Free Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3) by K.F. Breene Page B

regions. Sean McAdams was
now boss of them all.
    Sean stepped up smoothly, looking like he was
born for the role. “Hello, everyone. I look forward to working with
all of you, and hopefully together we can achieve great
things.”
    Everyone murmured. There were a great many
female voices whispering excitedly. Tory got back on the mic and
explained something or other, but Krista didn’t hear any of it. She
was numb.
    Sean worked here. He worked in L.A. He sold
his house, quit his job, moved down to her neck of the
woods, and he never told her. He was going to be her new boss, and
he never mentioned it. She surfed with him, hung out with him. He
never even hinted.
    Why?
    There were a few things that were going
through her mind. Part of her was beside herself happy and excited.
She thought she would never see him again and here he was, half a
football field away. She worked with Tory often, and he was
essentially taking Tory’s place, so maybe Krista would even get to
work with him again. She wanted their team back so much it
hurt.
    Another part of her was nervous. She didn’t
know how she could work with him. How she could see him every day
and not break down in tears. The pain from the last separation
still had her crying herself to sleep a couple of nights a week.
She was not over him. And since he made it clear he wanted distance
between them, she didn’t know how she’d hide it. Worse, if he
started dating someone else, it would devastate her. Literally
crush her into paste.
    Another part of her was so angry she could
barely think. He’d cast her off, which was his right to do—she had
to respect that—but he owed her an explanation as to why he turned
up in her life like this. After all this time, after what they’d
had, how they’d left it—he owed her a goddamned explanation! He
should have given it to her six months ago when she asked about him
selling his house! Or when he hinted about the freaking job offer,
of all things! That was when he might have just thrown it
out there. Oh hey, by the way, no big deal, but I might just
move down to your neck of the woods, become your boss, and ruin
your life. But still, move on, all right? Be happy. But, you know,
prepare for me to destroy you. Mmmm…kay?
    The last part of her, and possibly the
biggest, didn’t realize life could hurt this much. Didn’t realize a
broken heart could possibly feel like this. Like someone burrowed a
hole in her chest with a dull spoon, used said dull spoon to uproot
her heart, rip out her heart strings slowly, grind the whole lot
into pulp with gravel, then cauterize the gaping wound with acid.
That was about where she was, pain-wise.
    If he knew about this, or even knew about the
possibility, why didn’t he tell her to wait? Or at least tell her
what he was planning, and let her decide if she wanted to wait or
not? Why did he push her away, again, six months ago? Six short
months. Even if he was daunted that she technically had a
boyfriend, he could have just thrown it out there and let her
decide. Hell, she’d told him she was happy when she was with him.
She’d cried, in his chest, over losing him. She’d told him she
thought about him every day. Every damn day! Even for a
dense man, or a scared man, that was pretty plain. She absolutely
put herself out there, proved she was still over-the-moon in love
with him, and he pushed her away. Again. Rejected her, one last
time, for good measure.
    Then followed her with a metaphorical tub of
salt like a little boy playing with slugs.
    He’d just wanted her to be happy. How sweet.
In other words, please move on so it isn’t awkward when I show up
and do a hostile takeover of your life. Hey, thanks for
understanding!
    Just be happy my club foot!
    Krista thought about her options. She could
leave. She could take her big red ball and go home. She could
easily find another job with the shape her resume was in. Plus, her
boss would give her one hell of a recommendation. He loved her.
That