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An Exception to His Rule
Never, ever, date the boss
Mining millionaire Damien Wyatt lives by one rule: never more than one night. But when Harriet Livingstone appears across an interview table -- the same woman who totaled his sports car! -- he's tempted by her stunning beauty. So he steals a kiss and she wipes the smile from his face with a well-delivered slap!
Harriet Livingstone wouldn't take the job if she weren't desperate -- the last thing she wants is to get involved with the attractive yet arrogant Damien! But keeping their relationship out of the bedroom is becoming a battle…one neither of them really wants to win.
Mining millionaire Damien Wyatt lives by one rule: never more than one night. But when Harriet Livingstone appears across an interview table -- the same woman who totaled his sports car! -- he's tempted by her stunning beauty. So he steals a kiss and she wipes the smile from his face with a well-delivered slap!
Harriet Livingstone wouldn't take the job if she weren't desperate -- the last thing she wants is to get involved with the attractive yet arrogant Damien! But keeping their relationship out of the bedroom is becoming a battle…one neither of them really wants to win.
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2014
15 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Lindsay Armstrong
318 books92 followersGillian Smith (alias Lindsay Armstrong) was born in South Africa. She grew up with three ambitions: to become a writer, to travel the world, and to be a game ranger. She didn't achieve the last one, but her fascination for wildlife and that special something about Africa and its big game still remains with her. When she went to work it was in travel, at an agency and an airline, and this started her on the road to seeing the world.
Lindsey met her New Zealand-born husband, who had been working in West Africa, when he was on his way home through Johannesburg. He did go home but in a matter of weeks he was back in South Africa, and six months later they were married. Three of their five children were born in South Africa. Then one in London and one in Australia, after they made the decision to emigrate from South Africa.
It wasn't until her youngest child started school that Lindsay sat down at the kitchen table determined to tackle her other ambition to stop dreaming about writing and do it! She hasn't stopped since. She's not happy unless she has a book under way, and she's discovered she can write through just about anything.
Lindsay and her husband have moved around a lot. They've trained racehorses,farmed, and lived on their boat for six months while they sailed it from the Gold Coast to the Torres Strait and back, an epic voyage! They currently live in Queensland, overlooking the water; they sold their farm, and they're looking around for another boat. She and her husband love to travel and have been back to Africa twice in the past few years. The highlight of one of their trips was a visit to the Serengeti, in Tanzania, where Lindsay did the one thing she swore she would never do: take a ride in a hot-air balloon. She was a nervous wreck as the balloon tottered upright, but will remember it as a unique experience to see the game spreading out on the Serengeti plain beneath her as the sun rose.
"They say you can take someone who was born in Africa out of the bush but you can't take the bush out of someone born there..."
Despite this passion for wildlife and Africa, Lindsay considers Australia her home now and loves the country. She travelled to Sydney to witness the closing weekend of the Olympic Games in September 2000; it made her proud to be an adopted Aussie!
Lindsey met her New Zealand-born husband, who had been working in West Africa, when he was on his way home through Johannesburg. He did go home but in a matter of weeks he was back in South Africa, and six months later they were married. Three of their five children were born in South Africa. Then one in London and one in Australia, after they made the decision to emigrate from South Africa.
It wasn't until her youngest child started school that Lindsay sat down at the kitchen table determined to tackle her other ambition to stop dreaming about writing and do it! She hasn't stopped since. She's not happy unless she has a book under way, and she's discovered she can write through just about anything.
Lindsay and her husband have moved around a lot. They've trained racehorses,farmed, and lived on their boat for six months while they sailed it from the Gold Coast to the Torres Strait and back, an epic voyage! They currently live in Queensland, overlooking the water; they sold their farm, and they're looking around for another boat. She and her husband love to travel and have been back to Africa twice in the past few years. The highlight of one of their trips was a visit to the Serengeti, in Tanzania, where Lindsay did the one thing she swore she would never do: take a ride in a hot-air balloon. She was a nervous wreck as the balloon tottered upright, but will remember it as a unique experience to see the game spreading out on the Serengeti plain beneath her as the sun rose.
"They say you can take someone who was born in Africa out of the bush but you can't take the bush out of someone born there..."
Despite this passion for wildlife and Africa, Lindsay considers Australia her home now and loves the country. She travelled to Sydney to witness the closing weekend of the Olympic Games in September 2000; it made her proud to be an adopted Aussie!
