Howie Bosley has very strict rules about dating men. Get to know him, fall in love with him, then -- and only then -- go to bed with him. But, as Howie’s friends frequently point out, his rules aren’t working because he’s still single. Just when Howie is about to ease up on his rules, he meets an Adonis at the gym who goes by the name of Matthew Timmons. Matthew is also looking to get to know someone before hopping into the sack. Is this destiny? But Matthew had planned a very different life path for himself, one that didn’t involve falling in love. Conflicted, he makes the painful decision to cut off all contact with Howie. What is Matthew hiding? Suddenly Howie’s fairy tale romance has taken an abrupt turn, and he doesn’t know if there’s anything he can do to get it back on track. Isn’t their happy ending meant to be?

Meant To Be

“They’re such great dogs,” Howie said, “But because they’re older, big, and have to be placed together, they get passed up. They both have had chances to go to separate homes, but we can’t do that.”


“That’s a shame.” Matthew said, looking down at Amos, who was happily walking along, nose to the ground, tail wagging.


Howie sighed. “I’d adopt them, but I don’t know how Katya and Sergei would handle it. Besides,” he said, slipping an arm through Matthew’s, “if I did bring them home, you and I would have to get a bigger place.”


Both men stopped. Shocked at what Howie had just said, Matthew turned and looked at Howie, who was staring back at him with a look of panic on his face.


“I…I mean, we…uh…when you come over it’s kinda of…well…I don’t have a lot of space, and…” Howie stumbled to a halt. He took a deep breath and said. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. It’s sort of presumptive of me to think that someday maybe…well, you know.”


Chapter 20