The Exception to the Rule

Kaiden McLaughlin has one rule she's never broken: **never trust an older man.** After spending her childhood waiting for a father who never showed up, she's convinced herself that men who leave broken promises behind aren't worth the heartbreak. So when everyone around her swoons over older celebrities and successful men, she can't help but roll her eyes-until an unexpected friendship with James forces her to question everything she thought she knew.

As their bond deepens through quiet conversations, bookstore visits, and stolen moments that feel dangerously like home, Kaiden finds herself caught between what her heart wants and what her past keeps warning her against. With a noticeable age gap, constant judgment from outsiders, and years of abandonment issues threatening to sabotage the relationship before it truly begins, she has to decide whether protecting herself is worth losing the first person who's ever made her feel safe.

But the hardest battle isn't convincing the world that their relationship is real-it's convincing herself that not everyone leaves. And when the ghosts of her past come knocking, Kaiden will have to choose: keep running from love, or risk everything on the possibility that this time, someone might actually stay.