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 18, 2014
The hero deserved better. This book is terrible, violent heroine, slow, bland . What's happening to HP these days? Divorce parties, numerous lovers, etc. I want fiction, fantasy, to sigh, be dreamy. If I wanted real life, tabloids are available.
July 14, 2019
4 Stars ~ Harriet will never forget her first meeting with Damien and if she hadn't been desperate for the job he had on offer, she never intended to meet him again. But her brother is in a rehab hospital that holds promise that Brett will be able to walk again after his surfing accident, but the road is going to be a long and costly one. Damien has need of an antiquities expert and Harriet has all the right credentials, and as his home is not far from Brett's hospital. It's a live in job that pays very well.
When Damien hears the name of the expert his friend Arthur recommends to appraise and catalog his mother's art and antiques collection, he flatly refuses to interview her. But Arthur is insistent that she's perfect, and he grills Damien on why. Seems a couple of months before, Harriet had swerved to miss a dog and had driven her "tank" into Damien's pristine Austin Martin; the tank being one solid four wheel drive. Part of Damien's reluctance is his guilt over his verbal assault on poor Harriet, but it was his Austin Martin after all, and not to mention, he'd sustained a broken collar bone, which still bothered him. Agreeing to interview Harriet, Damien finds himself taking inventory of her amazing attributes; not only is she tall but she has the most gorgeous legs he's ever seen; her eyes are a brilliant blue and her skin looks silky soft. It's obvious she's well qualified to do the job, but both agree that their instant attraction is a definite problem, but one easily solved as Damien's about to leave on an extended business trip.
Harriet works very hard with full intentions of being finished before Damien returns. When he returns a week early, they discover their attraction is even stronger. But Harriet is an all or nothing sort of gal and Damien doesn't do commitment.
I love Ms. Armstrong's tongue in cheek sense of humour. I wanted a lighter romance and Ms. Armstrong came through in spades. Damien has a reputation as a shrewd and tough employer, what is rarely known is that he's also very fair and often goes out of his way to help those that need it. When it comes to Harriet, he's very confused by his obsession with her, and finds he needs to keep her in his home. This need is reminiscent of Betty Neels stories and her rich Dutch doctors who protect and help their heroines. Harriet, of course, gives Damien several sleepless nights, but he has her emotions equally tied up in knots. Great chemistry, fun and witty banter; a lighter tone; made this a very enjoyable read for me.
When Damien hears the name of the expert his friend Arthur recommends to appraise and catalog his mother's art and antiques collection, he flatly refuses to interview her. But Arthur is insistent that she's perfect, and he grills Damien on why. Seems a couple of months before, Harriet had swerved to miss a dog and had driven her "tank" into Damien's pristine Austin Martin; the tank being one solid four wheel drive. Part of Damien's reluctance is his guilt over his verbal assault on poor Harriet, but it was his Austin Martin after all, and not to mention, he'd sustained a broken collar bone, which still bothered him. Agreeing to interview Harriet, Damien finds himself taking inventory of her amazing attributes; not only is she tall but she has the most gorgeous legs he's ever seen; her eyes are a brilliant blue and her skin looks silky soft. It's obvious she's well qualified to do the job, but both agree that their instant attraction is a definite problem, but one easily solved as Damien's about to leave on an extended business trip.
Harriet works very hard with full intentions of being finished before Damien returns. When he returns a week early, they discover their attraction is even stronger. But Harriet is an all or nothing sort of gal and Damien doesn't do commitment.
I love Ms. Armstrong's tongue in cheek sense of humour. I wanted a lighter romance and Ms. Armstrong came through in spades. Damien has a reputation as a shrewd and tough employer, what is rarely known is that he's also very fair and often goes out of his way to help those that need it. When it comes to Harriet, he's very confused by his obsession with her, and finds he needs to keep her in his home. This need is reminiscent of Betty Neels stories and her rich Dutch doctors who protect and help their heroines. Harriet, of course, gives Damien several sleepless nights, but he has her emotions equally tied up in knots. Great chemistry, fun and witty banter; a lighter tone; made this a very enjoyable read for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2014
An Exception to His Rule is the 47th romance novel by Australian author, Lindsay Armstrong. Mining millionaire Damien Wyatt isn’t sure why he agrees to interview Harriet Livingstone for the job of assessing his mother’s art collection. After all, she is the woman who crashed into him, breaking his car and his collarbone. But he does interview her and is taken by her knowledge, experience and gorgeous legs. She finds him attractive but is convinced by the art collection and the prospect of earning money to support her brother’s recovery. She is determined to resist his charms, being an all or nothing girl, while Damien has been burnt by his previous marriage and assures her he is incapable of love. Armstrong’s heroines usually overthink things and spend paragraphs analysing every sentence the hero speaks: in that regard, Harriet isn’t too bad. Damien is the typical in-denial about love hero. There are a few interesting minor characters, and on the whole, this latest offering from Armstrong is an enjoyable read.
