It was a wrench to have to give up the one for Manhattan Merger. Not that she couldn’t do another painting of him from memory. But it would be different the second time around because she’d seen him in person.

If she did do any new sketches, they would show a man embracing his wheelchair-bound fiancée. His eyes and rugged features would reveal intense suffering…

While she waited for the runner from Mr. Wallace’s law firm to arrive, Rainey opened the manilla envelope. It appeared she was to design a series of cards that said “Goodbye-Enjoy your trip!” in various languages.

Having lived in Italy, she reached for her sketch pad and began playing around with some ideas that immediately sprang to mind. Soon her hillside in Tuscany began to come alive like the pieces of a patchwork quilt.

She drew in one of those charming farmhouses with the tiled roof. No one could see inside it, but her imagination allowed her to dream of two people madly in love. They stood at one of the windows overlooking their own spot of heaven. Twilight revealed two bodies entwined.

As Rainey stared into space, she realized she’d been envisioning herself in Payne Sterling’s arms. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. She feared it wouldn’t be the last.

Disturbed by thoughts she had no right to entertain, she threw down her pencil and got up from the desk.

It was a good thing all physical evidence of him would be gone in a few minutes.

But not from her mind.

An overwhelming compulsion to look at him one more time drove her to the door of her apartment. She reached for her favorite painting.

The more she studied it, the more she realized the person who’d gone down the Colorado with her brother seeking adventure bore little resemblence to the man she’d faced in the courtroom.

Rainey finally put it back with the others.

How tragic to think the woman he’d fallen in love with could no longer run into his arms. Talk about cruel.

She tried to imagine herself in his fiancée’s place. How hard it must be for her to want to do everything for him, to share everything with him when she-

The buzzer sounded from the foyer, interrupting her tormented thoughts. She spoke through the intercom. When she’d ascertained it was the runner, she told him to come up.

A half minute later there was a rap on the door. She opened it expecting to see a college-age person. Her greeting stuck in her throat to find a huskily built man blocking her exit. He was in his late thirties and wore casual clothes.

“Ms. Bennett?”

“Yes?”

He looked beyond her to the apartment itself, as if he were casing the interior. Sensing something wasn’t right, she was about to close the door when another man came up behind him dressed in a business suit.

“I’ll take it from here, John.”

The second Rainey saw who it was, the breath rushed out of her lungs. Maybe she was hallucinating.

The all-seeing blue eyes of Payne Sterling seemed to take in every detail of her face and body before their gazes locked.

“I’m here for the artwork, Ms. Bennett, but I’d like to talk to you first.” His cultivated male voice permeated her bones. “May I come in?”

Rainey couldn’t believe this was happening. Thank heaven she’d done her housecleaning earlier that morning.

“Yes. Of course.”

Once he’d stepped inside and shut the door, he dominated her tiny studio apartment.

“Would you like to sit down?” Even to her own ears she sounded breathless.

His glance darted to the sketch on her desk. “I can see that I’ve interrupted your work, but I don’t plan to be here that long. I’ve come to ask a special favor of you.”

Rainey gulped. “If you’re worried about the other paintings, I’ll phone those authors who purchased them. When they hear what happened, they’ll send them back to me.”

He shook his dark head. “Forget them. My concern lies in making my niece and fiancée feel secure. They’re the ones who panicked when they saw my likeness on the cover.”

His hands went to his hips, underscoring his compelling masculinity. “I’d like them to meet the artist. Between you and me, I’m confident we’ll be able to dispel their fears that you’re a threat to me or anyone else.”

She was stunned by his request.

For one thing, she’d never imagined seeing him again. For another, it brought home the fact that she’d unwittingly terrorized two innocent people who loved him and needed reassurance.

No matter his reasons for asking this favor of her, somewhere in Rainey’s psyche she knew she should say no for her own self-preservation.

What was it she remembered about the cycle of temptation?

First you allowed the thought to enter your mind. Then you began to fantasize about it. From there you started making plans. Finally you found yourself acting on those plans.

