Sweethearts #95

Bette Delman takes a job at Norwal Mental Asylum hoping to find purpose and importance in caring for its patients—and finds something more when she meets Jim Mears, a mysterious man working the grounds who's writing a book about the institution. As their connection deepens through evening walks and stolen moments, Bette discovers that the bond they're building may rest on a truth she's not yet prepared to face.

Nina has long found stability and affection with Ralph, her assured boss at the welfare agency, but when a desperate man named Bob Carroll walks into her office seeking help for his struggling family, she discovers an unexpected connection that shakes her carefully ordered life. As Nina throws herself into helping Bob and his household, her growing attachment to his vulnerable need begins to pull her away from the solid love Ralph offers—leaving her caught between duty and a heart drawn to something forbidden.

Les Brevitt is a charming drifter who's built a comfortable life off the generosity of wealthy resort guests—until he meets Paula Stone, a simple and tender woman who awakens something in him that threatens to upend his carefully calculated plans. As their connection deepens from a chance underwater encounter to stolen moments of genuine affection, Les finds himself torn between the old hunger that's defined him and a new feeling he's never had to reckon with before. What unfolds is a test of whether he'll cling to his faithless ways or risk everything for something real.