line with him.
“I wondered why you didn’t call,” Jim said easily, his rough voice smooth and silky, tugging at her groin.
She broke out in a nervous sweat, her stomach flipping and turning in this handsome man’s proximity. “I know—sorry! I haven’t had a chance. We’re in the middle of finals and I have so much work to do! I was planning on calling you tomorrow.”
“Hmmm. Well, in future, make time, huh? I like talking to ya.”
Krista’s face got hot as she burst with pride. A man like Jim wanting her? How the hell had she pulled that lucky ticket?
“Kris, we’re—oh…” Kate stood in front of the restaurant with her mouth wide open, staring at Jim. “Hi, Jim!” she said with a breathy voice.
Jim smirked, seeing the look. “Hello, Kate. How are you?”
“G-good,” Kate gulped and nodded.
Jim turned to Krista with his back to Kate, bending down to catch her eye. “Alright, call me. It’s not a request.” He gave her a tantalizing stare filled with heat, capturing and claiming her spirit.
Tingles crawled up Krista’s legs as wetness burst into her panties. He winked, then left.
Krista watched him walk away with stars in her eyes, his powerful body moving along the sidewalk with grace.
“You are one lucky bitch, Krista Marshall!” Kate said in awe. “That man is too hot for his own good.”
“I know!” Krista gushed, fanning her face. “And he went out of his way to talk and make sure I called!”
Kate shook her head. “Lucky fucking bitch indeed.”
Chapter One
Krista sat in Sean’s office, turbulent with the emotions she was trying to suppress. She was wanting to keep her distance, stay firmly in the friend zone, but having a problem with the resolution. He had just asked her if they were okay; loaded question.
He was just too much fun, smart, charming and personable. She didn’t even care about his startling good looks anymore. She was beyond that. She was beyond external beauty and body.
In theory, anyway. It wasn’t like she was a saint or anything, and he was HOT.
Sean sat at his desk, looking at her, wondering if they were still okay after what happened at the winery. After she allowed him to feel up her thigh. After leaning in, desperate for him to kiss her.
After he chose Monica over her and had just walked away.
Yeah, they were good in a work setting, but everything else needed to stay…somewhere else.
“Good,” he said, “I like working with you. I didn’t want anything to get in the way.”
“Ditto. These things happen. No big deal. Now, stop getting all sappy on me.”
He smirked, the corners of his lips tugging upward to give more smile, but he resisted.
She needed to get out of the room. It was too small all of a sudden. Too hot. His musty scent too powerful. Her limbs too weak. Stuff was all messed up in her head.
As she got up to leave, however, he said, “Ray is having a barbecue on Saturday.” Sean was looking at her thoughtfully. “He lives in the East Bay. I wondered if you would come, and bring your friends so I can meet them? No promises, but if they are any good maybe we can work something out with them rather than hiring unknowns.”
After landing the huge account Krista, Sean and their team had been working on, they needed more bodies to do the task. With the rest of Krista’s Research cronies being lazy and incompetent, Sean thought bringing on Kate and Jasmine, Krista’s longtime friends and college buddies, would really benefit all. But first, he had to get to know them, talk, since other than their only other chance encounter at the pub a while back, he didn’t know them other than what Krista had to say about them; which was all good. .
“Uh…” Her brain went to her calendar. “Clear. Oh wait, poop. I’m supposed to go to the Folsom Street Fair.”
“You’re going to that?”
The way Sean said it made Krista tilt her head. “Yeah, why?”
“Have you ever been?”
“No. Jasmine, or was it Kate? Well, they are dragging me. They say there’s nothing like it.”
“They’re right. But that’s next weekend. I think. I don’t keep track. But definitely not this weekend.”
“Oh. Well then, consider me there. What do I bring?”
“Yourself. Your friends. Uh…your boyfriend—Paul—if you want.”
“I don’t have a boyfriend. I’ll just bring the girls.” She wanted to ask who he was bringing. Monica? Or someone else? Hopefully not someone from the company—she was sick of watching him overlook her.
Even though she shouldn’t have been. He was a womanizer and most definitely off-limits. Still …
He nodded. She nodded. Suddenly, things were awkward. She was about to step from professional to personal with Sean. She sincerely hoped her friends were on their best behavior. She also sincerely hoped she didn’t mess up and accidentally unzip his delicious fitting jeans!
