In the snap, Trevor appeared to be nine or ten years old and bore a strong resemblance to his sister. Several times throughout the night tears rolled down Rainey’s cheeks to think he’d had to die so early in life.
At five in the morning she was finally satisfied with her work. She’d depicted him and Catherine sitting out on the back lawn. Lady lay at their feet with Catherine’s arm thrown loosely around her brother’s shoulders.
After putting the pastels away, Rainey climbed into bed exhausted. But two hours later and sleep still hadn’t come. She’d sopped her pillow and couldn’t stand to lie in bed any longer.
Meeting Payne Sterling had changed her in ways she was terrified to contemplate.
Though his fiancée might not be the warmest person, after what had happened to her, Rainey couldn’t fault her for anything. She had courage to get on with her life, to marry the man of her dreams.
Why would Rainey want to torture herself by hanging around a few more hours just to be with him one more time when his devotion to Diane Wylie was unquestioned. Heavens—they would be married in another month!
If Rainey didn’t take control of herself and the situation right now, then there wasn’t that much difference between her and the stalker who’d put his fiancée in the wheelchair.
Calling on her inner strength, Rainey straightened the bed, got dressed and hurried downstairs with her cases. A man she hadn’t seen before was sitting on a chair in the hall reading a sports magazine. He lifted his head.
“Good morning, Ms. Bennett. My name is Stan.”
“Good morning.”
How could Rainey have forgotten nothing went on in the Sterling’s world without the presence of security?
“Is there someone on the Boyce staff who would drive me into the city? Mr. Sterling was going to have me flown back to New York later in the day, but I’ve just had a phone call that has forced me to change my plans. I need to leave now.”
“Of course. I’ll have a limo brought around back for you.”
“Thank you. At some point you’ll have to inform Mr. Sterling, but would you please wait a while? I happen to know he’s with his fiancée and it’s a Saturday morning. I’d hate for him to be disturbed over a matter as trivial as my transportation. She appeared very tired last night.”
The security man hesitated briefly, then nodded. While he got on his radio phone, Rainey walked through the house to the back hall and let herself outside.
To her surprise there was a strong wind coming off the ocean. It filled the air with salt spray. Judging by the overcast sky, the sun might not make an appearance at all.
She would love to be at Crag’s Head enjoying the elements right now. But that magnificent place and the man who lived there were forbidden to her.
You need to remove yourself from temptation and fly far away, Rainey. Much farther than your studio apartment.
By the time the limo had rolled around, she’d made up her mind to move back to Grand Junction. Coming to New York had been the biggest mistake of her life.
CHAPTER SEVEN
PAYNE walked in the back door of his sister’s house at five after eight, ready for a morning swim in the ocean with Catherine and Rainey.
To his surprise Lady didn’t come flying down the rear entrance hall to greet him. With a guest as exciting as Rainey to talk to, his niece had probably stayed up late last night and was sleeping in.
Rainey might still be in bed too, but Payne had a hunch she was an early riser. Somewhere in the house he imagined her hard at work on her latest art project.
In the hope she might be out on the patio where they’d had dinner, he headed in that direction. When he discovered everything was locked up tight and she was nowhere in sight, a keen sense of disappointment swept through him.
Maybe she was in the kitchen eating breakfast with the staff. But he quashed that thought the moment he spied Stan, one of his sister’s security people, drinking a cup of coffee by himself.
When the other man saw him, he put down his mug. “I was going to call you in a little while.”
Stan didn’t have to say another word for Payne to know something had gone on he wasn’t going to be happy about. Like the fact that Rainey was no longer on the premises.
“When did Ms. Bennett leave?”
“About an hour ago. Jed drove her back to the city. She asked me not to bother you since she knew you and Ms. Wylie were together.”
“You’re supposed to bother me. That’s part of your job!” Payne bit out in a rare show of anger because Rainey’s charm was so potent, she’d managed to con even a pro like Stan.
Payne shouldn’t have cared. It shouldn’t have mattered she’d slipped away without his knowing about it. But it did matter. Even more than he’d imag—
“Uncle Payne?”
At the sound of his niece’s subdued voice he wheeled around. Both she and Nyla were standing in the doorway with Lady.
“I’m afraid it’s my fault Ms. Bennett left in such a hurry this morning,” Nyla murmured.
“Come and look,” Catherine urged him.
On leaden feet, Payne followed them into the main dining room where he glimpsed a sheet of art paper laid out on the table.
Nyla stood at his other side. “Last night I happened to say something to Ms. Bennett about Trevor’s illness because I thought she’d already been told about it. You know, after reading about the hero who had leukemia.
“I never saw anyone look as devastated as she did when she found out. Before she went to bed she asked me to bring her a photograph of him. This is the result.”
Catherine put a hand on his arm. “I found it in the guest bedroom this morning.”
He walked over to see Rainey’s handiwork.
