Their name? The objectors. Their job? To break off weddings as hired. Their dilemma? They might just be in love with each other.   When Sophie Steinbeck finds out just before her nuptials that her fiancé has cheated yet again, she desperately wants to call it off. But because her future father-in-law is her dad’s cutthroat boss, she doesn’t want to be the one to do it. Her savior comes in the form of a professional objector, whose purpose is to show up at weddings and proclaim the words no couple (usually) wants to hear at their ceremony: “I object!”   During anti-wedding festivities that night, Sophie learns more about Max the Objector’s job. It makes perfect sense to her: he saves people from wasting their lives, from hurting each other. He’s a modern-day hero. And Sophie wants in.   The two love cynics start working together, going from wedding to wedding, and Sophie’s having more fun than she’s had in ages. She looks forward to every nerve-racking ceremony saving the lovesick souls of the betrothed masses. As Sophie and Max spend more time together, however, they realize that their physical chemistry is off the charts, leading them to dabble in a little hookup session or two—but it’s totally fine, because they definitely do not have feelings for each other. Love doesn’t exist, after all.   And then everything changes. A groom-to-be hires Sophie to object, but his fiancée is the woman who broke Max’s heart. As Max wrestles with whether he can be a party to his ex’s getting hurt, Sophie grapples with the sudden realization that she may have fallen hard for her partner in crime. " Happily Never After is a giggle-inducing romp that readers won't be able to object to."—Lana Ferguson , USA Today bestselling author of The Fake Mate " Happily Never After takes an irresistibly fun concept and expertly delivers on its promise, brimming with hilariously cheeky banter and so-red-hot-it'll-make-you-sweat chemistry between its lovable lead characters. Lynn Painter has a true gift for crafting wildly entertaining rom-coms, and this is her best one yet!"—Nicolas DiDomizio, author of The Gay Best Friend "Lynn Painter writes the romcom banter of my dreams! Happily Never After is a sparkling, hilarious, sexy romance that leaps off the page and is just begging to be made into a movie!"—Sarah Adams, New York Times bestselling author of Practice Makes Perfect "Well-crafted and filled to the brim with sexual tension, Happily Never Afte r is rom-com gold! We fell head-over-heels for the romance and the undeniably swoony chemistry. Max and Sophie are two characters so perfect for each other that you can’t help but want to smoosh them together."—Krista & Becca Ritchie, New York Times bestselling authors " A rom-com for the cynics...The supporting cast is equally funny and helps to round out an entertaining yarn that doesn’t take itself too seriouslly."— Library Journal "Painter delivers a charmer of a rom-com with this lively tale of professional wedding objectors…Rom-com fans will find this scratches the itch.”— Publishers Weekly Lynn Painter is the New York Times bestselling author of Better Than the Movies and Mr. Wrong Number . She writes romantic comedies for teens and adults, and when she isn't reading or writing, she can usually be found binge-watching rom-coms or shotgunning energy drinks. one Sophie The moment my dad raised my veil, kissed my cheek, and handed me off to Stuart, I wanted to throw up. No-first, I wanted to punch my groom right in his besotted smile. Then I wanted to vomit. Instead, I took his arm and grinned back at him like a good bride. The pastor started speaking, launching into his cookie-cutter TED talk about true love, and my heart was racing as I waited. I swear I could feel four hundred sets of eyes burning into the back of my Jacqueline Firkins wedding gown as I heard nothing but the sound of my panicked pulse pounding through my veins and reverberating in my eardrums. Was he already there, seated among the guests? Was he going to burst through the doors, yelling? And-God-what if he was a no-show? The photographer, kneeling just to my right, took a photo of my face as I listened to Pastor Pete's love lies, so I turned up my lips and attempted to project bridal joy. "You look so nervous," Stuart whispered, giving me a small smile. I honestly don't know how I didn't throat-punch him at that moment. "Welcome, loved ones," the pastor said, beaming at the congregation as he spoke. "We are gathered here today to join together Sophie and Stuart in holy matrimony." I felt my breath hitch, unsteady, as he kept yammering, leading us closer to the moment. Something about the twinkling lights and evergreen boughs that we'd painstakingly selected for our December wedding felt garish to me all of a sudden, as if the hobo ghost from Polar Express was going to show up in the back of the church and mock me for my foolishness. And he wouldn't be wrong.