There’s a book called “My Heart Can’t Tell You No” by M.K. Heffner, in which it talks about a boy who used to love a girl like a little sister. When she grew into a teen beauty, their love grew into romance. I haven’t read the book myself, but I suppose the word “love” refers to the broader sense of love, like the one for family members or close friends. Sounds like this story is about how this kind of love between childhood friends grew into romance.
Do you think it’s plausible for best friends to fall in love with each other? I believe so, and for your interest, please read 20 Confessions About Falling In Love With Your Best Friend. You may be surprised how easily it happens to people.
Now, remember that I mentioned the interview with the author of Candy Candy, Mizuki, in Invisible Threads? Here I show her words again:
«けれど、テリイと別れることは初めから決っていたのだ。キャンディには三つの愛を考えていた。アンソニーとの淡いはかない初恋、テリイとの激しい恋、そしてアルバートさんとの運命的な穏やかな愛。»
Undoubtedly, Mizuki planned to give Candy three different relationships:
- Her first puppy love with Anthony (which was abruptly cut short after his sudden death)
- Her ardent love with Terry (again it didn’t last because he had left her in a rush, leaving her devastated in London, and when they finally reunited more than a year later, it was their farewell)
- Her destined, gentle love with Albert (also known as her Prince on the Hill)
Interestingly, Mizuki used two different words (kanjis) to refer to Candy’s love for three men. The word Koi (恋) was used for both Anthony and Terry, and the word Ai (愛) for Albert. Note that Koi is better translated as romance, the love between a man and a woman, whereas Ai is broader and deeper. It’s the kind of love that is long-lasting, which often involves decision, determination, and even sacrifice.
Then, later in the same interview, Mizuki stressed that she had planned to separate Terry and Candy right from the beginning, and soon after saying that, Mizuki added the following comment regarding the pair, Candy and Albert:
«＜好き、恋、愛＞。アルバートさんへの深い愛が＜恋＞にいつ育つのか…»
Mizuki said “<Affection, Romance, Love> When will Candy’s deep love for Albert grow into romance…”
The author then added “what are Albert’s feelings” but said it would be another story. First, note that Mizuki said ‘Candy’s deep love towards Albert‘, and she essentially said Candy’s feelings for Albert would develop into romance. As one reader said to me, normally it was the other way, which means it’s more common for romance to turn into love, but for Albert and Candy, it was different. What Mizuki had in mind was that Albert and Candy would fall in love; their profound love and care for each other would evolve into romance one day.
As we can see from the manga, Candy had always liked Albert ever since their first encounter by the waterfall. Not only she trusted him, she even admitted that she treated Albert as though he was her big brother. That explains why she couldn’t let him wander around without memory of his past. She wanted to take care of him until he recovered. Hence, they started off as good friends with Candy regarding Albert as her brother.
Yet, after Albert had vanished in her life many months later, Candy’s strong feelings for him seemed way more than fraternal. She missed him so miserably and yearned to see his face again. We have never seen Candy missing Terry like that, crying in bed and shedding tears of longing again and again. I have talked about this many times, so I won’t repeat myself here. Search my posts about Rockstown if you have missed them.
As I explained in my earlier post, Albert couldn’t help falling in love with the kind nurse who cared about his well-being. I believe the same thing happen to Candy. I gather it’s only natural for the nurse to fall in love with her handsome patient/roommate. She might not have realized it yet, but her strong desire to find him during his absence was otherwise inexplicable.
In Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS), Candy expressed more than once that Albert looked boyish or younger than his age. Recently, I watched the movie “The Giver”, in which a sixteen-year-old boy was played by an Australian actor, Brenton Thwaites. 
Now, imagine yourself as the beautiful nurse Candy, living with a sweet guy with an athletic build like this actor for over a year, seeing him on a daily basis and sharing a bunk bed with him at nights. Honestly, I find it odd if there was absolutely no attraction between them. Not to mention that Candy had always found solace in Albert’s protective embrace; he was caring and very tender to her, giving her a strong shoulder to cry on whenever she needed him. So how many times had they hugged each other? I’ve lost count already. 😀