undercover work, this was what she did. Not him. This was her time to shine and pull her weight.
Felecia and Diha waited to the left of the doors leading out of the room, both watching her with wide eyes.
“Hey,” Kelsey said a little too brightly. “You guys ready to go? Because I am starving.”
“I am!” Cat called out from the hall.
Kelsey laughed, waved at one of the CIA agents who caught her eye. “I can always count on you, Cat. Hi, Nadine.”
Nadine Baker was one of the two most senior CIA agents on the task force. She had a petite, grandmotherly appearance with her silver bob and old fashioned skirt suit. Kelsey admired the woman. She’d not only worked in the CIA for decades, she seemed to have thrived, earned the respect of her peers and was still going despite being at or past retirement.
“You girls off to cause problems?” Nadine asked.
“Yes. The worst kind.” Kelsey waited for Nadine to reach her and fold her into a hug.
Nadine was one of those people that had surprised Kelsey. Nadine could be a ruthless bloodhound when she was on the hunt for something. But the rest of the time? She was what Kelsey would have wanted in a grandmother if she’d ever known hers. Warm. Affectionate.
The girls said their goodbyes to Nadine while Logan slunk off in the other direction.
Kelsey’s smile remained firmly in place as they made their way out of the building and down to the parking garage. Thankfully Diha had already spoken up about driving them so they were saved from another harrowing experience of Felecia’s driving.
The moment the car doors shut, Kelsey knew her reprieve was over.
“What the what?” Felecia turned to look at Kelsey in the back seat with Cat. “What was going on in there?”
Cat shimmied in her seat. “What’d I miss?”
“Logan and Kelsey were having words.” Diha glanced back at her in the rearview mirror.
“It wasn’t a big deal.” Kelsey waved her hand. “Logan just wanted to make sure we can play in the same sandbox and be nice.”
Felecia’s face scrunched up. “I still don’t understand why you two clash so much.”
“I don’t either,” Diha said.
Cat leaned against the door. “Strong personalities. Kind of like how if you put two positive magnets together they’ll push apart? That’s the two of you.”
“He just creates problems. Every time, I swear. There was no reason to pull me aside. That creates an issue to talk about and now it’s something that should have never been.” Kelsey slumped down in the seat. “Next topic? Are we ready to talk about Miles yet?”
Diha groaned. “God, not yet.”
Felecia bounced in her seat. “Your parents have really taken to him.”
“I know.” Diha pressed her hands to her cheeks. “I’m scared of wanting this to work.”
Kelsey waved her hand. “Shut up. Miles is crazy about you.”
“By the way.” Cat leaned forward between the seats. “Tell your parents thanks again for inviting all of us over? That was really nice.”
Diha smiled. “We loved having everyone over for Thanksgiving.”
Kelsey couldn’t help but smile, too.
Holidays were always an awkward affair for her. Her parents had divorced, remarried and passed away. Which left her with an odd assortment of half-siblings and step parents she’d never really gotten to know. They weren’t people she had close relationships with and were at the bottom of her list to visit for holidays. She’d fully expected to spend the Thanksgiving weekend at her apartment or window shopping.
Instead, Diha and her family had extended the offer to all those without a home to join them. Kelsey hadn’t known what to expect, but it hadn’t been a day full of smiles and laughter, all while eating the most delicious food. Seriously, turkey curry? Who’d have thought that would be as good as it was?
Diha parked outside the small restaurant they’d all fallen in love with. A month ago they’d started going out every other week. Having coworkers and a routine like this was still a novel concept to Kelsey. Truth be told, it was good for her.
These women were good for her. She’d be grateful for this chance to work with the task force if for nothing else than she’d met them. For the first time in her adult life, she had a group of girl friends.
When she left, she’d miss this.
“Are you sure Logan isn’t into you?” Felecia asked after their drink order had been taken.
“What?” Kelsey blinked across the table.
God, part of her wanted that to be true. But she knew