The man she now knew as Payne Sterling had been in her thoughts for two years. Since court she’d entertained certain intimate fantasies about him. If she agreed to his request, it meant crossing that precarious line into the “making plans” phase.

What really shocked her was how much she wanted to make plans with him, even though it meant meeting his fiancée. Was she some kind of masochist?

Clinging to one last thread of common sense she said, “They’re welcome to come here to my studio.”

“It would be easier for my fiancée if I take you to them.”

Of course. The apartment didn’t have an elevator. What was the matter with her?

“I’d like to surprise them with good news,” he continued. “It’ll be the best medicine of all.”

But not for me Rainey’s heart cried. Help-what should she do?

“When were you thinking of us meeting?” She fought to keep the tremor out of her voice.

“As soon as possible. Perhaps this evening after we’ve both finished work for the day.”

This evening?

A shiver of excitement passed through her body.

“I see.” She bit her lip remembering it was Friday and she had a date with Ken.

“By your hesitation I assume you’re not free.”

His eyes held hers. She could sense his urgency and the accompanying disappointment.

“I-I’ll change my plans,” she stammered. “After the pain I’ve put you and your family through, it’s the least I can do.”

Ken would forgive her when she told him it was a legal matter. He above all people would understand.

The only person who didn’t feel right about the whole situation was Rainey. Not when her attraction to this man was so intense.

“Thank you, Ms. Bennett. Have you ever flown in a helicopter?”

Her pulse started to race. “Yes. My brother’s friend runs a helicopter service in Las Vegas. He’s flown me over the Grand Canyon several times.”

“Good. I’ll send the limo for you at four o’clock. We’ll leave from my office as soon as you arrive. Do you have plans for tomorrow?”

“Work-” she blurted, throwing herself a lifeline. “I’m behind becau-”

“Because I forced you into court,” he finished for her. “Bring it with you and anything else you’ll require for an overnight stay, including a bathing suit.”

Oh no.

Rainey averted her eyes. She was terrified he would see how excited she was at the prospect of going anywhere with him…of spending time with him.

And his fiancée, a little voice nagged. Never forget that, Rainey Bennett.

When she felt recovered enough to meet his glance, she discovered him studying her prized serigraph of the Nantucket Lighthouse painted by Thomas McKnight. It hung next to her own paintings, the few that hadn’t yet been purchased by the authors of those books.

He suddenly turned in her direction, catching her staring at him. She didn’t look away, but heat scorched her cheeks.

“Would you bring your dog’s picture when you come?”

She shouldn’t have been surprised he’d seen the small framed photo perched on her desk. He noticed everything. What intrigued her was the reason why he’d made the request.

“All right.”

Their eyes held for a brief moment. “I’ll see you later.”

In an economy of movement he gathered the paintings and went out the door. Unable to help herself, she watched until he and the same security man named John disappeared from view.

After shutting the door she leaned against it, wondering if she was in the middle of one of her dreams about him. But six hours later she knew everything was real when John and another security man appeared at the door. They helped her to the limousine with her bags.

Insulated by glass that allowed her to look out without being seen, she enjoyed being chauffeured to the Financial District even though it was rush hour. Once they arrived in the underground parking of the Sterling building, she was whisked by private elevator to the penthouse.

When the doors opened to Mr. Payne’s office suite, Rainey couldn’t control the gasp that escaped her throat. It was like walking into her own painting.

Her dark-haired hero looked up from his massive oak desk and said, “Since seeing the cover on Manhattan Merger, I’ve had the same reaction as you every time I’ve walked in my office.”

Rainey stood there speechless.

Her gaze darted from the small framed photo perched on his desk to the painting of a ship passing a lighthouse.

“No,” she whispered in disbelief.

It hung on the only wall not made of glass, just the way she’d set things up in her painting.

And then there was the dynamic billionaire himself.

Dressed in the expensive-looking blue suit he’d worn to her apartment earlier, it could have been the same suit she’d put on him in the painting. Behind him loomed the Manhattan skyline, astonishingly similar to the one she’d painted for the cover.