The Right Stuff. Lori Wilde

      

      Available in April 2010 from Mills & Boon^® Blaze^®

      BLAZE 2-IN-1

      Out of control by Julie Miller & Hot Under Pressure by Kathleen O’Reilly

      The Right Stuff by Lori Wilde

      Overnight Sensation by Karen Foley

      The Right Stuff

      by

      Lori Wilde

      MILLS & BOON^®

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Lori Wilde is the author of forty books. She’s been nominated for a RITA^® Award and four romantic times BOOKreviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards. Lori teaches writing online through Ed2go. She’s a registered nurse trained in forensics and she volunteers at a battered women’s shelter.

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      To FPG. You know who you are.

       1

       Thirteen years earlier

      NEWLY MINTED air force Second Lieutenant Daniel Corben fisted his hand around the black velvet ring box in the pocket of the dress blues he’d worn to his graduation ceremony at the University of Texas. All he could think about was ditching his adoring family so he could be alone with Taylor.

      Taylor Milton, twenty, red-haired, a regal beauty. She stood near the end of the reception hall of the ROTC building in a white dress so thin he could see the shape of her thighs through the gauzy material. She gave him a come-hither smile, then coyly dipped her head, but she never took her eyes off him.

      His throat constricted and his groin squeezed.

      What a woman.

      Just looking at her—tall, curvy, sassy and smart—caused his heart to chug as though he was running track. He couldn’t help noticing that every masculine gaze in the place landed on her. Taylor was the kind of woman who commanded attention.

      And she belonged to him.

      Smugness swelled his chest. He tightened his grip on the box containing the three-quarter-carat diamond solitaire set in platinum and gold that he’d bought that morning. In two weeks he would report to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences at the Bethesda Medical Center near Washington, D.C., to start his medical school training.

      But he wanted his ring on Taylor’s finger before he left. He wished he could afford something bigger. As it was, he’d drained his savings account to pay for it. He knew she could buy her own ring worth ten times as much as this one and he felt a little insecure about that. Still, he was giving her his all. The very best he could do. He was certain she’d appreciate that. He would promise her that after he was through medical school, he’d buy her a proper diamond.

      Daniel’s mother reached up to brush a hand over his shoulder, her eyes misting with tears. “I’m so proud of you,” she murmured.

      “Aw, Mom, don’t cry.”

      His mother swiped at her face and smiled widely. “They’re happy tears.”

      “Keeping up family tradition.” His father thumped him on the back with a hammy palm. “You’re a true Corben, son. Following in the footsteps of history.”

      “All my friends think you’re hot.” His sixteen-year-old sister Jenna giggled. “An airman and a doctor. Oo-la-la.”

      “I’m not a doctor yet,” Daniel reminded her. His family tended to get carried away with military medicine. “I’ve got four years of medical school, an internship and a residency ahead of me.”

      “But you’re on your way,” said his grandfather, retired air force Colonel Dr. Daniel Walter Corben, Senior, who was also best friends with a former Surgeon General. “Just stay true to your objectives, hold the course. You’ll make it.”

      “We’ve got dinner reservations at the Rivera,” his mother said. “We’d better get a move on. Are you riding with us or taking your car?”

      “Um, Mom…” Daniel began, realizing that what he was about to say was going to go over like a cast-iron balloon. “I’m afraid I’ve got other plans.”

      A frown creased his mother’s forehead as she tracked his gaze to Taylor. She pressed her lips into a tight line. “Of course you do. How presumptuous of me to assume you’d spend the evening of your college graduation with your family.”

      “Pamela.” His father took his mother’s elbow. “Daniel is an adult. He has other plans. Let it go.”

      No one suggested that Taylor join them. Daniel didn’t miss the slight. He knew what his family thought about his girlfriend, but for the first time in his life he didn’t let their opinion sway him. “We’ll go out tomorrow,” he promised. “My treat.”

      His mother turned away, shoulders slumping, her feelings hurt. He took a deep breath.

      They disliked Taylor because she was flamboyant, impulsive, opinionated and passionate about the things she believed in. They warned him that a woman like Taylor would be a liability for a career military officer who had to toe the line and be part of a team. He needed a wife who could do the same. Taylor spoke her mind when a proper military wife would find a discreet way to get her point across. She didn’t kowtow to everyone and the military was all about kowtowing.

      During the short time he’d known her, Taylor had been arrested when a campus protest against the policies of the White House had gotten out of hand, ended up on probation for a streaking stunt gone awry and she’d written an inflammatory letter to the local newspaper espousing her liberal views—his parents were staunch conservatives—and she wasn’t about to back down.

      But her passionate nature was one of the things he loved most about her. She had a mind of her own and she wasn’t afraid to use it and she really didn’t care what other people thought of her. He’d never expected to fall in love with someone his parents disapproved of, but it had happened and he wasn’t going to apologize.

      His father shot him a look that said, Give your mother some time. She’ll come around, and then he escorted her from the reception hall.

      After his family departed, Daniel turned to find Taylor standing in front of him, a naughty twinkle in her eye. “Hey,” he said.

      “Hey.” She grinned.

      For a moment they just stood there looking, lost in each other’s eyes.

      “Come on,” she said, reaching out to take his hand. “I have a surprise.”

      He sank his hand in hers and let her lead him through the crowd of military graduates and out the back exit. The woman was a force of nature, impossible to resist.

      She took him up the back