Romantic Secrets #36

Beth Morrison spent over a year playing matchmaker for her best friend Annabel and the wonderful Budd Henderson, smoothing over their constant quarrels—but a chance moment at the beach forces her to confront a painful truth she's been avoiding about her own heart. When Budd gently tells her to stop interfering and find her own happiness, Beth realizes she's been in love with him all along, and her desperate need to keep him and Annabel together suddenly makes heartbreaking sense. Now, torn between her loyalty to her lifelong friend and her own feelings, Beth must decide what it really means to be a true friend when the stakes have never been higher.

What is love—a question posed through poetry, music, and the everyday moments that define it? This 1961 story explores love in all its forms, from the passion between two young lovers to the quiet bonds we share with family and the world around us. A thoughtful meditation on one of life's greatest gifts.

A new student's scarred face and brooding demeanor make him an outcast at his suburban high school, but Cynthia Bragg sees past the rumors and rejection to recognize the hurt beneath. As she reaches out to help Ben Regan—standing up to the crowd, tutoring him, and inviting him into her world—his walls begin to crack, and both discover that compassion can heal what cruelty deepens.