According to Dr. Maggie Maguire, happiness is serious science, as serious as Maggie takes herself. But science can't always account for life's anomalies--for instance, why her fiancé dumped her for a silk-scarf acrobat and how the breakup sent Maggie spiraling into an extended ice cream-fueled chick flick binge. Concerned that she might never pull herself out of this nosedive, Maggie's friends book her as a speaker on a "New Year, New You" cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. Maggie wonders if she's qualified to teach others about happiness when she can't muster up any for herself. But when a handsome stranger on board insists that smart women can't ever be happy, Maggie sets out to prove him wrong. Along the way she may discover that happiness has far less to do with the head than with the heart. Filled with memorable characters, snappy dialogue, and touching romance, Kristin Billerbeck's The Theory of Happily Ever After shows that the search for happiness may be futile--because sometimes happiness is already out there searching for you. "Billerbeck has the most delightful voice I've ever read. I adore her stories, and she returns with an enchanting new novel, The Theory of Happily Ever After . I laughed, cried, and rejoiced with her wonderful characters and was sad when the story ended. Highly recommended!"-- Colleen Coble , USA Today bestselling author "Billerbeck has the most delightful voice I've ever read. I laughed, cried, and rejoiced with her wonderful characters and was sad when the story ended. Highly recommended!"-- Colleen Coble , USA Today bestselling author *** According to Dr. Maggie Maguire, happiness is serious --serious science, that is. But science can't always account for life's anomalies, like why her fiancé dumped her for a silk-scarf acrobat and how the breakup sent Maggie spiraling into an extended ice cream-fueled chick flick binge. Concerned that she might never pull herself out of this nosedive, Maggie's friends book her as a speaker on a "New Year, New You" cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. Maggie wonders if she's qualified to teach others about happiness when she can't muster up any for herself. But when a handsome stranger on board insists that smart women can't ever be happy, Maggie sets out to prove him wrong. Along the way she may discover that happiness has far less to do with the head than with the heart. Filled with unforgettable characters, snappy dialogue, and touching romance, The Theory of Happily Ever After shows that the search for happiness may be futile--because sometimes happiness is already out there searching for you. "A journey of self-discovery peppered with wisdom and truth. I loved Maggie Maguire. A must-read for lovers of chick lit."-- Rachel Hauck , New York Times bestselling author "I absolutely adored The Theory of Happily Ever After from first page to last. Billerbeck's signature humor made me laugh again and again, and her memorable characters stole my heart. Don't miss this one!"-- Robin Lee Hatcher , Christy and RITA Award-winning author of You're Gonna Love Me Kristin Billerbeck is the author of more than thirty novels, including What a Girl Wants and the Ashley Stockingdale and Spa Girls series. She is a fourth-generation Californian who loves her state and the writing fodder it provides. Learn more at www.KristinBillerbeck.com. Kristin Billerbeck is the bestselling, award-winning author of several novels, including What a Girl Wants , Perfectly Dateless , and Perfectly Invisible . A Christy Award finalist and two-time winner of the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year, Billerbeck has appeared on The Today Show and has been featured in the New York Times . She lives with her family in Northern California. The Theory of Happily Ever After By Kristin Billerbeck Baker Publishing Group Copyright © 2018 Kristin Billerbeck All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8007-2944-8 CHAPTER 1 A harsh reality is better than a false fantasy. Life is not a fairy tale. The Science of Bliss by Dr. Margaret K. Maguire Life is filled with irony. I mean, I wrote the book on bliss, and currently I am the most miserable person I know. Probably I'd be the most miserable person you know as well. Which is why I have been perfectly content to hole up in my tiny apartment for the past two months and binge-watch romance movies while simultaneously gorging on eggnog ice cream. There's the science of happiness, and then there's reality. Unlike life, heartwarming television movies never let you down, and there is no unexpected twist in which the heroine looks like one big cosmic punch line. The hero in a TV movie never leaves our heroine for the mean girl — the mean girl actually gets shot down. There is no crisis too great that it cannot be overcome by true love. And everyone lives happily ever after. Isn't that how life should be? Truly blissful? "In a Hallmark movie," I say to the cat, Neon, "your ex never tells you that