“We’ll never know all the things about Bonnie’s novel that upset him so much. But it wouldn’t hurt you to read a really fantastic relationship book with a powerful emotional punch.” Rainey sniffed. “Maybe it will give you insight into your less than satisfactory love-life.”

“How come it hasn’t helped yours?” he whispered.

“It has! Reading romance novels has taught me to wait for the kind of man I want for my husband. He just hasn’t come along yet.”

“Ms. Bennett?” a deep unfamiliar male voice sounded behind her.

She whirled around, but felt like she was still reeling after she’d come to a stop.

The man she’d drawn, painted and dreamed about so many times was actually standing in front of her, up close and too personal for her to breathe normally.

With a sense of déjà vu her gaze traveled over his rugged male features. There were strain lines near his eyes and mouth that hadn’t been there two years ago. Lines put there by a stalker who’d crippled this man’s fiancée…

No doubt those creases had deepened further as a result of finding himself on the cover of Manhattan Merger, a book that paralleled his life to such a degree, he’d not only felt violated as Craig had said, he’d felt threatened.

“I would give anything if I could undo the pain and suffering I’ve caused you and your fiancée-” she blurted. Her smoky green eyes glistened with tears that trembled on the tips of her velvety black lashes.

“Please tell her how sorry I am to have been the person who turned your lives into another nightmare. I can’t even imagine how terrible that experience must have been for both of you and your families.”

“It was. I won’t lie to you about that.”

His honesty was as devastating as his dark blue gaze which traveled over her features with an intimacy that made her tremble.

She averted her eyes. “It’s a helpless feeling to know you’ve done something you can’t undo-like trying to recapture the air from a balloon. If I could turn the clock back, knowing what I know now-” she half moaned the words.

“Amen,” he muttered with an unmistakable echo of pain revealed in that one word. It haunted her. “My attorney will be calling Ms. Carlow about the paintings of me still in your possession.”

She nodded. “Naturally you’ll want proof that everything has been destroyed.”

“Excuse me for interrupting, Ms. Bennett,” his attorney broke in on them. “I need to talk to my client.”

“Of course.” Her eyes lifted to Payne Sterling’s once more. “Thank you for not pressing charges against the others…or me. I’ll always be grateful,” her voice throbbed. “God bless you and your fiancée.”

She turned away from him, feeling much worse than before because he was no longer just a memory from a photograph. The reality of his physical presence, plus the pain she felt emanating from him, had combined to squeeze her heart with fresh guilt.

“What did he say to upset you?” Craig whispered as he and their mother walked her out of the courtroom.

“Nothing. I just feel horrible for causing him and his family more pain.”

“It wasn’t intentional and he knows it,” her mother assured her. “Let’s be glad it’s over. Since Craig and I have to fly back home in the morning, shall we celebrate your victory and take a ferry to Staten Island if it isn’t too late? It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

“That sounds like a good idea, mom.” Anything to get her mind off of Payne Sterling for a while. “We’ll grab a taxi out in front of the court building and head for the terminal. If I remember right, the ferries leave often during rush hour.”

“When we get back, I’ll treat us to dinner,” her brother offered. “Where shall we go?”

“There’s a great sushi place on Bond Street.” She’d said it to tease Craig. His proclivity for beef was well known.

When both he and her mother frowned on cue, Rainey laughed. “Just kidding. I’ll take you guys to Del Frisco’s. It’s the best steak house in Manhattan.”

“Now you’re talking.”

They moved outside the building to hail a cab. “I’m surely glad you’ve lived around here long enough to know your way around, Rainey,” her mother confided. “You love it, don’t you.”

“On the whole, yes. But the masses of people can be daunting at times. To live here permanently would require a lot of money if you craved isolation and privacy.”

“Luckily we have that for free in Grand Junction,” Craig said before letting out an ear-piercing whistle. It did the job. One of the taxis whizzing by came to a quick stop.

Rainey climbed in after her mother. Then Craig got inside and pulled the door closed after him.

She leaned forward to address the driver. “Whitehall Terminal, please.”

As the taxi started up again, Rainey noticed Payne Sterling and his attorney, both in sunglasses, leave the courthouse surrounded by a group of men all in business suits. They got in a limousine with tinted windows.

