Exception to the Rules Read Online Free Page B

relationship at some point?”
    “Lover, significant other, wife. Yes.”
    “I would think women would be beating down your door.”
    “Quantity is not the issue. Quality is. I’m searching for what my parents had. Which in my naiveté as a younger man, I thought all parents had.”
    “They had a good relationship?”
    “Much more than that. My parents were, and you’ll have to pardon the cliché, soul mates. The two of them completed each other. They were married forty-five years, and were crazier about each other when my father died than the day they met. That’s what I want. A partner for a lifetime. A best friend. The whole enchilada.”
    “Tall order.”
    “Believe me, I know. Hence my counteroffer.”
    She gave him a half smile. “I’ve never been on the receiving end of such a strange request.”
    Their drinks arrived right then, and Sebastian handed the vodka to Gaea. “So we have a deal?”
    She took the glass, sipped, closed her eyes, and opened them again several heartbeats later. “We have a deal.”
    He toasted her, the clink ringing out clearly against all the muddled noise around them. “Excellent.” Bas brought his own drink to his lips, then hesitated. “So when do we begin?”
    “Monday.”
    “The W hotel?”
    She nodded.
    “Good. I’ll check in that afternoon.”
    Gaea’s eyes widened. “Hold on there, cowboy. Check in?”
    He downed his whiskey, ready for this. “Well, sure.”
    “No, no, no. You’re not staying at the hotel. Just appearing when needed.”
    He gave Gaea his most innocent, sincere smile. “That would be a royal pain the in the ass for both of us. Much easier to just be there. But don’t worry. You have nothing to fear. I know the suites there and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
    She gave him an “I’m not sure about this” look.
    “Check with Cooper. He’ll tell you I’m harmless. Besides, I don’t want anything getting in the way of the research. And sleeping together would really mess things up.”
    Her eyes softened. The internal debate went on for a few more seconds, then she exhaled softly. “It would keep Arnold from breathing down my neck.”
    Bas nodded. “This is going to be great.”
    “That’s highly unlikely. I’ll be happy if we survive.”
    “Come on. We’ll knock ‘em dead.”
    Gaea shook her head, causing her hair to shimmer in the light. He hadn’t lied when he’d said sleeping with her would mess things up. But maybe he could ask all of his questions real fast.

Chapter Three
     
    “Sebastian, sweetheart, I love you, but isn’t this just a bit weird, even for you?”
    Bas smiled up at his mother. “Probably. But then again, it’s your fault.”
    Jillian Fuller put down her mug of tea and gave him a look. “And how did you come to that conclusion?”
    “If you’d just talk to me and tell me what I need to know, then I wouldn’t have to rent myself out to strange women.”
    “We’re talking right now.”
    “But not about what I want to know.”
    She took another sip and leaned back in her beat-up on lounge chair. They were on her patio, looking out at her garden, the pride and joy of her life. Aside from him, of course. She grew all of her own fruit, vegetables, flowers, and anything else she wanted to try her hand at. For the most difficult vegetation, there was a small greenhouse. The rest just gave in and grew, somehow knowing his mother wouldn’t let up until they sprouted. Gardening Magazine had done a profile on her green thumb. Of course, it hadn’t hurt that she was so well known for her literary work, but still. The article had been about the garden.
    “We’ve talked about this numerous times,” she said. “Some things have to be discovered. Not taught.”
    “Even when I have inside connections to one of the world’s leading experts right here?”
    “There are not experts on relationships, honey. Only wild guesses.”
    “I suppose that’s what you teach at the college?”
    “Of course.”
    “So if