Exception to the Rules (22 page)

If Arnold had hurt her...

Bas sighed. All was well, and Arnold was safely out of the picture. He swallowed hard as the thought reverberated in his mind. “Damn it,” he murmured. He finally understood what Gaea meant, when she said he “didn’t have to.”

He was officially out of work.

Chapter Eighteen

The last of the contestants found the Botanical Gardens at 9:48 p.m. Gaea had allowed Kallie and Dax to leave a short time ago, the same for the rest of the support team. She gave the final couple their gift certificate to purchase Marcella Girardi clothes and assured them that they could keep the GPS.

Several minutes later, Gaea and Bas were headed toward the hotel. She hadn’t said anything to Kallie about what had occurred with Arnold. Her assistant would find out soon enough. In the meantime, she kept contemplating what she should do about Bas. Ask him to stay? Leave? The latter thought was far more depressing than she ever would have imagined. She’d become used to him being there for her.

All she wanted was to go back to the suite and crawl into bed with him. She could easily imagine the comfort of his arms, and while she’d held it together in front of the crowd, she felt a great need for Bas’s strength.

There wasn’t much traffic out tonight, for which she was grateful. As if sending him her thoughts telepathically, he put his arm around her just as the car came to a light and took a turn. Gaea leaned into him, knowing there was nowhere else she’d rather be.

What in the hell had happened to her these past few days? Something bewitching? When was the last time she’d thought of anything so fanciful? Not since she’d been a little girl, that’s for sure. Her father used to claim she was the most obtuse girl in all of Dallas. The sobriquet made her cry the first time she’d heard it. But by the time she’d received her full scholarship to Texas Christian University, she’d worn it as an insignia of pride.

“Do you find me obtuse?” she asked.

His quick burst of laughter made her feel better immediately. “Of course not. Why?”

“I was told I was obtuse as a child. No one’s ever made me feel it wasn’t true, except you.”

“I’d never call you obtuse. Fixated, yes. Ambitious, without a doubt. Excessive—”

She placed a finger to his lips. “Thanks. I understand.”

He ensnared her hand, kissing the back softly. “How are you?”

Gaea smiled. “Much better. I was really knocked for a loop by what Arnold did.”

“I’m not surprised. It was a breach of your privacy, your trust.”

“I think I would have handled it a lot better if I hadn’t been naked.”

“And I wouldn’t have wanted to kill him in so many ways if you hadn’t been naked.”

She laughed. Something else she hadn’t done in a long time.

“I like that,” he murmured, then rested his head on hers.

“Like what?”

“The sound of you happy.”

“I seem to be happy a lot when I’m with you. Which is weird since I’ve spent the last eight years of my life trying very hard to be the most tenacious woman in my field. I’m in your presence for a few days, and I’m a grinning and laughing romantic fool.”

“Wonderful.”

She turned to look at him, disturbing him from his strange resting place. “Why is that wonderful?”

“Because you baffled me, too. It’s insane. But for the first time in years, something has become more significant than my military career, than my research projects. I didn’t think it was possible.”

“Is that why you haven’t asked me any more questions?”

The car turned right and they both leaned into the door. When they righted themselves, Bas cleared his throat.

“Actually, there is a question I’d like to ask you.”

Gaea sat up a little taller. “Only if you allow me to ask you something in return.”

“You can ask first,” he stated.

“You sure?”

He nodded.

She exhaled deeply, not sure at all if her timing was bad. But he didn’t have to stay, and she didn’t want him to leave, so...

“I was wondering,” she started, “about the end of this fashion campaign. I mean, now that Arnold’s no longer an issue. Our arrangement is pretty much no longer in effect.”

“Ah.”

She felt his hand on the back of her neck, just perched there. Long fingers, soft pressure. It was a dominating move without bring demanding or aggressive. Perfect.

“I was thinking that we might like to continue to see each other.”

“Uh-huh,” he said.

