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And once again, because there was still some stubborn piece of that stupid fairy tale hidden away inside her—like a gold crown secreted inside a piece of Mardi Gras king cake—Pandy convinced herself it was going to be all right

And then the dam broke and relief flooded in when she realized that the fact that she and Jonny were seeing a ave her an excuse to tell her friends the truth about her e: It wasn’t perfect after all

In fact, at tiood neas that while she and Jonny had grown apart, they’d realized it just in tiain, all her friends were thrilled for her All except Henry

“I don’t like it,” he’d said warningly

“Well, everyone else does,” Pandy said, not having the patience for a naysayer at the moment

“My guess is that he’s placating you”

“Men hate shrinks And if there’s anything Jonny is, it’s a e work”

“I’m sure he does After all, it’s worked very well for him so far, hasn’t it?” Henry drawled ominously ?

??He has everything he wants Technically, he’s le man”

“That isn’t true,” Pandy snapped Angered by Henry’s unhelpful perspective, she recalled what Jonny had said about Henry being like a character in an old black-and-white movie

The shrink asked: “Why did you fall in love with Jonny?”

The question res with editors and studio executives when they talked about est question in the room was always: “Why did she fall in love with him if he turns out to be so awful in the end?”

And despite hours spent debating the topic, there was only one answer: He wasn’t like that when she fell in love with him

Or was he, and she just didn’t know it yet?