Rebecca Winters - Manhattan Merger

“I wouldn’t expect you to do it for free, that is if you had the time to do it.”

“I’ll make the time, and I wouldn’t take your money,” Rainey assured her.

Their host got up to pour himself a cup of coffee. “Why don’t you girls grab a plate of food?”

“Thanks. We’re starving. Oh-before I forget-where did you put Manhattan Merger, Uncle Payne?”

“It’s in my study. Left-hand drawer of my desk.”

“Can I get it now so I won’t forget?”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you like romances, Linda?” Diane inquired as Catherine left the dining room.

After their previous conversation, Rainey had to give the other woman credit for hanging in there. Payne had said his fiancée was a competitor at heart. Rainey believed him.

“I love them,” Linda said. “They’re really fun.”

“How do you mean fun?”

Catherine’s friend found the food she wanted and sat down. “It’s fun to see how two completely different people get together, the problems they have to overcome.”

“Don’t you know that’s one of the big concerns about romances? Our magazine did an in-depth article on them some time ago. It wouldn’t hurt you to read it. Those stories only show the exciting parts of a relationship, and never deal with the ever after.”

“At least the couples in the romances I’ve read get married, Ms. Wylie. In real life a lot of them live together first, and statistics show that more of them break up later and then kill each other or something.”

“Does your mother approve?”

“She doesn’t mind. Mom’s sick of all the violence and sex on TV.”

“Don’t tell me there isn’t a lot of that in those books.”

“Some are graphic, some aren’t. What I like is that the two people are really in love and faithful to each other. There isn’t any violence in them. My grandma says every man should read one so he’d know how to treat a woman better.”

Rainey drained the rest of her juice so she wouldn’t smile.

“Your grandmother reads them?” Diane sounded incredulous.

“Yes. When I had my tonsils out last year she came over and read one to me. That got me started.”

Their host chuckled. “You’re never going to win this argument, Diane.”

“Let me see that novel, Catherine,” she said when Payne’s niece came back in the dining room. Just then his glance slid to Rainey’s. Something was going on with his fiancée. She refused to leave the subject alone.

Catherine handed it to her before hurrying over to the buffet.

“Who wants to go for a sail after we’re through eating?”

“We do!” the girls said at the same time, thrilled over Payne’s suggestion.

“What about you, Diane? It’s a calm sea today.”

“I believe I will come with you.”

“That’s great!” Catherine enthused. “We’ll all get a tan together.”

“Give me a few minutes to get ready.” She pushed her wheelchair away from the table and headed for the hallway.

“That’s three out of four. Rainey? Does the idea appeal?”

Under other circumstances she couldn’t imagine anything more exciting than going out on the ocean with him, but not now. Not ever.

While Diane was still in earshort she said, “If we’re going to work together later, I’d better finish my greeting card project while you’re gone. The deadline for the artwork is coming up soon.”

Payne’s niece turned to her with an interested expression. “What are you working on?”

“Right now, a bon voyage card showing a saucy Siamese cat with diamonds around her neck and red silk gloves up to her shoulders. She’s stretched out on top of one of those mansard rooftops in an elegant arrondissement of Paris waving goodbye with her tail to a rascal of a mutt.”

“Oh how cute!” Catherine cried.

“He has a hobo’s stick over his shoulder. There’s a little bag tied to the end with a Provençal print scarf. His beret is set at a jaunty angle.” Rainey closed her eyes and shook her head. “They’re in love.”

The girls burst into laughter. So did Payne.

“Can we see it?” Linda sounded as excited as Catherine.

“Of course. When you get back from sailing, come to my room. Have fun everybody.”

Grateful the girls were there to provide a buffer against Payne, Rainey left the dining room without looking at him. She hoped it didn’t seem like she was running a marathon to get away from him.

For the next three hours she worked steadily on her sketches, but her body broke out in perspiration more than once anticipating the moment when she had to join Payne in his study.

Those had been hellish moments downstairs with his fiancée. She’d practically accused them outright of having an affair.

Tears filled Rainey’s eyes. The poor thing had tried to handle her pain and outrage in a dignified manner. It was an awful experience. Rainey refused to put Diane through that again.

From here on out, Payne would have to deal with his fiancée on his own. Rainey would remain in the background a little while longer to work on his maps before she left for Colorado. That was it.

Eventually she heard footsteps in the hall. Payne had come back with the girls. Rainey invited them inside and let them look at her drawings.

Before they left to ride their bikes to Catherine’s house, Rainey told Linda to come over on Tuesday morning after Payne left for Paris. Before she got to work she’d do a sketch of Linda and her dog, Hannibal, playing on the beach.

The three of them went downstairs together. Rainey saw them out. When she came back in the house Betty told her Payne had driven his fiancée home and would be back at one to get busy.

Rainey glanced at her watch. She had one hour. Now would be a good time to make a credit card call home and tell her parents what was going on.

Tomorrow she would buy herself a good cell phone. Then she could call her friends and give them a phone number without them knowing her new address. She would ask the post office to hold her mail.

For security reasons as well as personal ones, no one could know she was living temporarily at Crag’s Head.

“DID you really have a good time out there, or were you putting up a front for the girls?”

The limousine would be pulling up in front of the Wylie estate before long.

Diane shot Payne a piercing glance. “Why do you bother to ask me a question like that when you know I hated it.”

