Soldier, Hero...Husband?. Cara Colter

      

       The Vineyards of Calanetti

       Saying “I do” under the Tuscan sun …

      Deep in the Tuscan countryside nestles the picturesque village of Monte Calanetti. Famed for its world-renowned vineyards, the village is also home to the crumbling but beautiful Palazzo di Comparino. Empty for months, rumors of a new owner are spreading like wildfire … and that’s before the village is chosen as the setting for the royal wedding of the year!

      It’s going to be a roller coaster of a year, but will wedding bells ring out in Monte Calanetti for anyone else?

      Find out in this fabulously heartwarming, uplifting and thrillingly romantic new eight-book continuity from Mills & Boon^® Cherish™!

      A Bride for the Italian Boss by Susan Meier

      Return of the Italian Tycoon by Jennifer Faye

      Reunited by a Baby Secret by Michelle Douglas

      Soldier, Hero … Husband? by Cara Colter

      His Lost-and-Found Bride by Scarlet Wilson Available October 2015

      The Best Man & the Wedding Planner by Teresa Carpenter

      His Princess of Convenience by Rebecca Winters

      Saved by the CEO by Barbara Wallace

      CARA COLTER shares her life in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, with her husband, nine horses and one small Pomeranian with a large attitude. She loves to hear from readers, and you can learn more about her and contact her through Facebook.

      Soldier, Hero…Husband?

      Cara Colter

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      To the team of editors and writers who worked so tirelessly on this series:

      I am proud to have been a part of it.

      I stand in awe of your creative brilliance.

      Contents

       Cover

The Vineyards of Calanetti

       About the Author

       Title Page

       Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

       CHAPTER THREE

       CHAPTER FOUR

       CHAPTER FIVE

       CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       Extract

       Endpage

       Copyright

       CHAPTER ONE

      CONNOR BENSON AWOKE with a start. It was dark. And it was hot. Where was he? Somalia? Iraq? Afghanistan? Wherever he was, it was so secret, even his mother didn’t know.

      That feeling tickled along his spine, a sense of imminent danger. It brought him to red alert. Still not knowing exactly where he was, he was suddenly extremely focused, on nothing and everything. Each of his senses was so wide-open it was almost painful.

      The tick of a clock somewhere in the room seemed explosively loud. Connor could feel the faint prickliness of the bedclothes against his naked skin, and he could feel a single bead of sweat slide down his temple. He could smell the residue of his own sweat and aftershave, and farther away, coffee.

      Another sound rose above the ticking of the clock and the deliberate steadiness of his own breathing. It was a whispery noise just beyond this room, and as unobtrusive as it was, Connor knew it was that sound that had woken him. It was the sneaky sound of someone trying to be very quiet.

      Connor tossed off the thin blanket and was out of the bed in one smooth movement, from dead asleep to warrior alert in the time it took to draw a single breath. The floor was stone under his bare feet and he moved across it soundlessly. His nickname on his SEAL team had been “the Cat.”

      At six foot five, every inch of that honed muscle, his comrades didn’t mean a friendly house cat, either.

      They meant the kind of cat that lived like a shadow on the edge of the mountains, or in the deepest forests and the darkest jungles, where men were afraid to go. They meant the kind of cat that was big and strong and silent. They meant the kind of cat that could go from relaxed to ready to pounce in the blink of an eye. They meant the kind of cat that had deadly and killing instincts.

      Those instincts guided Connor across the room on silent feet to the door that had a faint sliver of light slipping under it. His movement was seemingly unhurried, but his muscles were tensing with lethal purpose.

      Though most people would have detected no scent at all, when he paused