Manhattan Merger Read online

  Another showed him as a Castilian prince in royal ceremonial robes with pitch-black hair and eyes entitled, Her Prince of Dreams.

  In the third book, Undercover Love, he was a gray-eyed Royal Canadian Mountie in full red dress uniform wearing a hat that covered his hair.

  The Star Grazer was the last book. It portrayed him as a man from the future with auburn hair and brown eyes.

  On all of the covers he had his arms around a beautiful woman. It appeared the same person had done the artwork.

  “That’s some life you lead,” came another crack from Mac, sotto voce.

  Payne made no response as he looked at the spines. All four were a product of Red Rose Romance Publishers, and had been printed within the last year.

  “How many publishers put out paperback romances besides Red Rose?”

  “Dozens of companies throughout the world, but the ones on my shelves come mainly from the United States, England and Canada. Red Rose produces the most every year by quite a margin.”

  “Have you seen my face on the covers of any romances other than Red Rose?”

  “No.”

  That was the only good news so far. He could hope Red Rose was a mom-and-pop outfit that probably didn’t have a large distribution base. “Do you have your romances sorted by publisher?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will you show me where the romance section is?”

  She laughed. “It’s practically the whole shop except for the mysteries and science fiction here at the front.”

  He tried hard not to reveal his shock. “Why don’t we try the Red Rose section first.”

  “Follow me, Mr. Sterling.”

  She led him a fourth of the way back. “It starts here and goes to the rear of the store.”

  His eyes widened in incredulity. “These are all Red Rose Romances?”

  “Yes. Their company has nine different lines depending on what kind of romance you’re looking for. Of course these are only the English versions. Their books are published in over a hundred languages. Something like that.”

  A hundred! That meant—

  “We keep a few copies in Italian and Russian for the occasional visitor,” she added.

  He wondered how many times Catherine had been in here that her mother didn’t know about. Payne loved his sister Phyllis, but like their mother, she didn’t approve of a lot of things.

  With her high-brow taste in the arts, music and literature, he doubted she’d ever had the curiosity to read a paperback romance. He couldn’t help but wonder if Diane disliked them on principle too.

  Or maybe she’d read a few when she was a teenager and refused to admit to it. He’d like to know.

  In Payne’s mind it would make Diane a more real person if she’d gone against her mother’s wishes the way Catherine had done, and could own up to it…

  “How far do some of these books date back?”

  “Red Rose has been in business at least forty years that I know of.”

  Forty years?

  He studied the voluminous amount of reading material. Evidently someone besides Nyla and Catherine had been gobbling these up by the thousands for at least four decades.

  That was a long time… Too long not to be a reputable company.

  “You’ll find their books listed under the separate headings hanging from the ceiling over each section. There’s something for every taste.”

  “So I see,” Payne muttered.

  A Touch of Romance, A Touch of Passion, A Touch of Espionage, A Touch of History, A Touch of Babies, A Touch of Royalty, A Touch of Sci-Fi/Paranormal, A Touch of Cowboy and A Touch of Humor.

  “You’re welcome to browse as long as you like.”

  “Thank you.”

  Since she’d pulled all the books with his likeness from the shelves, there was no point in sifting through the mountains of romances. The mere thought staggered the imagination.

  However he did take a book from each section to examine the covers. All of them had been done as a painting rather than a photograph. He carried them to the counter.

  “I’m going to buy these nine books. The four you’re keeping I’d like to borrow for twenty-four hours.” He pulled a credit card from his wallet. “Add $20,000.00 to my bill. When the books are returned, you can credit it to my account.”

  She shook her head. “I trust you to bring them back, Mr. Sterling. There’s no charge.”

  “Thank you.”

  He put his credit card away and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. “You’ve been very helpful,” he said, sliding it toward her. She started to make change but he told her not to bother.

  “This is much too generous.”

  “Humor me, please,” he said with a smile.

  “If you insist. After all these years, it’s so exciting to meet the legendary member of the Sterling family!”

  Payne had heard that comment one too many times in his life. However it would do no good to remind the woman that his place in the scheme of things had happened because of an accident of birth. Her place had been determined the same way.

  Furthermore, he got up in the mornings, worked hard, suffered, agonized and bled before going to bed at night, just the way she and everyone else did on the planet.

  Her gaze searched his. “I do hope this turns out to be an honest mistake for all concerned.”

  “My sentiments exactly.” Otherwise another nightmare had begun.

  She bagged the books and handed the sack to him. He tucked Manhattan Merger inside the opening.

  “I promise you’ll get these back. Thanks again, Ms. Perry.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Let’s go,” he murmured to Mac.

  Once they were ensconced in the limousine, he phoned Drew Wallace, his attorney, and explained what had happened. They planned to meet at Crag’s Head as soon as Drew could get away from an important dinner engagement.

  Pleased Drew could come on such short notice no matter the hour, he told him he’d send the helicopter for him. This was one meeting that needed to take place tonight under strictest privacy.

  When he returned to his sister’s house, he discovered Diane in the backyard looking through some wedding magazines. Catherine was using doggie treats to make their family’s golden retriever do tricks.

