Love Secrets #53

When a gypsy fortune teller predicts that Jeannie Rogers will meet a tall, dark, handsome man through roses, she dismisses it as carnival nonsense—until she collides with Pete Howard, the mysterious young gardener at the Van Cleefer mansion, who offers her a rose. As Pete insists on secret meetings away from his employer's watchful eye, Jeannie begins to wonder if fate is at work, but the truth of who Pete really is promises to upend everything she thought she knew.

When Gloria's seasonal romance with Chuck Bryson falls apart after he's drawn to a visiting singer at the Pine Lake Inn, she hardens her heart and vows never to fall in love again—but her bitterness begins to wound those closest to her, including Jeff Gilbert, who's harbored quiet feelings all along. As winter isolates her with regret, Gloria discovers that the pain of a broken heart may be nothing compared to the cost of refusing to trust again.

When a soldier returns home after two years overseas expecting to reunite with his sweetheart, only Cathy knows the devastating truth—her sister Valerie has married another man and abandoned all her promises. Caught between her lifelong love for Andy and the impossible secret she's carrying, Cathy must navigate heartbreak, temptation, and a desperate choice that could change all their lives. Bill Ward's pencils bring this turbulent romance to life as emotion and circumstance collide in unexpected ways.

Jane Smith has always felt like the overlooked sister—plain, unremarkable, invisible to romance—until Bill Brant, the charming new advertising manager at her company, asks her to be his private secretary and then asks her out. Now she's caught between the fairy tale of his affection and the crushing doubt that someone like him could genuinely care for someone like her, especially when her coworkers' jealousy and her own family's skepticism threaten to poison her happiness.