Heat crept into her cheeks despite being alone in the kitchen.
When she was younger, she’d been hopelessly infatuated with Brian Malone. Back then, he’d been the older, cooler brother with the easy grin and confident swagger every girl seemed to notice. But at some point in her junior high school years, things shifted. Sean had shot up in height, broadened through the shoulders, and traded awkward teenage boyhood for an easy self-assurance. Then the Army had taken over where adolescence left off and turned him into a man.
Without warning, her crush had shifted from Brian to Sean.
Honestly, all three Malone brothers were handsome, and Grace had figured out young that most women weren’t immune to them. Mothers adored their manners and charm, while fathers spotted the restless streak beneath the surface and watched them with suspicion.
As a kid, Grace had only seen the brothers during holidays and summer visits, but she’d still spent enough time around them to make some local girls jealous. Not that she’d minded. If anything, she’d enjoyed it. She could still remember wrapping herself around Sean’s or Brian’s arm when certain girls were nearby or demanding piggyback rides just to watch them glare.
The memories made her smile into the steaming mug.
She’d been ridiculous.
Still, the boys had never made her feel like a pest. They’d always included her, teasing her like an annoying little sister while still letting her tag along.
But that changed once they started dating.
Grace had hated being left behind then, especially when she heard Sean had taken Mary Jo Schreiber to his senior prom. She could still picture the girl in her mind—beautiful, polished, and stuck-up enough to make Grace’s teeth ache. Not that Sean could’ve taken Grace anyway. She lived in New York and was several years younger at the time, but the news had crushed her fourteen-year-old heart all the same.
Now she was back in North Carolina for good, and once again, her attention kept drifting toward Sean.
Only she wasn’t a gawky teenager anymore. She was a grown woman, old enough to understand the difference between a harmless crush and genuine attraction.
His brown eyes shifted shades depending on what he wore, sometimes warm like whiskey, other times dark as wet sand after rain. His hair had grown just long enough to brush his collar, and tonight that faint shadow along his jaw had made him look rugged in a way she found far too appealing.
She stared out the kitchen window into the dark parking lot beyond the condo buildings while the milk warmed on the stove.
Was this lingering attraction left over from childhood or something real?
That question would be easier to answer if Sean didn’t still seem to view her as Bonnie’s niece... little Gracie tagging along behind him and Brian during summer vacations.
The thought made her release a frustrated sigh.
How exactly was she supposed to convince a man like Sean Malone to notice her as a woman instead of the kid he used to carry around on his shoulders?
A sharp sizzling sound snapped her out of her thoughts just before the milk boiled over. She hurried to pull the saucepan off the burner, poured the hot milk into a mug, and carried it back to bed.
Sometime later, with thoughts of Sean still drifting through her head, sleep finally claimed her.
Chapter Six
The two Malone brothers and Rafe pulled into the sheriff’s department parking lot at eight the next morning.
Sean climbed out of his Mustang and joined the other men near the far end of the lot, taking in the scene at the building’s main entrance. News vans crowded every available space, their satellite dishes pointed toward the gray morning sky. Reporters clustered along the front walkway with microphones in hand while camera operators jockeyed for position.
A cold knot formed in his gut. “This can’t be good.”
Brian shoved his hands into the pockets of his sports coat and frowned at the crowd. “Let’s hope it has nothing to do with our case.”
“Twenty bucks says it does,” Rafe said.
His partner snorted. “Not even I’m dumb enough to take that bet. And speaking of bets, you still owe me twenty from the poker game the other night.”
“Sure. As soon as I get around to rolling up your change.”
After shooting Rafe a glare, Brian turned to his brother. “Would you believe this idiot once paid off a fifty-dollar bet in dimes, nickels, and pennies?”
Despite himself, Sean let out a short laugh. The two of them bickered like an old married couple. But the mention of pennies dragged his thoughts right back to the case—to the coins with matching years placed on each victim's forehead. His amusement vanished.
