Real Love #69

A young woman's magical vacation romance turns complicated when the man she fell for vanishes without a word, leaving her stranded between her skeptical family's warnings and her own stubborn heart. As winter sets in with still no contact from Kelwin, April finds herself drawn to Jack, her steady, devoted coworker—only to have her past catch up with her at the most impossible moment. "Last Year's Love" explores what happens when a cherished memory suddenly becomes flesh and blood again, forcing April to confront what love really means.

In "The Way He Wanted Me," nightclub performer Glory Barton Chandler trades her spotlight for a gilded life after marrying socialite Brent Chandler, hoping to escape her past with Hilary. With the help of Brent’s parents, Glory transforms into a polished society wife—only to find her new elegance leaves Brent uninterested, drawing him back to the woman he once thought he’d left behind. When Glory confronts Hilary in her old haunt, her performance becomes a defiant declaration, forcing Brent to choose between the life he thought he wanted and the woman who truly saw him.

Mary Jo has always been the clown of her family—the funny one with the wisecracks—because she knows she can't compete with her glamorous sisters on looks alone. When her sister Velda's boyfriend Roger Niles comes around, Mary Jo finds herself harboring a secret crush, one she masks with her usual comedy routine. But when Velda suddenly abandons Roger for a wealthy Texan and leaves Mary Jo to return his ring, everything changes in ways she never expected—and Mary Jo must confront what it really means to stop hiding behind the jokes.

Carole Evans has it all—beauty, brains, a successful advice column, and the attentions of Nigel Howard, a fellow reporter who seems enchanted with her perfection. But as their engagement progresses, Nigel's mood darkens, and a visit to help her cousin Linda reveals what he's really been thinking: that Carole's flawless exterior masks a heart too careful, too controlled to truly love. When Nigel finally tells her what he needs from a wife, Carole faces a choice that forces her to decide what matters more—being perfect or being real.