“But not in the usual sense. What I want to suggest is something a little more uncommon.”

His hand fell away from her neck, and she missed it. Looking up into his face, she knew she had to do some fast talking because his eyebrows had bunched together something serious.

“Listen to what I have to say before you make your decision.” She shifted so she could see him more clearly. “I’m positive you’ll agree when I say it’s been the most spectacular week. There’s no denying that the two of us have a unique connection, that we mesh sexually. We both have busy lives, we’re both self-reliant, and not ready in the least.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I’m trying to say we should get together a few times a year. I would say about four to six times a year. For no more than a week at a time. We can make arrangements to go to a location where no one knows us. Make mad, passionate love until we drop. No strings attached. Just fun, sex, and the exquisite expectation of doing it again the next time it’s convenient.”

“I see.”

“You don’t look like you think this is a great idea.”

“No, no. I can definitely see where it would be quite favorable.”

“You don’t like it.”

“That’s not it. It makes sense. For you.”

“But not for you.”

He smiled, but the expression was more dejected than anything else. “Would you like to know what my question was going to be?”

She shook her head, even though she was dying to know. Just afraid to find out.

“I want you to marry me, Gaea. Not any time soon, but not years from now either. I love you.”

Gaea’s eyes widened at his confession. “You do?”

He nodded.

“But it’s been less than a week.”

“I know. It doesn’t matter.”

“How can it not matter?”

“Because I’ve never experienced anything like what occurs when the two of us are together. The reason that I haven’t asked you more questions, aside from my total lack of concentration, is that for the first time in my life, I don’t want to know. I like not being able to figure you out immediately. It’s not disappointing at all, which I would never have believed. In fact, the complete opposite. Not knowing every little thing about you makes the days interesting. I can’t think of a better life than to figure out the conundrum of you.”

Tears sprang to her eyes, and she blinked rapidly, turning her head away so he couldn’t see. His words baffled her more than an actual refusal. He wanted to marry her? It was the one thing she was deathly afraid of, yet she was flattered in a way that startled her. The idea was insane, of course, but also kind of amazing.

“Bas, that’s mad.”

  “I know.”

“The whole reason I agreed to our arrangement was because I didn’t want any sort of commitment. Now that Arnold is sure to be fired, it’s even more important that I stay undistracted and focused. When I’m with you, it’s hard for me to be all work. It’s difficult to accomplish any work at all.”

“But that would change once we knew it was forever.”

“Oh, really? Is that a guarantee?”

He studied her for a long moment. “No. The truth is, I’m certain you will sidetrack me forever. Not that I won’t get anything done. It’s just that you’ll be there, too. You’ll be there first.”

“Which is what I can’t promise you. Please, Bas. I promised I wouldn’t put myself in a situation where I had to choose between love and work. Don’t make me do it. Take me up on my offer, please. At least try it. We can meet in about two months. That should give me enough time to settle. You pick the place and I’ll be there. Where ever I am, whatever I’m doing I’ll make the time to get away.” She placed her hand over his as the car pulled to a stop in front of their hotel. “Please, Bas?”

He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her briefly. “I need time to think about it.”

“You’re coming up to the room, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

She sighed with relief. Gaea didn’t really want to spend the night alone. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to ask. You need me, I’m there.”

She smiled, scared to ask if he meant just for the night, or forever. Surely he could see that it was not only too soon to speak of marriage, but that marriage itself indicated that the relationship was more important than anything else, which she just couldn’t agree to. Not when she was so close to the career of her dreams.

Bas helped her from the car. He smiled again, the weird, uneasy smile that made her anxious, but she didn’t question him. If she just gave him time...

She relished in the way he tucked her protectively into his side as they walked to the elevator, and she tried to decipher his expression in the reflective doors, but she couldn’t. Once in the room, he made his way over to the couch, pulling it out to make the bed.

Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. If he wasn’t going to sleep in the same bed with her, then he definitely wasn’t going to agree to her suggestion. She’d been out of her mind to hope.

