Romantic Adventures #17

A girl moves to the small town of Sunnyville with her family hoping for a fresh start, only to discover the townspeople—led by the disapproving Mrs. Gammons—have already decided she's trouble. When a cruel neighbor publicly condemns her reputation, she sets out to prove the town's judgment wrong by deliberately entangling the supposedly perfect Aubrey Gammons in a scheme that spirals into genuine danger. Desperate to show Mrs. Gammons that scandal works both ways, she finds herself caught in far more than she bargained for.

In "Break That Engagement!" from *Romantic Adventures* #17, a young woman finds herself engaged to Tom, who suddenly abandons his plans to marry her in order to rejoin the Merchant Marine and wander the world for another year or two. The story examines whether she should wait for him or break the engagement, weighing her feelings against the practical reality of his emotional readiness for marriage. This one-page story serves as a cautionary guide about recognizing the signs that an engagement may not be worth saving.

Roberta Harris grew up in the shadow of her father's baseball team, dreaming of stardom until she accepted her destiny as a woman—and vowed instead to marry a great ball player. When cocky rookie Bucky Davis arrives at spring training, his charm and talent captivate her, and what begins as attraction blossoms into love and a proposal. But as their engagement party unfolds, troubling truths about Bucky's motives begin to surface, threatening everything Roberta has hoped for.

Norma Martin, a young fashion designer with big dreams for her New York salon, receives a shocking summons: a deceased college trustee has left her ten thousand dollars—but only if she's married within ninety days. When she meets Jim Adams, a fellow heir who's equally skeptical of the eccentric condition, they strike an unlikely deal: a business arrangement that will help them both achieve their goals. As they spend the waiting period getting to know each other, what began as a practical agreement starts to become something neither of them expected.

Bobby Hubbard has spent her life dominating everyone around her—built tough by her father to compete in a man's world, she's learned to overpower men both professionally and romantically, discarding them once she's proven she can control them. When the confident racing driver Speed Frazer arrives to test her father's new car, Bobby sees him as the ultimate conquest, a strong man she can finally dominate. But as their relationship deepens, she begins to discover that true strength might look different than she ever imagined.