Page 103 of Lee

Rori laughed. “Yeah. I can see how that might not be desirable.”

“It’ll start happening to you soon,” Lee warned. “Just you wait.”

For all that Lee made it sound like a bad thing, Rori kinda liked the idea that people would not only recognize her but would want to spend some time chatting with her.

Rori spent a couple more minutes taking pictures of the flowers, even catching a bee landing on one of them. Out of the corner of her eye, Rori saw Lee walk up to a nearby tree, reaching out to touch the bark.

Again, she focused the camera on Lee and took a quick succession of pictures. Lee glanced over at her and grinned when he saw the camera pointed at him.

After she got a couple of shots, Lee straightened and then struck a bodybuilder pose. Rori grinned as she snapped another picture. He went through a series of crazy poses, each one making Rori laugh harder, until she wasn’t sure that the pictures she was taking were in focus thanks to her laughter.

“You’re crazy,” Rori said as she lowered the camera.

“But I’m making you laugh.” Lee sauntered over to her. “I count that as a win.”

And he should. It was a rare thing that she laughed so hard, and Rori loved that Lee had been the one to make her do it.

“It is a win,” she assured him. “I haven’t laughed like that in a very, very long time.”

Lee grinned. “That makes acting like I’m crazy worth it.”

Rori wanted to cap off the moment with a hug, but she wasn’t sure that was appropriate just yet. Hopefully soon, though.

As they settled back on the blanket, they continued chatting about everything and nothing. Rori was glad they seemed to find lots to talk about because she just didn’t want their time together to end.

The group who’d gone by earlier reappeared, once again giving them a wave.

“Want another sandwich?” Lee asked. “More potato salad?”

Rori wasn’t especially hungry, even though it had been a few hours since they’d eaten, but she still agreed to eat more. The cooler bag with ice packs had kept the food cool, so it was still delicious.

Neither of them ate quickly, and this time, they talked about the movies and TV shows they enjoyed. They shared a lot of the same interests, mainly because even though Rori loved reading romance novels, she didn’t care much for romantic movies.

The more she discovered she had in common with Lee, the more she hoped that they would be able to make a relationship work.

A little after six, they finally packed everything up. Rori found it hard to believe they’d hung out for over six hours. It felt like it had only been a couple.

When they pulled up to her building, Rori expected to just say goodnight and get out. However, Lee turned off the engine and climbed out as well.

Did he expect something… more?

Rori hoped not because she wasn’t mentally prepared for that yet.

But when they got to her door, he lingered in the hallway when she opened her door.

“Can I pick you up for church tomorrow morning?” he asked.

“Isn’t it kind of out of your way?”

Lee shrugged. “Not really, and I’d love to walk into church with you. To sit with you. If that’s what you’d like as well.”

Rori hadn’t really thought about it, but now that Lee had put the thought in her mind, she wanted it too.

“Sure. What time should I be ready?”

After he gave her a time, he said, “I had a wonderful time this afternoon. Thank you so much for sharing it with me.”

“Thank you,” Rori said. “You put a lot of effort into preparing everything. I really appreciated every moment of it.”

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