title: The Sleeping Beauty Proposal
author: Strohmeyer, Sarah
description: At 36, Genie Michaels is beginning to feel that she has hit the snooze button on her life one too many times. When her "commitment-phobic" boyfriend Hugh proposes on national TV--not to Genie, but to an unknown mystery woman--Genie's wise-cracking friend Patty doesn't hesitate to give her some tough love: "You remind me of that idiot Sleeping Beauty, lying around like a zombie waiting for your prince. Well, guess what, he rode right past your castle and now you have a choice - you can either go back to bed or you can wake up!"
  
  Genie chooses to wake up. After some questionable advice, her first step is to allow everyone to believe she's Hugh's real fiancee. She'll let him be the one to explain the mistake. Naturally the good news travels fast and, in a heartbeat, Genie's parents are booking a reception hall while friends are showering her with gifts. Genie feels bad about the deception, but at last everyone is dancing to her tune, and she can't help but enjoy it. Particularly when a certain too-handsome-for-his-own-good Greek carpenter shows up on the scene thinking he's hotter than Tabasco. Genie realizes that she never needed a man to start her life - to buy a home, to get a better job, or even to wear a diamond ring. And if Prince Charming wants to show up while she's at it, she just might teach him a thing or two.