First Kiss #17

Linda Seton, the daughter of a celebrated archeologist, has spent her travels across the desert dreaming of romance—until a mysterious man emerges from a sandstorm, half-starved and exhausted. As she nurses him back to health, Linda finds herself drawn to this stranger named Jack, even as her father warns her to be cautious about his true nature. When a police chief arrives asking about an escaped criminal, Linda faces an agonizing choice between duty and her heart.

Karen, a young woman from Germany building a new life in America, must choose between two men: Frank, the steady, devoted owner of the gift shop where she works, and Phil, a charming visiting photographer who sweeps her off her feet. As Karen's heart pulls her in different directions, she discovers that being sure of love means understanding not just passion, but the character of the man who offers it.

A young woman named Jan grieves the loss of Johnny, her test pilot sweetheart, until a kind coworker named Pete begins drawing her back into the world through quiet companionship and shared dinners. When another man enters her life, Jan must confront what she's really been mourning—and discover where her heart truly belongs.

A young woman running a boarding house finds her quiet life transformed when dam construction workers arrive in town—including the gentle, devoted Bill, who proposes marriage. But when his best friend Cary unexpectedly shows up, Julie discovers a passion she never felt with Bill, throwing her into an agonizing choice between loyalty and love. As the two men's fates become tragically intertwined, Julie must face the consequences of a heart torn between them.