Strictly Confidential. Terri Reed

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СКАЧАТЬ brothers hadn’t made for an easy childhood. Colleen had tagged along, wanting to be a part of that special world that only boys could roam. She’d long ago realized that the only way she’d get the appreciation and approval she craved was to be the best at whatever she did and not let being female hold her back.

      That was why wearing a clingy shift that revealed her shoulders and showed off her calves left her feeling awkward and self-conscious. But she wasn’t a chicken.

      She slipped the wrap from her shoulders and handed it to Adam. He whistled between his teeth. “Maybe you better leave it on.”

      “Be nice,” admonished his wife, Kate. “She looks lovely.”

      Colleen caught the dubious glance her brothers exchanged and bit her lip, wishing now she’d stuck to her pantsuit.

      “ Lovely is not quite the right word,” said Jake. He reached forward and tucked a lock of hair behind Colleen’s ear. “I’d say beautiful is the right one.”

      Colleen blinked as sudden tears burned her eyes. She couldn’t remember her brother ever saying something so…flattering.

      Adam hugged her. “I think our baby sister’s grown into a woman. Finally.”

      His words warmed her like the first rays of sun on a cold winter’s morn even as she punched him in the arm for his teasing.

      “Okay, boys. Leave your sister alone,” Kate said in her no-nonsense nurse voice. Then she hooked her arm through Adam’s. “Shall we go in and see these paintings we’ve heard so much about?”

      Jake slipped his arm around Holly’s expanding waist and guided her in. Adam and Kate followed. Colleen waited a moment and took a few deep breaths.

      She smiled and nodded hello to several people as they filed in. She waved to Reverend Gabriel Dawson from Good Shepherd Christian Church and his wife, Susan, who ran the shelter in town, as they entered.

      As she started forward she heard her name called. She turned to find Sam and Jessica Vance walking toward her.

      “Hey, Sam. Jessica.” Sam’s wavy dark-brown hair was subdued with a bit of gel, and his tall, muscular frame filled out his tuxedo nicely. Beside him, Jessica, his wife of a year, fairly glowed in her silver floor-length dress and upswept hair.

      “You’ve got a story idea for me?” Colleen eyed Sam with hope.

      Several times Sam had brought ideas for stories to her attention. Stories that needed the sort of investigating the police didn’t have the manpower for.

      “We’re still working on the arsonist cases. Haven’t had any breaks. You turn up anything?”

      She shook her head. “I know Chief O’Brien had something to do with the hospital fire but I haven’t nailed down what yet.”

      Sam nodded in agreement. “So far we’ve got nothing to hold him on.”

      “You know, I keep thinking that somehow the fires at Travis’s and Quinn’s businesses are connected to the hospital fire. I’m working on putting the pieces together.”

      Interest sparked in Sam’s eyes. “Keep me posted on anything you come up with.”

      “I will. Enjoy the exhibition,” Colleen replied and then excused herself.

      She walked into the main area of the museum and looked around in awe at all the glittering ladies and well-dressed gentlemen. She felt like a fake, all dressed up as though she was one of these people.

      This wasn’t her. She liked khakis and loafers, not these black torture devices squeezing her feet.

      “Hello, Colleen. Enjoying yourself?”

      She turned toward the older woman who had stepped up beside her. “Lidia, hello. I just arrived. This is very impressive.”

      Lidia Vance, Mayor Maxwell Vance’s wife, nodded in agreement. She wore a stunning red two-piece outfit that accentuated her olive skin and dark eyes. Italian by birth, Lidia had come to this country as Max’s young bride back in the sixties. “I wish Max were here to see this.”

      “How is the mayor doing?”

      Max Vance had been shot, but luckily not killed. His attacker was still at large.

      Colleen had a hard time fitting Alessandro into the role of assassin. He was more the playboy type, not one to dirty his hands. But—impressions could be deceiving.

      There was no mistaking he held an appeal that few women—except herself, of course—could resist. Like a movie star come to visit in their small community, he attracted attention.

      Her sources had informed her that Donato had been hanging around the museum lately. He’d sat next to Dahlia Sainsbury, the museum’s curator, at the Valentine’s Day dinner. Not that Colleen had paid much attention or had an emotional reaction to the pair. It hadn’t mattered to her in the least. But now…what connection did they have?

      “Max is improving every day. The doctor says he’ll be able to come home soon to recuperate.”

      Refocusing on the conversation, Colleen said, “That’s wonderful. I’m sure Dad will be happy to hear that.” Frank Montgomery and Maxwell Vance were lifelong friends and godparents to each other’s eldest children.

      Lidia smiled. “Tell your father hello for me. I know Max would welcome another visit.”

      “I’ll let him know. I’m surprised my parents aren’t here yet.” Her parents were still heavily involved in community affairs even though Frank’s term as mayor had long since passed.

      Lidia patted her arm and moved away to talk to an older couple bedecked in jewels and finery.

      Colleen looked for her editor and for the newspaper’s photographer but didn’t see either. She’d wait until they arrived before she started interviewing the guests. This kind of event wasn’t her normal gig, but Al Crane, her editor, had insisted she attend and conduct interviews because her family knew everyone in town and they’d all talk to her.

      She wasn’t sure that was true, but she did want to ask the new curator about Alessandro Donato and his interest in the museum. She wandered over to a sand-colored exposed brick wall that made an elegant backdrop for Monet’s “Poppy Field Near Giverny.” She liked the vibrant hues: reds, blues and greens.

      She moved along the wall inspecting other works by Monet when a strange awareness brushed over her. She stilled.

      Slowly, she turned and scanned the room. Her gaze landed on a tall, black-haired man. Her breath hitched when she realized Alessandro Donato was staring at her. His dark, unreadable eyes conveyed a message she had trouble believing.

      Even though her brothers had stated she looked beautiful tonight, Alessandro’s expression made her feel beautiful.

      Which was bad, very bad, because even if she had time for a relationship, he was the wrong kind of man to get goofy over. She wouldn’t give up her independence for a playboy, no matter what, so how he saw her or made her feel was irrelevant.

      Then why did she have the СКАЧАТЬ