~*~*~*~
Sean watched Krista go. He’d just taken the plunge. He shouldn’t have. He knew that. But…screw it.
He picked up the phone.
“Sean.” Ray, his good friend and now co-worker, waited patiently on the other end.
“Hey. Listen,
thought you should know—I invited Krista to your barbecue on Saturday. And her friends. I want you to meet them.”
There was silence. Sean sat with his eyes scrunched up, awaiting judgment.
“Did you invite anyone else from the team?” Ray finally asked.
“No.”
Another pause.
“Is this wise?” Ray asked slowly.
Sean sighed. Then laughed to himself.
“What’s funny?” Ray asked, wary.
“I just had the thought that on Saturday I might sigh in front of Jasmine and see if she’ll Thump Bird me.”
“Thump Bird? What?”
“Never mind. Look, I don’t know if it’s wise, okay? But I want her. Something fierce. I want to invite her to a social thing with my friends and her friends and see what happens. See if outside of work she is just as irresistible as inside. See if she feels the same. If it’s burgers you’re worried about, I’ll bring more.”
“You know it’s not burgers that bothers me, Sean. We are so close to a huge career boost with this account.”
“We’ll close that gap with Tory. As a team. This weekend won’t mess that up. I won’t be able to beguile her—not with her friends looking over her shoulder, and not with Ben’s soft-spoken judgment. I’ve already talked to him and he’s going—he’s agreed not to mention it to Krista unless she mentions it first.”
“Sabotaging her friends? That’s a new one for you.”
Ray sounded disapproving. He thought Sean was trying for a ploy, trying new ways to get her into bed. It was true, but not in the way he thought. He wanted her for more than a night. He didn’t care if it was breaking the mold on his normal routine, he was curious and he just had to know. He wanted to know her better.
“Her friends are her chastity belt,” Sean answered, pushing commitment worries out of his brain. “They trust me less than she does. Ray, this isn’t like that. I’ll be under your nose the whole time. If I am not 100% genuine, you have my permission to tell Mary, and have Krista escorted from the premises. You can give her a tour of all my past failures.”
Another long pause. Then, “Sean, you know that generally I trust your decisions 95% of the time. I have always believed in you even when you didn’t believe in yourself. But this…she’s different. There’s a real change in you around her. A good change. I truly believe that you do feel something. The problem is that you’ll go in with guns blazing, get her hooked, and then run out just as fast. You’re playing for keeps in this one, and you are never the one that gets hurt.”
Sean hung his head. “I know. I know all that. But…Ray, Christ—I can’t get her out of my head. I can’t. I haven’t told you a few things that happened between us, but…I’m hooked, okay? I’m hooked and I just want to see. I want to see if her friends would mesh with my friends. If she would be comfortable with my people. That’s all. It’s not a date—I didn’t even sell it as a date. I sold it like a work function. I just…I need to see.”
“Did you talk to Cassie?”
Cassie was Sean’s younger sister. His other brain. His walking stick some of the time. All big decisions went through Cassie or Ray. This time, both.
“It was her idea.”
Yet another long pause. Ray was not comfortable with this.
“Do you not like her?” Sean asked, suddenly uneasy.
“Of course I like her, Sean. You know that,” Ray said testily. “Somehow she is the uncommon glue that brings this whole team together. Everything is starting to revolve around her. Even the art people—even Judy. Everyone is looking to her because she’s setting the standard, and it’s a damn high standard. She charmed me seconds after I met her even though I didn’t believe in her work yet. Tory only took us on because of her brain power, ambition, and trust in you. Liking her isn’t the issue. Or maybe it is, because I’m worried about what’ll become of her when you lock in your sights and then walk away like you always do. I don’t want to see her crumble. I don’t think she deserves it.”
The ball dropped. It was Sean’s turn for silence. He didn’t realize Ray was not on his side in this. It was a first. It was yet another disconcerting issue where Krista was concerned.
“I don’t know what to say, Ray,” Sean finally said. “I invited her. I want you to meet her friends—for work purposes. I want Mary to meet Krista. That’s about the gist of it.”
Ray sighed, “Well, I won’t let you lead that young lady around by the nose, Sean, whatever you might think. Even though she’s well able to look after herself, I won’t let you lead her on. I thought you should know. Other than that, I don’t mind the extra company on Saturday.”
