and tipped her chin up. “Really good. What are we having?”
“Chicken cacciatore.”
“No idea what that is, but I bet I’ll enjoy it.”
“Sit.” He gestured to the barstool. “It’s almost ready.”
Kelsey shrugged out of her black coat and hung it on a chair at the dining table while he went to check on the pressure cooker.
“Is this the small talk section before we get into the heavy stuff?” she asked.
He glanced over his shoulder. “It doesn’t have to be.”
She braced her elbows on the bar and studied him. “I don’t think this is going to work.”
Logan kept his face as neutral as possible while he processed that statement. He wasn’t surprised to hear her say that, but he was disappointed.
Hadn’t she felt the spark between them? Couldn’t she see the potential? What was holding her back? Was it something he’d done? Or something from her past holding her back?
“Why’s that?” he asked.
“Age difference.”
“Seven years?” He squinted at her. “My parents are ten years apart, so I am going to disagree with you there.”
“Wait—what?”
He chuckled. “Mom likes to say she robbed the cradle.”
Kelsey’s eyebrows rose. “Your mom is ten years older than your dad?”
He held up a finger. “Sorry, ten years, one month and three days. Dad likes to be very precise about that.”
Kelsey grinned and her features softened. “Wow, okay. What’s his deal? Is he a mathematician or something?”
“No, he’s a professor. He used to specialize in mythology, but moved into Native American studies when there was an opportunity.”
“What’s your mom do? Is she a professor, too?”
“No. She’s a baker. She always dreamed of working in a French pastry shop, but that never worked out. So, she made her own.”
Kelsey’s smile was utterly charming.
Logan had a goal, though. Distracting her with his parents wasn’t going to get them there. “I’m guessing age is not the only point on your list?”
Her smile dimmed until she was once again serious. “I’m twenty-nine. I have no idea what I really want to do with my life. I’m not ready to settle down or be serious about anything except this job right now. I don’t know what comes next.”
Logan leaned against the far counter and faced her. “And you think that’s an issue?”
Her gaze traveled down his chest, then back up. “You scream commitment and settling down.”
He blinked at her. “Do I?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh.” That was news to him. “Well, I don’t actually know what I want to do either. So, we’re in the same spot there. All I’m really focused on is this job right now. I have no idea what I’ll do next.”
“What? Really?” She frowned. “The guys talk about you like you’ve got it all figured out.”
“Because you’re talking to Jamie and Harper.” He chuckled. “Those two don’t have anything figured out.”
“True,” she said slowly.
The pressure cooker beeped and Logan flipped the release valve. He watched the steam shoot up.
“I guess you’ve got me pegged when it comes to commitment, though. I like knowing where I stand with people.” He glanced at her. “Maybe that’s why we’ve clashed so much?”
She tilted her head to the side. “You think?”
“Possibly.”
He twisted the top off the pressure cooker and busied himself preparing the chicken, stirring the sauce and making two plates.
Kelsey had gotten under his skin from the very beginning. Before Logan even met her. All he’d been told was that there was a missing FBI agent. He’d had a visceral reaction to that news. That was the first time he’d met Samuel and Baruti. They’d worked together to bring Kelsey and Jamie’s girlfriend, Tabby, home safe. Deep down, Logan had never quite forgiven either of them for allowing Kelsey to get taken like she had.
Was that where his suspicion was rooted?
“Wow, this looks good,” Kelsey muttered as he slid a plate across to her.
Logan circled the bar to sit on the stool next to her. Yes, he had a large dining table and chairs, but that was only there for meetings. He didn’t actually like sitting at it.
“I was about to retire when this job came up,” he said, deciding to lay it all out there.
“What?” She froze with her first bite halfway to her mouth.
He nodded. “I had—still have—a typed up two weeks’ notice. It was in my jacket pocket the day my boss called me in to brief me about the Task Force. We got twenty-four hours to say yes or no. I decided that I couldn’t leave my guys to do this without me. If the majority of them said yes, I’d go