Summary

In Chapter 1, Lila Macapagal introduces herself by saying “my life has become a rom-com cliche” (1). She “checks” off the things on the to-do list for a girl like her. She moved from Shady Palms, Indiana, to the big city where she planned “to make a name for herself and find love” (1). That life imploded when she found her fiance cheating, prompting a move back home “in disgrace.” She plans to shore up her aunt's faltering business. The final “trope” of this romantic-comedy situation is that she has encountered her high school sweetheart Derek Winter. She blames a lot of her bad decisions – both in the distant and recent past – on hormones. She had planned to run her own restaurant, but she is working in at her aunt's restaurant – Tita Rosie's Kitchen. She has three godmothers – April, Mae, and June. She refers to them...