One look at the picture done in pastels and his throat almost closed from too much emotion. She’d caught it all. The love, the sweet, tender bond between brother and sister.
“It’s so beautiful it hurts,” Catherine whispered.
It was beautiful. It did hurt because everything Rainey drew or painted was driven by heartfelt emotions.
In the next instant his niece was sobbing quietly against Payne’s shoulder. “How did she know Trev and I used to spend time out in back with Lady?”
“I guess that’s part of her great talent.” There didn’t seem to be any other explanation.
Nyla’s eyes went suspiciously bright. “She felt so badly for upsetting your family, it’s evident she wanted to leave all of you with a gift that would bring you happiness. What a wonderful person she is. I’ve never met anyone like her.”
Neither have I.
“She did another picture for me, Uncle Payne. I’ll get it.”
As he watched Catherine hurry from the room Nyla said, “I don’t blame Ms. Bennett for setting off early. I’m sure she’s anxious to forget this whole unpleasant business and move on.”
Payne couldn’t argue with that. After putting Rainey through the hell of a courtroom hearing, he’d forced her to face Diane who did nothing but patronize her all evening. Furthermore he’d had no right to bite Stan’s head off because Rainey had reached the point where she couldn’t take any more.
“You’re going to love this one too.” Catherine entered the dining room with another sketch in hand. He took it from her.
“‘The Beggar,’” he read the words aloud. Incredibly, Rainey had caught the special pleading expression in Lady’s eyes while she waited with exaggerated patience and politeness for something to eat.
“She’s left you some real treasures,” Payne murmured. He put the sketch on the table next to the other picture and looked around. “Where are the paintings?”
“Rainey asked me to dispose of them.”
He shot Nyla a piercing gaze. “She what?”
“Don’t worry. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. They’re in my room.”
“I can always count on you. Hold on to them for me. I’ll get them later.”
“You bet.”
Adrenaline surged through his veins. If he didn’t expend his excess energy soon, he’d explode.
“Catherine? Put your suit on and we’ll take a swim.”
“I’m already wearing it under my clothes.”
“Then let’s go.”
“I’ll have breakfast waiting for you when you get back.”
“Nothing for me, Nyla,” he said, “but thanks for the offer.”
Forty-five minutes later he and Catherine came out of the ocean and took turns throwing a stick for Lady to fetch. Unfortunately Payne’s swim had done nothing to improve his mood which was as stormy as the elements.
His niece appeared to be deep in her own thoughts. There was little conversation until they started back to the house.
“I didn’t know the hero in Manhattan Merger almost died of leukemia, or that the author lost a child to it. Have you still got the book?”
“Yes.”
“I want to read it.”
“You’re sure?”
“More than ever. I don’t see how Diane can say that romances don’t reflect real life.”
“She would change her tune if she read one.” Reading Ms. Wrigley’s novel had been a revelation to him.
“But that’s the problem. I don’t think she ever will.”
“Then it’s her loss.”
Somehow he had to find a way to break through Diane’s defenses so she’d go to Switzerland. He couldn’t think beyond it.
“Are you going to spend the day with her?”
“No. I have work at the office. She and her mother are overseeing the bridesmaids’ fittings. What are your plans?”
“Linda and I are going to play tennis with a bunch of friends. Later I think we’ll see a movie.”
“Sounds fun. Be sure and take your cell phone with you so we can keep in touch.”
“I will.” She looked up at him. “Uncle Payne?” By now they’d reached the back lawn.
He sensed her hesitancy. “What is it?”
“When mom and dad get back, I’d like to invite Rainey over for dinner so the whole family can meet her. Would that be okay with you?”
His heart pounded like a sledgehammer. “Of course. Why do you ask?”
“Diane doesn’t like me, and I could tell she really didn’t like Rainey.”
Tell me something I don’t already know.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“After you’re married, I hope you’ll still come over a lot.”
“No one will ever keep me away from you, sweetheart.”
Payne gave his niece a hug before climbing into the limo. Mac followed and shut the door.
“Take us home, Andy.”
On the short drive to Crag’s Head, Payne phoned his pilot and told him to get the chopper ready. He’d be taking off for the city within twenty minutes.
During his talk with Catherine on the way back from the beach, a strange feeling had come over him. Something he couldn’t explain. But it all had to do with Rainey and her precipitous departure from the Sterling compound. Suddenly he felt it imperative to catch up with her.
It was close to noon when he alighted from the limo and entered her apartment building. He pressed the button and waited for a response. If she wasn’t home, he’d wait outside in the limo as long as it took until she showed up.
He was ready to buzz her again when he heard static and then a man’s voice said, “Yes?”
Payne froze in place. “Is this Lorraine’s Bennett’s studio?”
“Yes.”
He struggled to keep from erupting. “May I speak to her?”
“Who is this?”
The urge to knock the man to kingdom come was growing stronger by the second.
“If she doesn’t answer within five seconds, I’m coming up to find out why,” Payne thundered.
