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.She couldn t see it, unlesshe was sabotaging himself in some way.That was an all-too-commonproblem, easy to see in others, invisible to the one most affected.It did feel strange helping a man she found so attractive gain the skillsnecessary to find another woman.But she d promised, and she was awoman of her word.Gaea had all her things together and she left the safety of her bedroomto head for the shower.Her gaze went immediately to the dining table bythe wet bar.Sebastian was dressed handsomely in a blue golf shirt withcasual jeans.Her flushed face spoke as much for her troubled sleep as itdid for her immediate and powerful reaction to seeing him.The man was awalking aphrodisiac. I hope you enjoy it, he said.Gaea followed his gaze to the table, spread out with a large andplentiful array of breakfast.The plates were covered so she couldn t tellwhat he d ordered, but she could see orange juice, coffee, toast and asyrup container. What s all this? I figured we d share a quiet meal before we had to do the photo shootthing. She made her way toward the table, touched by his thoughtfulness. Itlooks wonderful. I didn t know what you liked, so I ordered a little bit of everything. Gaea uncovered a plate of pancakes, then another of scrambled eggs.The aroma reminded her of her hunger and she set her clothes on one ofthe chairs and sat in another. This is very nice of you. It s no trouble. He sat down opposite of her and started to fix hisplate.Sausage, hash browns, crisp bacon.She took the other half of thescrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns.For a while, they ate in silence,drank coffee and juice.76 Exception to the Rules Stephanie MorrisThen she became aware of his silence, not of word but of gesture, andcaught him looking at her with an expression she couldn t quite name. What is it? Nothing, he responded, attacking his food again. Come on, I know you want to ask me something.It s okay, askaway. Sebastian finished chewing, then stared at his fork for a minute.Whenhe looked up, she found her stomach in knots. Why don t you want a relationship? Gaea relaxed.This was an easy one.For the next few minutes, she laidout the argument just as it had come to her such a short time ago.Hedidn t interrupt, just listened attentively, taking the occasional bite or sip.When she d finished, she drank some juice, debating the wisdom ofhaving pancakes instead of toast. I know women with very successful careers who are married. She knew it wouldn t be that simple. I m sure there are, although Idon t know any.The myth is that women can have it all.It s not true.Something has to give.I don t want to have to choose between my careerand a man. I don t blame you.That would be tough.But I don t believe thechoice would be difficult between a career and love.I think you can haveboth.In fact, I think that with someone there in your corner, someone whocares about you and what you do, the career would change into somethingmore meaningful.And, at the end of the day, you wouldn t be alone foryour successes, or your defeats. Being alone doesn t bother me.And I might add, for a man your age,you certainly have an idealistic view of relationships. Believe me, I ve thought a lot about that.You re right.I m beingidealistic.But I lived my entire life with two people who loved andrespected each other.Watching them together made it impossible for meto settle for anything less. She put down her cup. I m sorry to hear that. 77 Exception to the Rules Stephanie MorrisHis eyebrows rose in surprise. Why? Because what you saw with your parents is the exception to the rule.Idon t know a single couple like that. I not only saw it with my parents, but several of their friends. You were lucky. So you think I should just give up? Settle for someone just because? No.I don t think you should pick someone mediocre.Maybe justadjust your expectations. To what? What are your expectations? I m not certain how to answer that.I haven t thought about it thatmuch. Seriously? No.I ve been pretty focused on my job.Building a career. But surely you ve thought about getting married.Having a family. Only in the vaguest terms. What was your family like? Nothing like yours.That I can assure you. Tell me. She looked at her watch. I still have to shower and get dressed. We have plenty of time. Gaea supposed she owed Bas something, although it wasn t her idea ofa good time. My parents married young, after my mother got pregnant inhigh school.She ended up with her diploma, but barely.My father did acouple of years of college, but never had the life he d dreamed of.Hewanted to be a Physician, but he ended up settling for a job as anunderwriter for a medical insurance company.My mother had two morechildren, a boy and a girl, and then she and my dad divorced.My motherworked for years as a bookkeeper, which she hated.Most of the people Igrew up with came from similar backgrounds.No grand passionateromances that lasted past a few blissful years. Wow.It makes sense that you ve focused on your career above allelse. 78 Exception to the Rules Stephanie Morris Yes, I guess it does.But that doesn t mean I m not happy. Are you? Yes.I take a great deal of pride in my accomplishments.I ve alreadygot a nice portfolio started, and by the time I m through, I expect to bevery comfortable. Bas leaned forward in his chair, which made her very aware of herbody, leaning back, crossed arms, crossed legs.Gaea made an effort toloosen up, but the best she could do was hold on to her glass of juice. All on your own, right? he asked. Yes.I learned very early on that there isn t a knight in shining armorout there waiting to rescue me.If I want a secure future, I ll have to earn itmyself. That s wise. You agree with me? He reached for his cup of coffee. With the knight theory? Yes I do.Idon t think it s smart for anyone to wait to be rescued.It puts too muchpressure on the rescuer.It can only lead to heartache and disappointment [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.She couldn t see it, unlesshe was sabotaging himself in some way.That was an all-too-commonproblem, easy to see in others, invisible to the one most affected.It did feel strange helping a man she found so attractive gain the skillsnecessary to find another woman.But she d promised, and she was awoman of her word.Gaea had all her things together and she left the safety of her bedroomto head for the shower.Her gaze went immediately to the dining table bythe wet bar.Sebastian was dressed handsomely in a blue golf shirt withcasual jeans.Her flushed face spoke as much for her troubled sleep as itdid for her immediate and powerful reaction to seeing him.The man was awalking aphrodisiac. I hope you enjoy it, he said.Gaea followed his gaze to the table, spread out with a large andplentiful array of breakfast.The plates were covered so she couldn t tellwhat he d ordered, but she could see orange juice, coffee, toast and asyrup container. What s all this? I figured we d share a quiet meal before we had to do the photo shootthing. She made her way toward the table, touched by his thoughtfulness. Itlooks wonderful. I didn t know what you liked, so I ordered a little bit of everything. Gaea uncovered a plate of pancakes, then another of scrambled eggs.The aroma reminded her of her hunger and she set her clothes on one ofthe chairs and sat in another. This is very nice of you. It s no trouble. He sat down opposite of her and started to fix hisplate.Sausage, hash browns, crisp bacon.She took the other half of thescrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns.For a while, they ate in silence,drank coffee and juice.76 Exception to the Rules Stephanie MorrisThen she became aware of his silence, not of word but of gesture, andcaught him looking at her with an expression she couldn t quite name. What is it? Nothing, he responded, attacking his food again. Come on, I know you want to ask me something.It s okay, askaway. Sebastian finished chewing, then stared at his fork for a minute.Whenhe looked up, she found her stomach in knots. Why don t you want a relationship? Gaea relaxed.This was an easy one.For the next few minutes, she laidout the argument just as it had come to her such a short time ago.Hedidn t interrupt, just listened attentively, taking the occasional bite or sip.When she d finished, she drank some juice, debating the wisdom ofhaving pancakes instead of toast. I know women with very successful careers who are married. She knew it wouldn t be that simple. I m sure there are, although Idon t know any.The myth is that women can have it all.It s not true.Something has to give.I don t want to have to choose between my careerand a man. I don t blame you.That would be tough.But I don t believe thechoice would be difficult between a career and love.I think you can haveboth.In fact, I think that with someone there in your corner, someone whocares about you and what you do, the career would change into somethingmore meaningful.And, at the end of the day, you wouldn t be alone foryour successes, or your defeats. Being alone doesn t bother me.And I might add, for a man your age,you certainly have an idealistic view of relationships. Believe me, I ve thought a lot about that.You re right.I m beingidealistic.But I lived my entire life with two people who loved andrespected each other.Watching them together made it impossible for meto settle for anything less. She put down her cup. I m sorry to hear that. 77 Exception to the Rules Stephanie MorrisHis eyebrows rose in surprise. Why? Because what you saw with your parents is the exception to the rule.Idon t know a single couple like that. I not only saw it with my parents, but several of their friends. You were lucky. So you think I should just give up? Settle for someone just because? No.I don t think you should pick someone mediocre.Maybe justadjust your expectations. To what? What are your expectations? I m not certain how to answer that.I haven t thought about it thatmuch. Seriously? No.I ve been pretty focused on my job.Building a career. But surely you ve thought about getting married.Having a family. Only in the vaguest terms. What was your family like? Nothing like yours.That I can assure you. Tell me. She looked at her watch. I still have to shower and get dressed. We have plenty of time. Gaea supposed she owed Bas something, although it wasn t her idea ofa good time. My parents married young, after my mother got pregnant inhigh school.She ended up with her diploma, but barely.My father did acouple of years of college, but never had the life he d dreamed of.Hewanted to be a Physician, but he ended up settling for a job as anunderwriter for a medical insurance company.My mother had two morechildren, a boy and a girl, and then she and my dad divorced.My motherworked for years as a bookkeeper, which she hated.Most of the people Igrew up with came from similar backgrounds.No grand passionateromances that lasted past a few blissful years. Wow.It makes sense that you ve focused on your career above allelse. 78 Exception to the Rules Stephanie Morris Yes, I guess it does.But that doesn t mean I m not happy. Are you? Yes.I take a great deal of pride in my accomplishments.I ve alreadygot a nice portfolio started, and by the time I m through, I expect to bevery comfortable. Bas leaned forward in his chair, which made her very aware of herbody, leaning back, crossed arms, crossed legs.Gaea made an effort toloosen up, but the best she could do was hold on to her glass of juice. All on your own, right? he asked. Yes.I learned very early on that there isn t a knight in shining armorout there waiting to rescue me.If I want a secure future, I ll have to earn itmyself. That s wise. You agree with me? He reached for his cup of coffee. With the knight theory? Yes I do.Idon t think it s smart for anyone to wait to be rescued.It puts too muchpressure on the rescuer.It can only lead to heartache and disappointment [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]