  Though Payne loved all his nieces and nephews, he’d always had a special feeling for Catherine. Her heart melted for the less fortunates of this world whether they be animals or people.

  Out of all his sister’s children, Catherine was the one who’d taken her brother Trevor’s death from leukemia the hardest. When she came into her inheritance, he had an idea she’d give it all to research in an effort to find a cure.

  Since the shooting, his niece had attached herself to Diane, determined his brunette fiancée would walk again one day. Catherine’s desire to make that happen had endeared her to Payne as nothing else could have done.

  While Phyllis and Trent were away with their three older children, Payne’s niece—who’d begged to stay behind—had been helping Diane and her mother with plans for their wedding. It was scheduled for August first.

  Without Diane’s knowledge Payne had already cleared his calendar so he could take Diane to Switzerland for the month. They would spend their honeymoon at a special hospital reputed to perform miracles on patients with Diane’s type of injury. He was going to get her there no matter what.

  After climbing out of the limousine, he handed Mac the sack before approaching his fiancée. Though her light brown eyes still looked haunted, she broke into a smile when she saw him.

  He gave her a quick kiss on the lips knowing what he had to say would disappoint her, but it couldn’t be helped.

  “This problem with the romance cover needs to be dealt with. I’m afraid our plans to go into New York for dinner have to be put on hold.”

  “Somehow I knew you were going to say that.”

  “Drew’s meeting me as soon as he can.”

  “That’s good.�
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  “After we’ve finished talking, I’ll call you. In the meantime, Sam will run you home.”

  He pushed her wheelchair to the limousine, then lifted her into the back seat. Catherine and the dog ran over to say goodbye while John folded up the chair and put it in the trunk.

  “Promise you’ll phone later and tell me what’s going on?”

  He couldn’t look at her in this condition without being aware of her near lifeless legs. Though he might not have pulled the trigger, he was the reason she couldn’t walk.

  “You know I will.” He gave her hand a squeeze, then shut the limo door.

  “’Bye, Diane,” Catherine called to her.

  As the car drove off, Payne put an arm around his niece and walked her toward the house. He needed to get his laptop. “I want to thank you for being so good to Diane.”

  “I want her to get better.”

  “So do I.” So do I.

  “She’s decided she’ll never walk again, but I told her that’s crazy because she still has feeling in her legs. I won’t let her give up! Even if she doesn’t want to go to that clinic in Switzerland, you have to take her, Uncle Payne.”

  He held the door open for her and the dog. Once they’d entered the house he said, “That’s my plan.”

  “While you were in the village, she broke down crying and said she didn’t want to go through another operation when it wouldn’t do her any good.”

  Payne gritted his teeth. “I’m afraid seeing me on the cover of that book has brought back the horror of what she went through at Christmas.”

  “Then all the more reason for her to fight with everything she’s got to get better!” Catherine blurted. “At least her doctor hasn’t said her case is hopeless. It’s not like what happened with Trevor,” her voice wobbled.

  “You’re right.” He kissed her forehead. “I love you for caring so much. When your mom asked me to look in on you while they were in Mexico, I was happy to do it. Tell you what— I’ll free up some time tomorrow afternoon and take you and Diane sailing.”

  “She doesn’t like to sail.”

  Payne had an idea something unpleasant had happened between Catherine and Diane. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

  “Nothing,” came the quiet response.

  “You can say that to anyone but me.”

  His niece looked up at him with soulful blue eyes. “Diane got after me about reading romances. She said they’re a waste of time and don’t reflect real life.”

  Until Payne had a chance to read Manhattan Merger, he would reserve judgment.

  “You shouldn’t take her disapproval to heart. She’s a little down right now.”

  “I’m not. She’s been like this since you got engaged.”

  His brows knit together. “Like what?”

  “Let’s just say she has a hard time tolerating me when you’re not around.”

  “That’s not true, Catherine. She cares for you enough to have wanted your help with our wedding plans.”

  “She only asked me because you hinted it might be a good idea while mom and dad were away. I never told you this, but two years ago at that Fourth of July party on the yacht, Linda and I figured out Diane was in love with you when she told us to run along and leave you two alone.”

  After what Catherine had just told him, he realized his perceptive niece understood a lot more about his fiancée than he’d given her credit for.

  With so much on his mind at the time, Payne had been oblivious to Diane’s interest in him. If he hadn’t left his office that night… But all the what-ifs in the world weren’t going to change the situation that had shattered lives and dreams.

  After finding his laptop in the study he said, “Why don’t you ask Linda to come sailing with us tomorrow, Diane or no Diane.”

  “Really?” Catherine’s face broke into a sunny smile. “Thanks, Uncle Payne. You’re the greatest!” She stood up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “I’ll invite her when we get together later.”

  “You do that. See you later.”

  “Okay. Come on, Lady.”

  Before he left the house to join Mac in the other limo for the short drive ride to Crag’s Head, he watched the dog follow her up the stairs. The Sterlings loved their animals. Payne was no exception, but after his bullmastiff Bruno had died, he’d decided not to get another dog.

