Because she’s only interested in Malcolm. He doesn’t know this, but he’s inadvertently broken Joy’s heart exactly four times since they met. Each time after, he pieced it back together again as if it never happened. Not a single crack or seam left uncared for.

This time, though, she’ll hand her heart directly to him. For better or for worse.

There’s never going to be anyone else for Joy. It has to be Malcolm.

Three

FRIDAY

Not a single red light or stop sign slowed Joy down on the way to Malcolm’s house. Clearly a surefire sign she’s on the right path because everyone knows when you’re desperate to get somewhere you hit every roadblock imaginable.

But as she’s sitting in her parked car near his driveway, Joy’s hands tighten around the steering wheel. “Get out of the car,” she says to herself. “Get. Out. Of. The. Car.” If this is her right path, then why does she suddenly feel like the most intense hangover of her life has slammed into her like a freight train? Head throbbing, stomach churning, balance gone, ready and willing to get up close and personal with a toilet bowl—she didn’t drink that much wine last night.

“This is a bad idea. A terrible idea. The worst,” she whispers. Trying to steal her best friend when he’s clearly interested in someone else feels like a supremely shitty thing to do—no denying that. There’s also the tiny problem that she’s never tried to seriously pursue anyone in her life.

Starting a romance always seems easy enough in movies. There’s the adorkable approach. The fake dating disaster. The good girl gone bad ploy. Her primary inspiration—the conniving best friend caper—had a happy ending, but certainly not the one Joy wanted for her life.

Just the thought of all that lying and sabotage . . . dear god, her nerves. She isn’t going to make it. As soon as she gets out of the car (she’s never getting out of the car), she’ll walk up to Malcolm’s door, go inside, and promptly puke everywhere as soon as they make eye contact.

The problem is that Malcolm knows her too well. The second she starts, well, acting, he’ll suspect something is up and immediately ask her about it. He’ll be concerned and she’ll be speechless while being boiled alive by shame.

Joy takes a deep breath, willing herself to find her happy place. The memory of the first time she realized she fell in love with him. All of him. There are so many kinds of love out there and the way she felt about Malcolm in that moment didn’t have a name. It felt like forever moving in slow motion. An unconditional bond cemented by infinity. They would always be together. No matter what.