After the accident that had left his fiancée paralyzed, Rainey imagined he would always be well guarded. How horrible to be a target everywhere he went. She shuddered.

Her brother eyed her with concern. “Are you all right?”

“I’m thankful he didn’t press charges, but I still feel awful about what I did.”

“As the judge said, there was no evil intended. Chalk it up to one of your exciting experiences in the Big Apple. Someday you’ll look back and laugh about it.”

“I hope so.”

“Craig’s right, honey. I’m sure Mr. Sterling’s relief that neither you or Bonnie Wrigley was a stalker has caused him to forget about it already.”

“Even if that’s true, he has to live every moment of his life with the knowledge that his fiancée is in a wheelchair because of a demented woman who imagines herself in love with him.”

“That’s the downside of being a man with a name like Sterling, and a bank account that could fund the homeless forever.”

Rainey bowed her head. “Grace told me he already does that.”

“Does what?” her brother asked.

“He’s a philanthropist. According to her he has set up many charities including a foundation for the homeless. I know he does it for tax purposes, but I’m pretty sure she told me all those things to reassure me he’s compassionate too.”

“He seemed like a good man to me when I took him rafting down the river. No wonder he used the name Vince. It’s the only way he can have any anonymity.”

She buried her face in her hands. “I still can’t believe I picked him to paint.”

“I can,” her mother drawled. “So can all the millions of women who will mourn when he’s not on any more romance covers.”

“Mom-” Craig laughed. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“You’d have to be a woman to understand.”

“Is dad aware of your secret fantasy?” he teased.

“There are several things he’s better off not knowing.”

“Don’t tell me you read those romances too?”

“Rainey and I have been enjoying them for years. You were always too busy devouring your hunting and fishing magazines to notice.”

At this point Rainey couldn’t help chuckling. Her mother’s comments had managed to lighten her mood.

“It looks like we’ve arrived,” Craig muttered, sounding miffed by their mother’s confession.

On the whole Rainey found that men seemed uncomfortable by the thought of romance novels and heroes. It was very strange since statistics showed that men had fantasies about women on a daily basis.

Rainey lifted her head in time to see her brother pay the fare. They piled out of the taxi into a horde of people coming and going from the ferry. It happened to be the John F. Kennedy.

Craig pulled out his pocket camera and snapped a picture, then herded them toward the terminal for their tickets.

Being with her family until they left for the airport the next morning prevented Rainey from dwelling on the whole disturbing incident with Mr. Sterling. Her long talk into the night with Craig about his business plans had kept disturbing thoughts of him at bay.

But once she’d waved them off in a taxi headed for the airport, memories of him came rushing back with a vengeance.

To stem the tide, she straightened her apartment, did a wash and scoured the bathroom. When everything was neat and clean, she showered and dressed in cutoffs and a T-shirt. After going downstairs for her mail, she was ready to get back to her painting.

An hour later she’d finished the lace on the wedding gown. The cover for The Bride’s Not-So-White Secret was done.

She called the courier service to schedule a pickup for Monday morning. Now she could start on the next project for Global Greeting Cards which had come in the mail.

No sooner had she put the receiver back on the hook to get busy and her phone rang. She assumed it was Ken. He’d asked her to go to a jazz concert with him tonight in Greenwich Village and was probably calling to set up the time.

“Rainey Bennett Fine Art Studio.”

“Hello, Rainey.”

“Grace-” She clutched the receiver a little tighter for fear something else was wrong.

“Relax, my dear. All is well. Claud Finauer couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”

Relieved to hear that news, Rainey let go of the breath she’d been holding.

“For your information I had a call from Mr. Wallace a few minutes ago. If it’s convenient, someone will be coming by your apartment within the hour for your paintings of Mr. Sterling. I wanted to make certain you were home.”

“I’ll be here. Tell them to buzz me from the foyer so I can let them in. I’m on the third floor.”

“Good. I’ll call you next week. We’ll go out for lunch.”

“I’d like that.” Grace was a fascinating personality.

“So would I. Talk to you soon.”

The minute they clicked off, Rainey walked over to the paintings and removed them from the wall. After dusting the frames off, she placed them next to the door.