  Since moving into his new home, he was gone too much. It wouldn’t be fair to keep a pet when he was away a lot of the time. They needed constant love and attention.

  When he joined Mac in the limo he confided, “A few days ago I told Diane I missed having a dog and planned to get her one for a wedding present so she wouldn’t be so lonely when I’m overseas. Apparently that’s the last thing she wants, even though I pointed out it could serve as a guard dog too.”

  “It’s not really surprising when you consider her mother’s allergy to them,” Mac murmured back. “Your fiancée didn’t grow up around animals.”

  Payne rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Diane claims she’s been in love with me for years, but since our engagement she’s begun to realize how little we have in common. I’m afraid I’m not the perfect man she thought I was.”

  Mac eyed him frankly. “Don’t hate me for saying this, but someone should have warned her about the old saying, ‘Be careful what you pray for. You might get it.’”

  “You’re scary, Mac.”

  “How so?”

  “You just took the words right out of my mouth. Last night she broke down and admitted she doesn’t like my home.” Mac grimaced. “Instead of a dog for a wedding present, could we build an English manor along the lines of her parents’ home?

  “I reminded her that as an only child she would inherit her family home one day, and could spend as much time as she wanted there after our marriage.”

  Mac didn’t say anything. Neither did Payne.

  After leaving his sister’s sprawling New England style home which was reminiscent of many homes in the Hamptons, he craved his eyrie at Crag’s Head.

  Money could buy a lot of things he would never want, and it had brought him more pain than he’d ever thought possible. But if he could be grateful for one thing, it had allowed him to turn his ideas for the old lighthouse standing on family property into a sanctuary of primitive beauty and isolation.

  Payne was an engineer, not an architect, but he’d known what he’d wanted the moment he’d glimpsed Le Corbusier’s Chapel of Notre Dame Du Haut at Ronchamps for the first time.

  Using a sculptural style rather than rectilinear, the famous French architect had created two curving walls of white-washed rough masonry that met beneath a dark roof.

  Incorporating those same elements with the lighthouse, Payne’s home stood like a piece of sculpture on the headland overlooking the Atlantic. The randomly punched out windows of the walls gave him all the privacy and all the view he could ever want.

  He liked being able to walk around while he studied where he would lay massive fiber-optic cables in a place as difficult as New York’s labyrinthine underground.

  The urban fiber networks were one of the least-developed pieces of Internet infrastructure throughout the world. Payne had always considered it a market of vast potential.

  Pleased to have been responsible for putting five million kilometers of glass thread in the ground already, he was now selling rights to individual strands of fiber outright. World carriers and corporations were coming to him every day asking for more.

  When he’d had the place built, he hadn’t yet met the woman he’d wanted to marry. If he’d given it any thought at all, he’d imagined that when the right one came along, she’d love it as much as he did.

  Last night he’d promised Diane he would add some interior features to the second floor to make it less austere and fortress-like.

  As for the lighthouse portion of his house, it had been transformed into an open workspace. It was here in his inner sanctum he used the thick rounded walls to spread out his huge maps
of the tunneling beneath major American and European cities.

  Considering he was in negotiations for the rights-of-way to dig in fifty more markets by next year, there was no way of gauging where it would lead in future years. But it ensured he wouldn’t run out of problems to solve. That’s what he loved to do.

  That’s why he was taking Diane to Switzerland, even if he had to drag her there. And if working with those doctors didn’t produce a cure, he’d heard of another one who ran a clinic for injuries to the spine in Norway.

  If Payne had already figured out how to unearth dazzling riches lying in mud beneath the streets of New York, Paris and Rome, surely he could find a way for Diane to walk again!

  “Betty?” he called to Mrs. Myers. She and her husband lived in to look after his house and do light housekeeping. “I’m expecting Drew Wallace later tonight. When he gets here, let him in my study, will you please?”

  “Of course. Would you like something to eat before he arrives?”

  “How about a sandwich.”

  “Coming right up.”

  Taking advantage of the time, he sat back in his easy chair, adjusted the floor lamp light and began reading Manhattan Merger.

  The opening line grabbed him by the throat.

  Logan Townsend wasn’t in love with his fiancée.

  From that point on it was like walking through the minefield of his own psyche where his deepest thoughts and feelings were exposed at every unexpected turn. By the time he came to the last page and closed the book, his hands were literally shaking.

  He recalled something Catherine had said before he’d left for Crag’s Head.

  Diane got after me about reading romances. She said they’re a waste of time and don’t reflect real life.

  How wrong could Diane have been!

  If Payne could be thankful for one thing, it was that Catherine hadn’t read the story yet. It would bring her even more pain.

  Once more the painting on the cover leaped out at him, underscoring his shock that this book with his picture was in circulation.

  “Payne?”

  At the sound of Drew’s familiar voice, he levered himself from the chair. Only then did he realize he’d been too riveted to the well-written story to notice Betty had brought him a tray of food some time ago. Unfortunately his appetite had left him.