Happily Never After

by Lynn Painter

How could I not smile at that? I realized as I looked down at her that I had no idea who she was. Wild bride, serious professional, hopeless car romantic; which one was the real her? “You’re very weird, Sophie.” “I know,” she said, lifting her chin just a little, daring me to pass judgment. “I like it,” I added, meaning that. There was something about her that . . . shit, that I liked.

She’d been a beautiful bride and a hot businesswoman, but the plaid shirt, jeans, and boots? Yeah, that shit worked for her.

“You know, friendship is the best foundation for a relationship.”

“Because feelings eventually come with chemistry whether you want them to or not.”

Because as it turned out, love was actually real. It wasn’t a trick at all, but more like this amazing thing that was mislabeled a shocking amount of the time, leading to endless confusion and piles of unhappiness. They really needed to fix that. But the truth was that if you looked hard enough and didn’t die from the disappointments along the way, the real thing was out there.