Sweethearts #46

Claire thinks her smooth relationship with Vince needs testing, so she pretends to have a date to see if he'll get jealous—but when he takes it in stride, she grows increasingly worried that he might be seeing someone else instead. What started as Claire's scheme to prove his love spirals into real doubt, leading her to confront him and discover the truth behind his mysterious unavailability.

When Lois married Jeff, they had a dream: work one more year, save their nest egg, then start the family they'd always wanted. But a terrible accident nearly two years ago left Jeff bedridden and their plans in ruins—now Lois works all day and nurses him through the nights, exhausted and questioning whether marriage was supposed to feel this way. When Jeff's sister Maxine asks for advice about her own engagement, Lois must confront what she really believes about love, sacrifice, and the vows she took "for better or for worse."

A girl's infatuation with the famous bandleader Artie Gray begins with a snapshot from a beach encounter, which she spins into an elaborate romance story that captivates her entire school. When she finally maneuvers a way to see him at a dance, her lies threaten to unravel—until an unexpected turn reveals that someone was looking out for her all along. "Darling Artie" explores how a moment of imagination can spiral into something neither the girl nor those around her quite expected.

Betty Wilson has decided that a wealthy husband is her ticket to the good life—so when the charming and rich Bill Vanley comes around, she abandons her feelings for Jim, a humble grocery clerk, to pursue him instead. But Bill grows suspicious of her true motives and devises a test that will reveal whether Betty's affection is real or merely mercenary, leading to a reckoning that forces her to confront what she's actually been chasing all along.

Virgie dismisses Andy, the boy next door who harbors a quiet love for her, in favor of dreams of someone more glamorous—until the wealthy McCall family moves in and their charming son Roger captures her heart for a magical summer. But when Virgie and Roger return home after a year apart at school, she discovers that Andy has transformed into someone she barely recognizes, and finds herself torn between the familiar pull of a new beginning and the person she thought she wanted all along.