Lila Macapagal

Lila Macapagal is the narrator of this novel. She has recently returned to Shady Palms, Indiana, after living in Chicago for a few years where she was studying, working, and in love. When she found her boyfriend cheating, she took the opportunity to return home to help her aunt save the family business – a small restaurant called Tita Rosie's Kitchen. Lila felt it was destiny that led her to reunite with her high school sweetheart Derek Winter, but that ends after only a few dates when she learns Derek has become a food writer who has trashed most of the restaurants in town, including Tita Rosie's Kitchen. The fact that Lila sought to renew her relationship with Derek is a symbol of her need to be in a relationship. She admits that her hormones have driven her to many of the bad decisions in the past, and...