“Great. See you then,” Sean said shortly.
Ray clicked off.
Sean looked at the earpiece for a long time. Ray didn’t usually hang up on him without saying goodbye. He didn’t usually give him so much grief about the girls he chose, either. He certainly didn’t lose faith in him so readily. It made Sean feel uneasy. But it didn’t change his mind.
He had to see; to end this curiosity once and for all.
~*~*~*~
The morning of the barbecue, Krista got on her scrubs and went for a run. She needed to calm her nerves before meeting Sean in a personal setting. She had told Kate and Jasmine to be on their best behavior, but she knew they would start acting up as soon as Sean threw a line. She was worried.
Her running route wasn’t a tough one; it was a flat, paved path that ran along a four-lane highway directly above Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Krista was on the fourth mile, sweaty and loving it, when she saw a surfer coming up from the beach.
Out–of-shape surfers were extremely rare around those parts. It was a sand breaking beach, which meant there was no coral; just a steady rise of earth where waves came in and broke multiple times before they slid onto the sandy beach. It meant surfers had to paddle, paddle and paddle some more to get out past the breaking waves. It took a lot of energy and perseverance, not to mention a high-calorie breakfast, to keep going long enough to make it worth it. It was another reason she didn’t surf there.
As always, she watched as the surfer approached the path, his wetsuit pulled to his waist. Most of the time these guys had great bods, and only some of the time they were old, so chances were that being creepy paid off with eye-candy.
This dude was no exception. He had chest and arms that would make a gal drool. He wasn’t over-built, like he spent his whole life in the gym, but he probably did some weights to fill himself out. He had just the right physique to fit casually into a trendy muscle shirt. Also for a girl to show off to her friends.
He quickened his step across the path, trying not to impede her way, when he stopped suddenly. “Krista?”
Her eyes were lazily traveling up his glistening chest, as she always did when surfers dared show skin, when she heard her name. Her eyes jumped to his face and directly into Sean’s almond shaped eyes.
Shock rocked through her body, causing her legs to stiffen and get tangled together. Being that she was nearly done with the four miles, and her body was severely taxed, she couldn’t recuperate gracefully. Instead, she dove, head first, into the dune shrubbery beside the path. She skidded on her side, swore, then rolled to a stop.
As was customary around Sean the Savior, she felt two big, strong hands lifting her up. Overtired, she let them.
When she was nearly upright, she locked her legs to make it easy on him to set her to rights, but in reality she still looked like a toddler learning to stand. She wobbled around for a minute, testing her balance, and noticed Sean’s left hand on her arm to steady her.
“I’m good,” she said, raising her eyes to meet his. “Sorry about the sweat.”
His eyes were vivid green and worried. His dirty-blond hair was wet and tossed every-which-way. The sun glinted off his high cheekbones, accenting his noble features. Krista watched a droplet of water glimmer as it made its way down the middle of his six-pack. She shook herself out of creep mode.
“Holy crap, McAdams, where did that body come from?” she laughed, seeing two more surfers approaching. They had wet suits intact, covering up the goods, the cheaters.
Krista bowed and put her hands on her knees to catch her breath, filing away the image of Sean’s body into her mental Rolodex. Christ on a cracker she was tired. She looked at her watch while he was befuddled and complimented herself on the good time. Next week she would break her current record, she was sure of it--if she wasn’t still sore from this week.
Sean, finally recovering even though he hadn’t been the one running, laughed in embarrassment. “Uh,” and gestured toward his surfboard.
Krista nodded and looked around. She was about a quarter mile from finishing. Also from her house. It was far enough.
“Can I escort you to your car?” she asked, looking for something to lean on.
“Are you sure you aren’t going to die on the way?”
“No.”
Sean grunted and started walking, and she followed in a collection of wheezes.
“You were really moving,” he said as they made it down the slope to the street.
“I like to keep it in gear. It makes it more entertaining than just loping along.”
“You look like crap.”
“Gee, thanks man.”
He laughed as he led the way to a house across the street. There were no houses actually on the beach, like in L.A. Here, there was the beach, a small highway, the narrow path that Krista ran nearly every day, a small hill with dune plants that she’d just dove in, which led down to a street, then a row of houses. It depended on the height of the small hill if the houses had an ocean view or not. The one they were walking toward did.
Sean stuck a key in the garage door to open it.