“I’m here, Mr. Sterling,” Rainey answered sounding out of breath.
His brows furrowed. What in the hell was she doing with a man in her apartment this early in the day unless… The pictures that ran through his mind filled him with feelings too primitive to describe.
“We have to talk. How soon will you be free?”
“I thought you and your fiancée were—never mind, it doesn’t matter. Just a minute, please.”
Apparently she’d left his sister’s house to rejoin her lover. Out of all the reasons he’d imagined for her disappearance without telling him, Payne would never have thought it was because of a man.
But then he remembered that she’d had other plans the night before and had canceled them in order to accompany Payne. How long had this relationship been going on?
“It’s all right. You can come up now.”
The minute he heard the click of the door, he opened it and took the stairs three at a time to her floor. He found her standing outside her apartment with the door closed trying to appear at ease, and failing.
She also looked so damn fresh and innocent in a white cotton top and tan jeans, he found her utterly desirable. His heart slammed into his ribs.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
“He went back to his apartment.”
How convenient.
“If this was a bad time, why didn’t you just say so? I’d have come by later.”
“You’re a busy man, Mr. Sterling. Since you took the time to drive over here, I didn’t want you to be put out by having to come back again.”
She was hiding something from him.
“It would have been nice if you’d tried to be this thoughtful by staying put at my sister’s house until you were flown home.”
She didn’t move a muscle, but she couldn’t prevent the blush that swept up her neck into her beautiful face.
“I was brought up to believe a good stay is a short stay. Last evening I did all I could to make your fiancée and niece feel better about what happened. When I woke up this morning, I could see no reason to prolong my visit.”
“I can give you one.”
Her hands rubbed the sides of her hips in a gesture she probably wasn’t aware of. She didn’t look quite so sure of herself now. “I-Is something else wrong?”
“I’m afraid the hallway of a busy apartment building is hardly the place to carry on the conversation I have in mind.”
Color stained her cheeks again.
“Would you prefer to come downstairs and sit in the limo while we talk?”
“No—” she cried softly, putting a nervous hand to her throat.
“I can go to my office and come back later in the day if that would suit you better.”
“Please don’t do that.” She sounded panicked.
“Then what do you propose? If you were planning to spend the day with the man upstairs, just say so. We can talk tomorrow.”
“No,” she whispered. “You can come in for a minute.”
For a minute?
She darted inside and left the door open for him.
After crossing over her threshold, it took all his strength not to slam the door as he shut it. When he turned around, one look at her denuded walls and desk, and his body went cold.
“It looks like you’re in the process of vacating the premises,” his voice grated.
“Yes.” There were several boxes on her couch already packed. She hurriedly moved them to the floor. “There. Now you can sit down.”
He stayed where he was. “Are you moving in with him?”
She bit the soft underside of her lip in a betraying gesture that beguiled him.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but I hardly believe that’s anyone’s concern except mine.”
“It’ll be my niece’s when she tries to invite you to a family party once her parents get home on Monday and you can’t be located.”
Her gilt-blond head reared. Her eyes had gone that smoky green color again and looked haunted. “You mustn’t let her do that!”
His breath caught. “After giving her back a sense of her brother with that magnificent pictur
e she’ll treasure all her life, do you honestly think she won’t do whatever she can to thank you?”
“I’m glad if she liked it, but—”
“But what?” he demanded.
“I won’t be here next week.”
Good Lord. He knew what was coming before she said it.
“I—I’m flying home to Grand Junction tomorrow.”
Payne felt as if a stalker’s bullet had just pierced his heart. “You were going to leave without saying goodbye?”
“We said it last night.”
“I distinctly heard you tell me goodnight,” he reminded her.
She averted her eyes. “I know you think I’m running away to lick my wounds because of what happened at the hearing, but you’d be wrong,” her voice trembled. “The hearing actually did me a favor because it brought my brother to New York.”
The faster she talked, the more she revealed her nervousness.
“We haven’t spent time together like we used to. While he was here, we talked all night. After next week Craig won’t be running any more float trips. He’s getting ready to open his own sporting goods company. It’s been his lifelong dream.
“The bank gave him the loan and he’s found space in a good location. Though he’s got help, he could use a lot more.”
Payne’s hands formed into fists. “So you’ve suddenly decided to do the honors.”
“I have some savings,” she went on explaining, “and don’t need to accept any more work for a while. I want to help him get set up.”
“You’re an artist! A fabulous artist. You moved to New York to follow your own dream.”
“I never planned to live here forever. This was an experiment. An adventure. Nothing more.”
“Does your brother know what you’re about to sacrifice for him?”
“N-not yet. I’m planning to surprise him.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“What do you mean?” She sounded angry, but anger masked fear.
“You’re not running to him as much as running from something. Admit it!”
By now she was standing at the window looking out, ostensibly so she wouldn’t have to face him.
Manhattan Merger Page 10