“You really don’t have to spend the night,” she said, passing him on her way to the bedroom. “I’d understand if you’d rather be in your own bed.”

“No, I want to stay. You’ve had a rough day.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?”

“I have a feeling I’m going to be having a serious discussion with the president of the company. Then there’s the fashion show here at the hotel.”

“That’s right. You’d better hurry then, get to bed. Best have a clear mind when they start offering you the company.”

“In my dreams.”

“They will,” he said, his voice filled with conviction. “You’re everything a company could want. They’d be crazy not to offer you the position.”

“Thank you, Bas. That means a lot to me.”

“I only tell the truth.”

Gaea turned, walked over to him, went up on tip-toe, and kissed him on the lips. “You’re welcome to join me,” she murmured, nodding toward the bedroom.

“And for that, I’m most grateful, but it’s probably better that you get some rest. We both know that won’t happen if I’m in there.”

She exhaled heavily. “You’re right. I’ll be out of the bathroom shortly.”

“Take all the time you need.”

Gaea wanted to say more, to add to her plan, but she held back. Tomorrow would be here soon enough. She was a hell of a marketing guru. He was just one man. She could make him agree to her suggestion. She had to. 

* * * *

Bas lay awake long after Gaea had closed the bedroom door, thinking about her idea. The arrangement was fair in its straight forwardness, and on the surface, the concept made perfect sense. Inexplicably, he hadn’t thought about that possibility at all, not even once.

Just about everything surrounding this week had been odd. His lack of focus, his fascination with a woman he barely spent time with, and yet it was all strangely familiar.

Because, he realized with shock, it reminded him so much of his parents. They’d been with each other four days before they’d known. Actually, his mother had known the instant she met his father that they were going to married. His father had taken a few extra days because of a severe allergy attack. A lame excuse, but one he’d used since their wedding day.

Did he want to marry Gaea because he wanted the fulfillment his parents had found? Was he putting too much stock into his feelings for her?

He didn’t think so. If there was one thing he was, it was self-critical. But this time, he just couldn’t be so certain. There was only one logical choice. Agree to her plan until he was positive. If he still felt this sure the next time he saw Gaea in two months, then denial would not be an option.

* * * *

Gaea studied Bas from across the room. Tonight’s party was the last event of the fashion campaign, and everyone from Marcella Girardi to the mayor of Dallas had shown up. She was the star of the marketing world and had received a ton of hard to resist offers. The most tempting,  at the moment, was to take the executive vice presidency of Begum and Guinn, not replacing Arnold, but instead running the entire marketing and promotion for the global company. The money they’d offered her was in the mind-blowing range, and that had been the first bid. When they got down to the negotiation part, she’d be talking six figure salary, penthouse loft, use of the company jet and all of the company penthouse apartments around the world. She’d have more than she could have hoped for, her dreams surpassed.

Now, if Bas would only agree to her plan, her world couldn’t look brighter. Unfortunately, he’d been cryptic about his choice. She was certain what she had to do to convince him.

He chuckled at something Kallie said, and in spite of the packed ballroom, his voice rose above the noise. It wasn’t that he was boisterous, just that he was so unique. Everything about him was distinctive. His approach to life, his candor, his sophistication. She didn’t want to lose him, and that was her biggest concern. If he didn’t agree to their casual interludes, what would she do? Say farewell and never look back? How could she? On the other hand, how could she agree to a committed relationship when she had to make her career her first concern?

Marcella Girardi was only one account, and it had completely occupied over six months of her life. Gaea couldn’t begin to count the nights she’d worked past midnight. She hadn’t even taken an entire weekend off, not even during the holidays. How could she give him her spare time when there wasn’t any?

Dax, looking handsome in a dark Armani suit, joined Kallie and Bas. He placed his arm around Kallie and they kissed briefly. He grinned at her, she smiled back, and even from this distance, it was obvious the two of them where in love.