"He's always been a little bit of a daredevil," said Pam Hayes Peterson, whose friendship with [Scott Romney] dates back to high school. "He's a very high-energy guy." Those who know him best say there's a feisty, footloose side to Romney that belies his earnest, button-down Boy Scout demeanor.

Romney's older brother Scott still laughs about the night the pair dressed up as policemen, slapped a flashing light atop their car and pulled over one of their teen-age pals who had been driving along with a car full of girls on a busy street.

"When he fell in love, he fell head over heels," Mrs. Romney said. "When he met her, that was the end. He never dated anyone else." For a few years while Romney was serving as a Mormon missionary, it was a long-distance romance. Mitt was a prodigious letter writter. He sent photos of himself on the beach where he had scrawled in the sand "I LOVE [Ann Davies]." Romney served in LeHavre, Versailles, Paris and Bourdeaux.