The next day, Drew watched as Chloe, tablet in hand, made notes as she walked about the house. Even now when he came in, he could hear his grandmother telling him to make certain he wiped his feet at the door before he ran across her good rug.

Then she would meet him in the kitchen usually with a fresh batch of cookies coming out of the oven. The smell of oatmeal or chocolate chip always seem to drift through this house until the day she died. This old house was filled with memories that left him aching for the past and the love he always experienced here.

A grandmother's open arms. Those hugs were the best.

"What do you think?" Drew asked, mesmerized at how Chloe appeared in a trance as she did a thorough inspection of the rooms.

"Beautiful. The bones in this house are fabulous. The history and the architecture," she said, taking pictures with her notebook and typing in notes.

"Now the house is mine and will be in the family until my time is up," he said, watching her, fascinated at how she worked.

Glancing up at him, she smiled. "Drew, that makes me respect you a lot more."

A grin spread across his face. Why did he always seem to be smiling when he spent time with Chloe? "You didn't have respect for me before?"

"Oh, I did, but not as much. When you marry, your new wife is going to love living here."

He stared at the home that meant so much to him. Odd, he didn't want a little woman to call his own, yet he wanted to own a piece of his heritage. Sure, he had a stake in the ranch, but this was his.

And the women he dated, the models, actresses, and socialites, they wouldn't want an older remodeled home on the edge of Main Street in a town the size of Cupid. No, they required a mansion in an exclusive neighborhood surrounded by other like-minded professionals with him working sixty hour weeks to pay the mortgage.

"It's doubtful there will ever be a Mrs. Drew Lawrence. The snooty women I date wouldn't want a home like this."

Gazing at him, she shook her head. "Shame. This is a house a family should fill. Gatherings in the great room around the fireplace. The kitchen bursting with warmth and laughter, sweet aromas drifting from room to room. Children being tucked into bed upstairs. This is the kind of home I hope to buy someday."

Her words caused his chest to ache. Often, he wondered why he didn't want to marry, but marriage seemed so ordinary, and controlling and pointless.

"Why haven't you married?"

Shaking her head, she halted her steps inside the dilapidated kitchen. "You know the answer to that. Last night you asked me why I'm called the most jilted woman in Cupid."

"Sorry, I don't think I handled that well. My brother recommended you as the house builder, he mentioned your status in Cupid. Which made me curious because of our adventure."

Halting in the middle of the kitchen, she raised her brows at him. "How long do you have for me to tell you about my dating life? My biggest and closest call to matrimony ended when I caught him in his office at church doing the horizontal rumba with a married parishioner. I've dated men who thought I should be bowing before them because they took me out. But the worst were the ones my father chose for me who clearly had not separated from their mother’s tit."

He started to laugh at the image.

Blue eyes cut at him and flashed indignantly. "Not funny. In fact, it makes you question if it's you or is it them?"

"Is this the reason you danced naked around the statue?"

Tossing her hair back over her shoulder, she licked her lips, her eyes the color of Texas bluebonnets in spring darkening.

"The women of my father's congregation are trying to tear down the God of Love. I'm not sure that superstition is real or not, but I decided I'd better run soon or risk my chance of Cupid being dismantled. Right now, my dating life could use a little excitement. Not just a little excitement, it needs a lightning bolt from above."

A frown formed between his eyes as he considered what she'd gone through. "You've never fallen in love with any of these guys?"

Picking up her tablet she had laid on the counter, she glanced at him. "Didn't say that. Austin, I loved and was ready to become his wife. Sometimes I blame myself for that one. If I hadn't been so strict, we would be married. Even when I broke up with him, he kept saying he would always love me."

"Men will say anything to stop a woman from leaving."

A heavy sigh escaped from her lips and he had the most incredible urge to comfort her. Yet, that was ridiculous. They had a connection because of the Cupid statue. Now he was hiring her to be his contractor, but there was no romance there - just an attraction. Nothing more.

