Lovelorn #52

Ellen's engagement to Tom seems picture-perfect—until he ships out to Korea and she's left facing an impossible secret alone. Cast out by her employer and abandoned by everyone who knows the truth, Ellen finds herself desperate and broke, with no one to turn to as she approaches motherhood. When a landlady offers shelter with a devastating condition, Ellen must make an agonizing choice about her child's future.

A college woman conducting research on male dating habits thinks she's figured men out—until she meets Ron Manning, a senior whose infuriating smugness and casual indifference completely upend her scientific conclusions. As she struggles to maintain her objectivity during their date, she discovers that the "extra-special man" she'd always dreamed of might be standing right in front of her, using her own methods against her.

A young woman gets a sobering lecture on what turns men off—from dominating dates and seeking attention to poor timing, materialism, playing the field, and turning romance into a family affair. Through a series of cautionary scenarios, she learns what it really takes to be the kind of girl a man wants to keep around.

Dell Bishop has been Pete McCabe's girl for years—a possessive, violent relationship rooted in childhood that leaves her torn between fear and attraction. When the gentle and intellectual Phil Taylor moves to town, Dell discovers a different kind of love, but Pete's return from military service threatens everything she's found. Can Dell break free from a man who refuses to let her go, or will she remain trapped by her own terror?

Joyce Stearns, a piano teacher from Chicago, answers what seems like a routine call to teach lessons—only to discover that her new student is Dr. Frank Walker himself, a charming widower with no children at all. Over months of biweekly meetings and musical practice, the two grow closer, finding unexpected harmony both at the piano and in matters of the heart.