Payne rubbed his forehead. “Then why did you come sailing and put yourself through misery?”

“To please you. To spend some time with you.”

“I realize we haven’t had much time alone together lately, but I promised Phyllis I’d watch out for Catherine while they were away. They’ll be home tomorrow night. Once I’m back from Paris next weekend, I’ll be free for you. We’ll do whatever needs doing to get ready for the wedding.”

“How would you feel if I flew to Paris with you?”

To say that Payne was surprised by her question was putting it mildly. His fiancée hadn’t wanted to go anywhere since the shooting. Though no one had said it, both his family and hers feared she was turning into a recluse.

There was only one reason for the drastic change in her. One person whose performance earlier today had sent thrills and chills through every centimeter of his body.

“Do you want to go with me to please me, or yourself, Diane?”

“Both,” she answered honestly.

“Then there’s nothing I’d like more.” He meant it. If this was the beginning of a metamorphosis, he was overjoyed. Thank God for Rainey. He pressed a kiss to Diane’s temple.

She laid her head against his shoulder. “I know you have business, but do you think you could take some time off to shop with me? I’m not that happy with the wedding dress I’ve picked out. Since we haven’t had any pictures taken yet, maybe I’ll see something there I like better.”

“We’ll do it. Would you like to bring someone to keep you company while I’m busy?”

“No. I want to see how I function on my own.”

He squeezed her hand. “Good for you.”

His elation was too great. He had to be careful. She hadn’t mentioned Rainey. Whatever she was holding back would eventually come out, but he wasn’t going to broach the subject right now. Not when they’d just entered new territory.

It was like tunneling underground, a precarious business at best. You never knew when the earth might cave in on you, entombing you in blackness.

When they reached the Wylie estate he helped her into the house. “I’ll be at the office tomorrow. At some point I’ll phone you and we’ll make final plans for our trip. Would you like to see a play at the Comédie Française? I can call ahead and reserve tickets.”

“I don’t know. Why don’t we decide what to do after we get there.”

“Whatever you want.”

The drive back to Crag’s Head took long enough that by the time he walked through the house to find Rainey, some of his elation had worn off.

Today Diane had been provoked, and she’d rallied. The fact that she was willing to go anywhere at all constituted a miracle of sorts.

But Paris wasn’t Switzerland.

Was it possible she was toying with him to pay him back for involving Rainey in their personal lives? Could it be Diane was pretending to go so far but no further when it came to the bottom line?

Payne didn’t want to think the worst where she was concerned, however anything was possible.

“I guess I don’t have to ask you how things went with Diane.”

Rainey.

His head jerked to the right. He discovered her standing in front of one of his maps.

Every time he saw her, he felt like it was the first time. Something inside him ignited. The pulse throbbed at the base of his throat. It was an involuntary response, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

“Your fiancée is too intelligent not to have seen through your plan, Payne.”

“Nevertheless she’s going to Paris with me on Tuesday.”

“Really?” she cried with a haunting smile. “Then why aren’t you looking happier about it?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know. Something isn’t right. I’ve read articles about babies who never crawl. One day they just get up and start walking. But it’s rare.

“That’s what Diane did today. From recluse to transatlantic tourist, all in the space of a morning.”

She moved toward him. “You hurt her by hiring me. I suppose it’s not beyond the possibility that she’s playing a game with you. But even if she is, your plan did provoke her to this much of a response. You should be rejoicing.”

He had rejoiced. For a period of about ten minutes he’d allowed himself that luxury.

“And what if it’s just a blip on the screen?”

“Then you’ll try something else because it’s the way Payne Sterling is made.”

“Rainey,” her name came out on a half groan. That adorable mouth of hers was such an enticement, he could barely concentrate. The urge to take her in his arms was so intense, he had to force himself to put distance between them.

“You want to know what my theory is?” she went on talking, oblivious to the powerful tremors that shook his body.

“What’s that?” he asked with his back to her, struggling for control.

“The talk about romance novels got to her.”

“Diane’s never read one.”

“Oh yes she has. Maybe not a Red Rose Romance, but her literature degree guarantees she’s read the classics.

“The point is, since the shooting she’s been in a depression and hasn’t allowed herself to escape the reality of her situation. But the court hearing has forced her to listen to Catherine and Linda, even Nyla, go on about their favorite kinds of books.

“I believe their conversation has reminded her of your relationship before she got shot-w-when she felt whole and knew she was all things to you,” she stammered.

Lord.

“Remember what Linda said? It’s fun to see how two completely different people get together, the problems they have to overcome.

“Maybe Diane’s not ready for an operation yet, but she’s decided to go to Paris with you to prove she’s trying to conquer her fear and be that vital woman you fell in love with.”

His heart almost failed him. “You’re wrong, Rainey.”

There was a slight pause. “As I said, it was just a theory,” her voice trailed.

He’d hurt her when it was the last thing under heaven he wanted to do.

Payne swung around, aware his breathing was ragged. “Where are you going?”

She paused midstride. Turning her blond head toward him she said, “You’re obviously upset. I’ve only made matters worse.”

“You’re right. I am upset, but you’re not the reason. Please stay. I need to talk to you.”

There was a tender expression in her green eyes as she studied him. “Tell me about Diane. How did you two first meet? How long ago? I’ve wanted to know the answers to those questions since the hearing, but it wasn’t any of my business.”