"What do you mean strict?"

She looked up from the notes she was making, her big blue eyes regarding him. "I'm waiting until marriage. I made him wait until we married for sex. Obviously, he found it somewhere else."

Drew stared at her in shock. Chloe Kilian was a virgin. All his alarm bells started ringing in his head and his blood rushed to his groin in a mad dash.

Why did that seem like a challenge, and yet, he promised himself when he moved back to Cupid, he would save his hound dog ways for when he was in Dallas.

Drew didn't need or want the gossip associated here in town. Looking at Chloe, this beautiful woman stood untouched, a virgin, and all his hormones revved up like a drag car ready to sprint to the finish line. The idea of being her first left him hard and wanting and completely off limits.

* * *

A week later, Chloe stood beside Drew, a paper mask covered their faces. The contracts were signed, the permits approved and the demolition was ready to begin. This afternoon, Drew would help her, while her crew finished a job, and tomorrow, the whole team would be here to start the renovation.

"Okay, let's pull the cabinets down, remove the countertops and afterwards we'll knock down that one wall and go from there. If we don't run out of time, we'll do the upstairs."

"You're going to add another full bathroom?"

"It's on the plans. Unless we hit some kind of snag, you'll have two baths on the main floor," she said.

"How did you get into this?" he asked. "Don't you think it's odd for a woman to be a contractor refurbishing houses."

"No, and I love it."

The lawyer was already sweating, and even though his muscles were toned and strong from his workouts at the gym, she could tell he was not used to working with his hands. Well, at least not with tools.

A grin crossed her face. That had been a magical semester, the first time she fell in love with Victorian ladies. "In college, I renovated a house in one of my classes and became hooked on refurbishing old homes. Since then, that's all I've done. I'm fortunate it pays the bills."

For the next hour, they demolished the kitchen, pulling the cabinets off the wall and smashing the countertops.

In some ways, this was always a fun day. Getting rid of a little frustration while tearing out a kitchen or a bathroom. When all but one cupboard lay busted up all around them, they took a break.

"This is hard work," he said breathing heavily.

"The destruction is easier when the entire crew is here. They'd be finished in no time."

Drew stood leaning against the one remaining counter. Chloe jumped up and sat swinging her legs over the side, gazing around at what all they had accomplished, sipping on a bottled water.

"The other day, I explained to you why I did the Cupid dance. You said you danced to fulfill a bet but who made such a wager with you," she asked, needing to understand why he would take the risk.

Sure, men were known for being exhibitionist, but still, the risks of being caught by the law... Especially a lawyer. The judge would make an example out of any attorney brought before him.

"Obviously, you don't have brothers or male friends. Cody bet me and Jim and Kyle that if he proposed to my sister and she said yes, we had to run around the Cupid statue. If she said no, he would take us all to Las Vegas, expenses paid. What we didn't know was he and Kelsey had been dating."

"You're right, no brothers or sisters."

Unfortunately, her mother had never conceived again after her birth. Chloe had longed for siblings, but she also received more since she was the only child. Still, family would have been nice.

"The other two did their run a month ago. Jim is marrying Shadow next week and Kyle and Tempe eloped and now run the veterinary clinic together. Both of them found perfect partners after they ran around the statue."

"And you didn't," she said, knowing the superstition.

"No, I'm not searching for someone to marry. In fact, I did the dance to honor my word with Cody, nothing else."

"According to the superstition, I'm your true love," she said, thinking it sounded so awkward.

Leaning on the counter top, he turned and moved toward her. The green in his eyes had darkened to a deep hue that sent a sizzle of heat scurrying up her spine. There was something so determined in his steps that she knew--absolutely knew--his intentions.

Stopping in front of her, he pulled her down from the countertop until her feet hit the floor. Trapped in between him and the cabinet, her pulse beat a little faster.

"Yes, according to the legend you are the love of my life. Maybe we should take a little spin before we make up our minds. Sure, we kissed the other night, but it was a way for me to shut you up. But now..." his mouth hovered over hers, her heart pounding in her chest. "We need to know before we go any further. Is there desire between us?"

His lips covered hers, teasing and tantalizing her as his tongue slipped between her lips and he pulled her tightly against him. Sure, she'd been kissed before. But never like the man wanted to consume her and she was his tasty morsel for the taking.

A heat began to build in her center unlike anything she ever felt before. The feel of his manhood pressed into her, hard and rigid. An explosion of need rocketed through her, sapping her strength and turning her legs into rubber. She feared they were going to buckle, but he held her up.

The kiss seemed to go on and on, and yet, she didn't want him to stop. For the first time in her life, she wanted more.

Suddenly the front door opened.

"Chloe?" her foreman called. "We're here early to help with the demolition.”

With a shove, she pushed him back. "Crap."

Taking a step back from her, she barely had time to straighten her shirt and pull herself somewhat together.

"Ricardo, you guys made it. Why don't you take care of the bathroom upstairs and the one in the hallway. Then tomorrow we can start with the construction," she said, sounding like a marathon runner, her breathing rushed.

The foreman looked between the two of them.

"Okay, we'll get started," he said and turned to give the directions to the rest of the men.

Blushing profusely, her cheeks a flame, she turned back to Drew, feeling awkward.

He leaned in close. "Just so you recognize right up front, your kiss is very tempting, but I don't believe in that Cupid statue nonsense. And I don't intend to ever walk down the aisle."

"Great," she said and veered into his face. "Stop wasting my time."

"If that's how you want to think about it. I like to think that was a mighty fine kiss we just shared, and we'll soon share even more."

The sheer confidence about him, pissed her off. How dare he lock lips with her till the point of no return for his own perverse pleasure.

"Not hardly. I'm not sleeping with the bad boy in town who is notorious for his carousing. We took a spin around the block and it came up lacking."

As he stared at her, his head tilted. "Oh, honey, that kiss was anything but lacking. I'd say that kiss was a scorcher. Probably a ten and if your workers hadn't arrived, we would have made it to first base, at least."

"Dream on, Drew. You're not into marriage and I'm not a girl who dallies with men like you. In fact, I want everything you don't, so you'd be a waste of my time. We should get back to work."

Turning, she walked away, frustration with the male species mounting with every step.

* * *

Shortly after the kiss, Drew left, leaving her alone. As he walked out the front entrance, she wanted to throw something at the door, but didn't want to damage the old wooden threshold. Tears pricked her eyes and her chest clenched in pain.

Of all the arrogant men she'd ever met, he took the cake. It appeared her bad luck with men continued. Even after running around the fountain, her first meet was with a man who didn't want to settle down. Who didn't believe in the superstition, who let her know right up front he had no intention of ever marrying.

And he kissed like the devil. Never had she become lost in the power of a man's lips. The intoxication of the spell he created, she never experienced before. But he was all wrong for her.

At least, he didn't wait until she was emotionally involved to tell her he would never marry. The most frustrating thing was she believed in the legend and felt attracted to Drew. She could see herself as his wife. She could easily fall in love with him.

Picking up the sledgehammer, she slammed it against the cabinet. The breakup with Austin had been painful and if she didn't want to experience that kind of hurt, she needed to put distance between her and Drew. Time to back away and shut down this growing attraction. Nip these feelings in the bud and make their relationship strictly business.

With the second blow, the cabinet split in two and she began to pull the wood from the wall. Pulling the pieces, she saw what looked like a leather-bound object on the floor.

Dropping to her knee, she picked up the book and wiped the dust from the jacket. Pressing the button that unlatched the lock, she opened the binder and realized it was someone's diary. Flipping through the pages at the front, she saw the line for the owner’s name was blank.

She wondered who it belonged to. Probably one of the Perkins girls left it behind when they moved. But it seemed older than the young girls’ ages. Later, she’d skim through, looking for names, then return it.