First Kiss #20

Betty discovers her marriage has grown stale two years in—her husband Hal cancels plans, prioritizes business and golf, and seems to have forgotten how to notice her as a woman. Desperate to rekindle his attention, she devises a scheme involving mystery bouquets, but what unfolds is far more complicated than she bargained for, and the truth about who's really behind the roses changes everything.

A freshman away from home for the first time, Florence Benedict falls hard for Tony Francona, the college basketball star, when he asks her out at a campus social—but his neglectful treatment soon shows her that her old friend Bob Ryan, who's warned her about Tony all along, may have been right about him. As Florence's heart breaks and mends, she discovers what real love actually feels like.

A young woman finds herself torn between two suitors after her soldier boyfriend ships out—the steadfast Hal Dennis who pursues her at work, and Johnny Wright, who returns expecting to pick up where they left off. As her feelings grow tangled and her choices catch up with her, she discovers that divided loyalty comes at a steep price in "Two Loves Had I," a poignant look at how a moment's weakness can cost everything that matters.

Vera's perfect night at the high school prom with Neil turns complicated when he's stopped by a cop for speeding, and his bitter resentment toward authority figures starts pulling him—and her—in a dangerous direction. As Neil spirals into defiance, skipping school and lashing out at anyone trying to help, Vera finds herself torn between loyalty and the hard truth she can no longer ignore. She'll have to decide whether to stand by him or speak up, even if it costs her everything.