Real Love #36

When Fern's adventurous streak leads her to accept a ride from a charming stranger named Bert Brander, she finds herself caught in a terrifying hit-and-run incident on a lonely back road—one that leaves an old man dead and Bert fleeing the scene. Now engaged to her steady, cautious boyfriend Gene, Fern must wrestle with a dangerous secret: she's the only witness who can prove Bert didn't commit the killing, but coming forward means admitting the reckless night that nearly cost her everything. Caught between her promise to give up her wild ways and her conscience, Fern faces a choice that could destroy her engagement and her reputation.

When her fiancé Clyde Vance abandons Princess O'Brien at the altar to elope with her best friend, the beautiful heiress vows never to be vulnerable again—transforming herself into a heartbreaker who jilts men before they can hurt her. But when she falls genuinely for Don Franklin while still stringing along the impulsive Jack Seagate, her carefully constructed armor of coldness shatters, forcing her to confront what her years of payback have cost her.

Betty's secret past comes back to haunt her when Carma, an old friend from her reformatory days, unexpectedly arrives in town just as Betty becomes engaged to Gary Lane—threatening to expose the truth Betty has hidden from everyone, including Gary and his influential family. Desperate to protect her new life, Betty must navigate Carma's blackmail and prevent her from luring Gary's young sister into danger, all while wrestling with whether she can keep her past buried or must finally come clean.

Candy Norris has spent years caught between the Lathrop twins—dashing Larry and dependable Kirk—until Kirk suddenly proposes and she says yes, only to find Larry refusing to step aside from their threesome dates. When Kirk finally puts his foot down and Larry makes his own dramatic move, Candy must confront some hard truths about what she actually feels for either brother, and whether she's been using them as much as they've been using her.