care of her and protect her. He owed her that much.
The grand plan was to help her walk again. Since their engagement he’d been working toward that goal with a single-mindedness he wouldn’t allow anything to overshadow, especially not Diane’s defeatist attitude.
What he hadn’t counted on was Rainey Bennett entering his life.
“Are you sure everything’s all right?” Diane asked when he straightened.
After pushing her wheelchair back to the table, Payne sat down next to her and reached for her hand.
“As I told you on the phone last evening, you don’t need to worry anymore. To prove it, I’ve invited someone to dinner who will put any fears you have to rest.”
Her face closed up. “You brought company here?”
“Yes. Catherine will be out with her in a minute. Her name is Lorraine Bennett. She’s a freelance artist from Grand Junction, Colorado, who designs greeting cards and does paintings that appear on some of the covers for Red Rose Romance. She’s the one who painted me.”
“She confessed to it in court?”
“Yes. But when you hear the whole story, you’ll understand it was an honest mistake.”
Her eyes flashed in anger. “How could it be an honest mistake when she did it without your permission?”
“It’s complicated. You’ll just have to trust me.”
Diane’s hand clutched his. “I wish you’d asked me before you issued your invitation.”
“It’s because of your reaction right now that I didn’t,” Payne explained in a calm voice. “When the hearing started, I felt exactly like you. I was convinced someone would be arrested by the end of the day. We can thank God the reverse was true.”
Her lips tightened. “For once I think you used the wrong judgment by bringing her here.”
Payne happened to agree with her, but not for the same reasons she was thinking.
“I had another motive in mind, aside from the hope that meeting her would help you and Catherine to forget this incident.”
“What motive?”
“Ms. Bennett feels terrible for what happened. It might help her to recover faster if she can see we bear no malice.”
“She should feel terrible.”
Payne knew it was her helplessness that made her less forgiving than she would otherwise be.
“Try to put yourself in her place, Diane. Throughout the hearing she felt the burden of being the one who not only implicated herself, but the author and the whole company.”
She let go of his hand. “Why don’t you find out what’s keeping them? The sooner dinner is over, the sooner she’ll be gone and we can be alone. I need to talk to you about our honeymoon. I’ve decided where I want to go and it’s not Switzerland.”
“Let’s discuss this later.”
“It’ll be a waste of time, Payne.”
He grimaced. “Until we’ve done every earthly thing possible to help you, you don’t have the right to say that. I’ll be back in a minute.” In a few swift strides he left the patio.
“Payne—”
He could hear her calling him back, but for once he refused to give in to her tears.
CHAPTER SIX
WHEN Rainey saw Payne in the kitchen doorway, his whole expression had undergone a change. He was gripped by some dark, powerful emotion held barely in check.