February 9, 2014
Not compelling. The heroine is violent. Quite unnecessary too. The hero had more justification for slapping the heroine for damaging him and his car and not paying for it.
The violent heroine, I could not get past that. Hero was being snarky and the heroine couldn't restrain her violence. Just no.
The violent heroine, I could not get past that. Hero was being snarky and the heroine couldn't restrain her violence. Just no.
June 11, 2014
This book is so slow and boring that it literally kept putting me to sleep. I almost missed getting my daughter off the bus because I was napping trying to finish this book! I kept waiting for it to pick up, but it never did.
February 22, 2016
Tenia potencial, pero los personajes se me hicieron mal desarrollados y estereotipicos. Si bien no esperaba mucho de la historia, si esperaba un poco mas de profundidad en los personajes. Que inocente me vi.
May 2, 2014
enjoyed it very much i must get some more of her books
September 16, 2023
Just ok. The h, Harriet is slightly accident prone and away with the fairies but otherwise competent. Damien, the H is divorced and isn't doing THAT again. Passionate kisses during the opening scene, in this case when he interviews her for the job (at his home, cataloguing his late mother's art collection) seem a bit metoo and have characterised (and jarred) a number of LAs often really excellent romances. It just seems a bit quick. That aside, I never felt a great deal of emotion. Maybe it was just me. In fairness I've perhaps got to the stage where I need a palate cleaner, too many HPs!
November 6, 2025
I didn't like it. It was extremely boring and I did not feel the connection between the mmc and fmc at all, they would go months without seeing each other and barely interacted when he home. It's unclear if he was celibate, he told her that he went with other women but it wasn't clear how far he went with them. Np.
January 26, 2023
Interesting
This has to be one of the slower burning romances I have ever read from this line. I enjoyed it, but it was very slow burn. The adult content wasn't on the page. I did very much appreciate that there was time between Damien and Harriet to build a relationship.
This has to be one of the slower burning romances I have ever read from this line. I enjoyed it, but it was very slow burn. The adult content wasn't on the page. I did very much appreciate that there was time between Damien and Harriet to build a relationship.
June 20, 2019
Floja y mala traducción
December 8, 2020
Protagonistas: Damien & Harriet
Profesiones: Empresario & Tazadora
Profesiones: Empresario & Tazadora
November 29, 2024
Disappointing, slow and not emotionally connected. Plot is almost identical to Trial by Marriage which I reread when I want comfort food in text format but this one misses. I rounded up to 3 stars.
June 3, 2021
Never, ever, date the boss
Mining millionaire Damien Wyatt lives by one rule: never more than one night. But when Harriet Livingstone appears across an interview table--the same woman who totaled his sports car!--he's tempted by her stunning beauty. So he steals a kiss and she wipes the smile from his face with a well-delivered slap!
Harriet Livingstone wouldn't take the job if she weren't desperate--the last thing she wants is to get involved with the attractive yet arrogant Damien! But keeping their relationship out of the bedroom is becoming a battle...one neither of them really wants to win
Mining millionaire Damien Wyatt lives by one rule: never more than one night. But when Harriet Livingstone appears across an interview table--the same woman who totaled his sports car!--he's tempted by her stunning beauty. So he steals a kiss and she wipes the smile from his face with a well-delivered slap!
Harriet Livingstone wouldn't take the job if she weren't desperate--the last thing she wants is to get involved with the attractive yet arrogant Damien! But keeping their relationship out of the bedroom is becoming a battle...one neither of them really wants to win
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January 12, 2016"Armstrong's sweet romance brings the beautiful wilds of New South Wales, Australia, to life, and stars a charming and clumsy heroine and a controlling, contrary hero who battle their insecurities and attraction". (RT Book Reviews)
July 14, 2014
Es una autora muy buena, pero el libro no lleno mis expectativas... Sin emabargo es una lectura buena
July 28, 2014
Fue un buen libro para pasar el tiempo, pero no me encantó
June 18, 2016
Ok story slow start but hang in there it does get better!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews