Chloe sat next to Kelsey, Drew's younger sister, at the rehearsal dinner. The woman's interest was obvious when she found out her brother had brought her as his date.

"Jim rescued Shadow after he did the Cupid dance," Kelsey whispered. "And the same for me and Cody. He picked me up after running the statue. In fact, I think all our friends and family met after dancing naked around the fountain."

An uncomfortable feeling overcame Chloe. She wanted to confide in his sister, but being the preacher's daughter, no way would she tell her how she and Drew bumped into each other. If that story reached her father's ears or her surrogate mothers, they would hold a prayer vigil in her front yard.

As it was, she often wondered if they weren't already praying, hoping she would find someone to love. Especially her father with the men he sent her way. Fortunately, the trickle of nerds had slowed. Finally, he had gotten her message. Let her find her own man.

"You were the first woman Drew saw after he did the Cupid dance?" Kelsey blurted out.

No harm in telling her that much.

"Yes, I was Drew's first after doing the dance."

"Oh, tell me what happened?" his sister said.

Chloe shifted uneasily in the chair. Kelsey was nice, but she couldn't tell her the truth. All she could admit to was running into Drew after his dance and she hoped everyone assumed they met after he put his clothes back on.

"Oh, look, I think the boys are going to do the first toast," Chloe said, trying to draw her attention away from her and Drew.

Cody stood. "Shadow and Jim, as we prepare to celebrate your special day, you need to thank me for this happy event. Our little wager has now found forever after for three of the four of you."

The small group laughed. "The four of us have been friends for a long time. None of us believed in this God of Love superstition, but because Kelsey and her girlfriends danced, I'm now happily engaged and you're getting married. May your lives be rich with happiness, blessed with children, and happily ever after. To Jim and Shadow."

Everyone raised their wine glasses. Chloe was happy for the couple, yet part of her twinged with jealousy of the love she could see shining from their eyes when they glanced at one another. Chloe wanted that same kind of love for her and Drew.

Ryan Jones stood. "I'd like to say as sheriff, I don't condone this dancing without your clothes around the statue, but I, too, am a happily married man because of that silly rock in the town square. To Jim and Shadow, may your days be joyous and your nights filled with love."

They all laughed and lifted their glasses.

Kyle rose from his seat. "To Jim and Shadow. Jim, love has been a long time coming. Frankly, after watching Shadow and you together, you couldn't have found a more perfect woman. Shadow helps you relax and live a little and you give Shadow stability. On this journey of life, may your days be many, your life be overflowing with love and happiness and rugrats. Congrats!"

The crowd cheered as they clinked champagne flutes. Then it was Drew's turn.

"How many of you here have been affected by this superstition?"

Drew was asking this question? That surprised her after his earlier comments about his own Cupid experience.

Swallowing hard, Chloe stared in shock at the number of people who hoisted their hands. Could it be that Cupid would show her and Drew they were meant to be together?

With a longing gaze at Drew tonight, she had watched him interact with his brothers, taking pictures with Jim and Shadow. So many things about him drew her to him. She liked his intelligence, his wit, his persistence - she didn't like his one-night stands. But even that had changed. After all, he confessed he had not slept with a woman in six months.

"I'm shocked," he said. "In order to fulfill a bet, I did the Cupid dance and the first woman I ran into was the lovely Chloe who is here with me. Tonight is not about me and Chloe, but Jim and Shadow."

Pausing for a moment, he turned to his new sister-in-law. "Shadow, when Jim introduced you, I thought he struck gold. You're the right person for my brother and I'm happy he's found someone to spend his life with. Jim, you've become the patriarch of our family and taken on responsibilities to keep our business going. We're proud of you and honored to call you brother. May the two of you live long and prosper and fill that big old empty house with lots of babies for me to spoil."

Chloe's eyes pricked with tears. Could the Cupid statue and returning to the town change Drew? Maybe the bad boy was beginning to realize long lasting relationships mattered most in life. Not just fleeting fly byes in the night. Maybe, just maybe, soon, he would look at her with love in his eyes.

* * *

The next day at the wedding reception, Drew watched his sister and sister-in-law tag team Chloe with the bouquet. Shadow aimed right for her and Kelsey played linebacker making certain no one had a chance but Chloe who looked mortified.

Not only was everyone trying to put the two of them as the next engaged couple, but they acted like she should be thrilled she tamed the bad boy.

They both knew that wasn't true, and in fact, Drew had already turned one girl down this afternoon. This new dating arrangement was still so new and fragile for them, they were fumbling their way through a major life event together. The women he went out with were well versed in what to expect.

Chloe was different. It was one of the things that drew him to her. Before they left her house, she warned him just so they were clear, she wouldn't accept his hound dogging ways. If she even caught a glimpse of him flirting and carrying on with another woman, he would receive a swift kick in the rear and a resounding goodbye. The woman didn't play around.

Her morals were simple. One man, one woman with a ring on her finger vowed to each other for a lifetime. A partnership she planned on lasting forever.

While it seemed like a simple enough pledge, Drew was not sure he could uphold to her high standards. Shocking, he agreed with her and that's why he never pursued a real, honest relationship - his way everything was superficial.

The only promises made lasted the night and not the rest of time.

For his own good, he needed to change, but part of him resisted giving up his freedom. When a man took a wife, he made a vow to honor, protect, support her, and their children in sickness and health.

In his line of work, examples of men who failed at that job miserably were too numerous to count. A lot of women failed as well. Nasty divorces, lunatic break-ups, and meanness the likes of which he'd never considered.

If he promised a woman forever, he would die honoring those vows. The carefree playboy had no commitments except to himself. The husband had responsibilities to those he loved. Falling in love was harder than a quick tumble between the sheets.

Walking over to where Chloe stood, taking pictures with the bouquet, he grinned at her. Standing beside Shadow, Chloe appeared stunning and he could imagine her in a lacy white dress. His chest squeezed and he reminded himself they were dating. Nothing more.

"Poor girl," an older woman watching nearby said to her friend. "Absolutely, she has the worst luck with men. Always chooses the wrong one. And now that lawyer and her? He's a player chasing after the good girl."

Yes, he pursued Chloe. No longer did he want to be known as the bad boy in town. Before his gigolo ways had been a status symbol, but now, he no longer wanted to be that guy. The local Othello.

"I know," the other woman said. "Chloe was devastated when she caught Austin cheating on her. She'll soon find this one between some woman's legs."

Drew fought the urge to defend himself against the old biddy, but realized he would come out looking like the loser. Taking a deep breath, he released it slowly, nothing should ruin his brother's big day.

Finally, the photographer had enough and walked away. Drew stepped around the little old ladies wanting them to know he heard every word.

"Hey, look at you," he said, approaching the woman he couldn't stop thinking about. Right now, she seemed a little frazzled and that surprised him. Always in the past, she'd been so certain of herself.

She handed him the souvenir flowers and picked up her glass of champagne, taking a big gulp. "Next time I attend any of your family weddings, would you please remind me of how your sister and sisters-in-law can be so determined. Honestly, Drew, I was trying to downplay our relationship, not draw attention to us."

A grin spread across his face. Both of them were dealing with the anxiety of being seen in public as a couple. "Well, my toast last night didn't help, but maybe it's for the best. Now at least everyone knows we're seeing each other."

They could stop guessing who the first woman was he met after dancing around the fountain. And those blue-haired grannies would see that he was the right man for Chloe, at this moment.

"Why should that matter?" she asked.

"Because being with you makes me a better man. What I don't understand is why you like to be with me?" he said, wondering what besides her belief in the superstition kept her seeing him.

The sweet upturn of her lips into a teasing smile sent tremors through him. "Well, certainly not your looks. Every woman in town is after them. I want something more."

"Like what?" he asked, smiling at her response.

"Your brilliant mind," she said and leaned over and kissed him. For some reason her words made him want to scoop her into his arms and carry her to the nearest bed, but that wouldn't happen.

"Hey, you two, save it for the wedding night," Jim said to them in front of everyone, making Drew groan. Why did his brother have to ruin a perfectly great kiss?

"I'm about to toss the garter."

Releasing his lips, Chloe smiled at him, sending ripples of awareness straight to his groin, her blue eyes warm. "Your turn to be humiliated."

* * *

Two days later, Drew sat with Cody at Valentino's bar, sipping a cold one. Today, Drew was stunned to receive a message from Chloe - 'Got a call from Austin, be back in a couple days.'

Was this how it felt when he dumped a woman? Why would she openly admit she went to see Austin after they’d decided to date?

Cody stared at him. "Man, I was surprised as hell to hear you come out and tell everyone you and Chloe were dating. Last I heard, you weren't ever going to get serious."

Even his friends didn't want him to reform. They all thought he lived a wonderful life. What they didn't think about was the loneliness, the fear of disease, and the awkwardness of getting naked with a stranger. Really, being promiscuous wasn't a glamorous life like they envisioned.

"I'm trying to change. We agreed to see each other, and today, I receive a cryptic voicemail saying she was going to visit Austin."

"No way. Not Austin, the associate pastor at her father's church? She caught him cheating during a marital counseling session with a married woman," Cody said, shocked. "That congregation just about ran him out of town. No way, man."

Drew turned. If his friend new about Austin, then the whole town knew the man cheated. "Why would Chloe go back to him?"

This was the first time she gave any inclination that she might have that crazy woman gene. The one so many of his clients seemed to have, where they took back the rotten husband after he'd stolen their savings to go off with another woman.

Cody turned to him and shook his head. "Are you certain you understood right? Something is off. Are you guys exclusive? He's the last man on earth I'd think she'd go back to. This doesn't seem right. But you know Karma is a bitch. How many times did you do this to other women?"

"We're not talking about my past. We're talking about how I'm changing."

How long would it take before people realized he turned a new leaf?

"Doesn't feel good when it happens to you, does it?" Cody said.

Drew glanced at his friend. "You've been zero, squat, kind of help here tonight. I hoped you would help me understand why she would go back to a man like Austin, when I'm here."

Picking up his beer, Cody grinned at Drew. "You do realize you're falling hard. Cupid aimed for your heart and his arrow has struck. You're acting like a man bitten by love. You're acting like a jealous lover."

Drew cringed inside. If this was love, he didn't like the feeling. The thought of Chloe possibly sleeping with Austin made him sick to his stomach. For a moment, he considered jumping in his car and going after her.

"Maybe I should go after her."

"Maybe you should sit back and learn why she's gone to Austin. It could be innocent."

"This doesn't seem innocent. Feels like my girl is two-timing me."

Cody laughed so hard, he had tears in his eyes. Finally, he stopped took a swig of his beer. "Like I said, Karma, she's a bitch and Cupid is about to slam you hard."