Free Bad Girl Therapy by Cathryn Fox Page A

longer had dinner plans, and had given up on Haley calling to reschedule, he figured he might as well go. Besides, he really wanted to do his part for the fundraising campaign. It was important to him.
    Less than thirty minutes later he arrived at the country club. He stepped through the double doors and glanced around the posh interior looking for Carter, but when his glance landed on Haley, leaning in close and talking quietly to a stuffed shirt at an intimate table in the corner, his heart nearly stopped. His glance shot to the other two people seated next to her, and he instantly recognized them as her parents. His mind raced, and his thoughts immediately went down a road he had no choice but to travel.
    Christ, had her parents set her up with another stuffed shirt? Had she canceled her date with him for this? Whatever the hell this was.
    Then another, more disturbing thought struck. After he’d delivered his bad news, he’d noticed a change in her. He’d felt something inside her shift, something that begged the question, now that his career was on the line, was he no longer good enough for her? Was he wrong to think she’d actually fallen for the poor boy beneath the jersey?
    Maybe his mother was wrong. Maybe money really did buy love.
    And maybe he really, really needed to get the hell out of there.
    With emotions tearing him up inside and his throat closing over, he made a move to go, but then warm and wonderful memories of his weekend with Haley, the real Haley—the girl beneath the image—stopped him. He took another moment to look at her, taking in her perfectly painted lips, perfectly manicured nails, and perfectly form-fitting cocktail dress. Her eyes were narrowed, concerned, as she talked quietly to a man with a Blackberry not two inches from his hands. Something was definitely going on, but every instinct he possessed told him it wasn’t what he’d first thought.
    He started toward them, and as if sensing his presence she lifted her head. When their gazes met, the concern in her eyes deepened. If he didn’t know better, he’d guess the unease spreading across her face was because after their wild weekend, after their unspoken commitment to each other, he’d just caught her with another man.
    But he did know better.
    And this time he was the asshole for even thinking she would do this to him.
    She placed her napkin on the table and stood to greet him. When he got close, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “Cole, what are you doing here?”
    With a gesture, he nodded toward Carter and the guys. “Impromptu publicity.”
    “Oh, I hadn’t even seen them there.”
    “That’s because you were in a very serious conversation.”
    “Right,” she said, her voice hesitant. “I…uh…”
    “Aren’t you going to introduce us?” her father asked. Cole turned toward her father, and the elderly gentleman smiled at him. “Actually, no introductions are needed. We all know who you are, son, and of course Haley here hasn’t stopped talking about you.”
    He turned back to her, feeling ridiculously giddy that she’d been talking about him. “Really, you’ve been talking about me?”
    “Well, you see…”
    Just then Stuffed Shirt’s Blackberry chirped. He stood and said, “Haley, after seeing you two together, I know why you’re doing this, and I must say I understand. I was young and in love once too. And we’ll readdress the promotion issue when you return.”
    As an uneasy feeling mushroomed inside him, Cole shook his head. “Does someone want to tell me what’s going on?”
    Haley blew a breath and rushed out, “Cole, this Mark Peterson, the hospital’s chief of staff and my boss. I asked for a leave of absence.”
    His stomach twisted as his mind worked to decipher her words. “You did what? Why would you do that?”
    “Because,” she said, poking him in the chest, “we need to get that leg of yours better, and we’re on a time crunch.”
    “You’re taking a leave of