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

Matthew shrugged. “Nothing much, why?”


“Well, for starters, you haven’t asked to borrow the car for a while.” Carl stood up. “You’ve been using it almost every night for a couple of weeks.”


Matthew looked down and moved some woodchips around with his toe.


“Trouble with the new boyfriend?” Carl asked.


Matthew’s head snapped up, and he said in a more defensive tone than he intended, “He wasn’t my boyfriend.”


Matthew felt a wave of sadness pass through him as he uttered those words.


Carl gave Matthew a don’t give me thatlook.


Matthew felt put on the spot. Carl was a friend, a good friend, but Matthew didn’t want to talk to him or anyone about Howie. The less said the better. The less Howie was thought of, the sooner Matthew could move on, put this experiment behind him, and concentrate on the goal of becoming a priest.


Chapter 23