Page 68 of Wrong For Me

Leo

From the look of shock—and maybe horror—on Rose’s face, I’m pretty sure she didn’t get the memo about the change in plans. Dr. Hernandez had assured me that she would call her, but Rose’s expression is definitely not that of a girl who is expecting to see me.

I decide to go for light. “Fancy meeting you here.”

She just gapes at me, her mouth opening and closing a few times like she’s trying to find words and failing. “What are you doing here?” she finally manages.

“I imagine the same as you. Waiting to check in.”

Her mouth tightens, lips a thin line. “Check in for what, Leo?”

As much as I hate to admit it, there’s a slight sting at her words, at the expression on her face. She’s obviously not happy to see me. But what had I expected? That she’d be thrilled at the idea of spending a few days away from campus with a grouchy asshole like me?

“Gwen was supposed to call you.”

Rose fumbles in her purse for her cell phone, frowning when she sees the screen. “I don’t have any messages.”

That surprises me. Gwen Hernandez is always such a stickler for details. The events of last night must have stressed her out even more than she let on. “Her husband is in the hospital.”

All signs of annoyance disappear as Rose’s hand comes to her mouth, genuine worry creasing her face. “Oh no! Is he okay? What happened?”

“It looks like he’s going to be okay,” I explain, trying to shake off the sudden and inconvenient desire to pull her to me and soothe away the worry in her eyes. “Gwen said it was angina—chest pain. They think they can manage it with medication so he hopefully won’t need surgery. But she obviously didn’t feel comfortable leaving him right now.”

“Of course not.” Rose’s forehead wrinkles. “And that means you…”

I watch Rose’s face as I drop the news. “I’m taking her spot at the conference.”

Something like panic flares in her eyes. “Seriously?”

I shrug. “The university paid the conference fee already. It would be stupid to let it go to waste.”

Of course I’d been worried about Doug when Gwen called me late last night. The last thing I would want is for something to happen to her husband. But I couldn’t deny my excitement at the prospect of attending the conference when she brought it up. Some of the top people in the field will be here, making it the perfect place to network.

One of those people—Dr. Daniel Williamson—sits on the board of the Williamson Psychology Institute. It would be beyond stupid to pass up the chance to get some face time with one of the people who will be voting on the Williamson Fellowship, even if I did have to pay last minute rates for my plane ticket. My credit card wasn’t too happy about that.

And judging by the look on her face, Rose isn’t very happy either.

“Look.” I shove my hands into my pockets, feeling awkward and somewhat guilty. I probably could have avoided a lot of this if I hadn’t acted like such an asshole at the beginning of the semester. Then again, she had sent her father’s lawyer to pay me off hours after we slept together. Maybe our working relationship was doomed to be awkward from the start.

Still, I have no desire to make her life miserable for the few days we’ll be at the conference. My goal is to make a good impression on the big names in our field and maybe come home with a few contacts that could help me down the line.

And try to ignore my attraction to the defeated-looking girl standing in front of me. But that’s pretty much been my goal since day one with her. So far I’m doing a real bang up job.

“I know you would rather be here with Dr. Hernandez—” I begin, but she cuts me off.

“Actually, I would rather be here with Dr. Cooper.” She rubs a hand over her forehead. “That was the plan when I signed up for this thing last spring.”

I can’t help a small chuckle. “You’ve really had some shitty luck this year, haven’t you?”

Some of the misery smooths from her face, a rueful grin tugging up her lips. “Yeah. My mentor—who I happened to have a great relationship with— leaving me at the hands of the scariest professor at the university was bad enough.”

“And then you got stuck with me, too.”

She shrugs. “Despite some initial awkwardness, I think we’ve managed okay.”

“We’ll manage okay here, too,” I tell her, every instinct in my body yelling to reach out and take her hand. “We’re both professional, right?”

She seems to steal herself, straightening her shoulders as her chin comes up a few degrees. Damn, she’s hot when she’s determined. “Of course. This doesn’t have to be a big deal.” She gives me a small smile. “There are going to be plenty of people at this thing, right? We’ll probably barely see each other.”