“It’s what I read in a person’s face that makes it memorable. Mr. Sterling’s exudes character, confidence, hard work, struggle, determination, a passion for life. All those qualities combine to make him stand out as a heroic figure, artistically speaking.”
“Whoa! Uncle Payne—” Catherine
smiled at him. “Did you hear all that?”
“I did,” his voice grated.
Ignoring him, Rainey put Craig’s photograph in front of Diane again. “Take another look at your fiancé.”
Now Rainey was the one forcing his fiancée to cooperate when it was the last thing Diane wanted to do.
“See the way he’s staring at the formations above the river? His eyes appear to be looking beyond them at something else the rest of us can’t see. You can tell his mind is caught up in an inner vision. That’s what makes him an arresting figure.
“That’s why I suddenly found myself sketching him weeks later. He seemed perfect for certain novels I was sent. When Manhattan Merger came along, it was almost a spiritual mating of man and story.”
The other woman’s dark brows puckered. “When you’re such a fine artist, why do you go to so much trouble for an inconsequential romance?”
Rainey had been waiting for a comment like that to surface. It was only natural for a woman like Diane. She’d never read a paperback romance and dismissed them as so much drivel.
“Millions of women will tell you they find them irresistible. Therefore it matters to the publishing company that their vast readership keeps coming back for more.
“Speaking from a personal note, it means everything to the author that the hero and heroine on the cover do justice to her superbly crafted relationship novel.
“That’s my job.
“If I’ve done it right, the romance reader escapes even further into the story.”
“I can vouch for that,” Nyla piped up. “I still read the book if the cover’s bad, but when it’s a good one, it makes it even more exciting.”
“Especially like that novel with Uncle Payne as a Viking! It was such a good story I checked out some books at the library about the Norsemen.”
Rainey nodded. “It was written by a male author who’s a Scandinavian history buff. I did the same thing as you, Catherine, and went to the library before I started to paint.
“You’ll never know how much fun I had with that cover because the author had based Roald on a true historical figure. The clothes I put on him were the same ones on display at a museum in Norway.”
“It was thrilling all right,” Nyla murmured, “but I think I liked your cover of Mr. Sterling on The Baby Doctor’s Baby the best.”
“Oh, Uncle Payne—the little baby you were holding was so sweet.”
“Is that right,” he drawled.
Rainey forgot the promise she’d made not to look at him. Their eyes met. His were smiling. They filled her with warmth. She hurriedly glanced at Catherine.
“That was Matt, my best friend’s baby boy.”
“You just wanted to squeeze him,” Nyla said with a sigh. “I can still see those big dimples and adorable blue eyes.”
“Someday I want a baby that looks just like him.”
“Let’s make that about ten years away, sweetheart.”
“Uncle Payne—”
Everyone laughed except his fiancée whose gaze remained leveled on Rainey.
“How did you happen to end up painting covers on romance novels of all things?”
“One day while I was in the media center of the high school where I taught art, I came across a book called Writer’s World U.S.A. I started looking through the pages at the hundreds of publishing companies that use artwork.