“Let’s do it together. It’ll mean more if it’s coming from you, and it’ll be official if I’m present.”

“Not relishing the task, but it has to be done.”

He opened the bag of bagels. “I didn’t know what kind you liked, so I got cinnamon raisin, plain, and sesame.”

“Cinnamon raisin.” She turned to the kitchen cabinet and retrieved a couple of plates and two knives. She set it all on the island.

He placed a bagel on her plate and pried open the tub of whipped cream cheese.

“Why do you think he killed himself?” she asked.

“I can only think my visit triggered something in him.”

“Seems like he would have been tougher than that. He’s killed at least three women. He’s seen me almost weekly for years.”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’d feel better if I did.”

“Can anyone place him with Walker?” She felt for the cream cheese, found the tub, and scooped out a generous serving with her knife.

“Not yet. There’re a lot of puzzle pieces that’ll have to be pasted together.”

They both ate in silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. He felt a kinship with her. When she wiped a bit of cream cheese from her lips, his gaze was drawn to the simple action that suddenly felt very erotic. He wondered if her lips tasted as good as they looked.

“I can feel you looking at me,” she said.

“That so?”

“Beams of energy radiate from your eyes,” she said. “It’s almost tangible.”

“I’ll remember to be more circumspect.”

“Don’t change on my account.” She set her bagel down and wiped her fingers with her napkin.

He had never had a solid read on Jordan. He wanted her right now, but that was a complication neither one of them needed.

“You’re thinking so hard I can almost smell the smoke coming from your brain,” she said.

He chuckled. “I’m not a deep thinker.”

“Neither am I. That’s what I like about you. You act and don’t hesitate.”

She came around the island and moved within inches of him. He swiveled around on his barstool so that he faced her. It was one of the few times they were eye to eye.

“When I saw you in the courtroom that first time, I thought you were hot,” Jordan said.

“That so?” As tempted as he was to touch her, he kept his hands at his sides.

A small frown furrowed her brow. “Not being able to see your face now makes it hard. I can’t get a read on you. I can’t tell if you might be a little into me or not.”

“What if I am?”

“It would feel like the most normal thing that’s happened to me in the last few weeks.”