Page 110 of Lee

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if no one was acknowledging you on your birthday, you would have been pouting and sighing and waiting for someone to ask you what was wrong. Then you’d drop vague hints, assuming we could all read your mind.”

“I’m not that bad,” Charli protested.

“Oh yes, you are. If Blake didn’t wish you happy birthday the moment you opened your eyes on your birthday, you wouldn’t be happy.”

Charli hummed. “Maybe.”

“Definitely.”

“Hey. The purpose of this call isn’t to dissect my personality flaws,” Charli said. “This is about Rori’s birthday. If she’s not reacting at all, either she really doesn’t care, or she’s good at hiding what she’s feeling.”

“Yeah. I don’t know.” He didn’t think she could hide her feelings that well, but perhaps there were layers to her that he hadn’t been allowed to reach yet. They still hadn’t talked much about her childhood. “But we’re going to show her that we care, and we want to celebrate the day she was born.”

“I can’t wait,” Charli said. “And the girls and Peyton are going to be thrilled to have a party to plan. Hope you’re not wanting something super sophisticated and elegant. That won’t happen.”

Lee chuckled, relieved that instead of giving him all the reasons why it wasn’t convenient to put together a party in under four hours, his sister had jumped right in with both feet.

“I’ll try to delay leaving from here, so everyone has time to get there before we do.”

“Perfect! See you in a bit.”

Lee felt significantly better after his conversation with Charli. He was so grateful for his family and how they were always ready to jump in and help.

Just before the clinic closed, Lee headed over to the shelter side of the building. As he passed Rori at the reception desk, he paused and said, “I’m going to do a quick check of the dog and cat that were brought in today, then we can go.”

Her smile showed not an ounce of hidden disappointment or being upset. “I might come over to see them when I’m finished here.”

“Perfect.”

He left her to it and pushed through the door into the shelter. Everyone else had already left, leaving just Evan to keep an eye on things.

Lee chatted with the man for a minute, then headed to where the two new animals were being held for these first few days.

He checked on the dog first, happy to see that he was moving around a bit more than he had been earlier. When the door opened, he glanced over to see Rori stepping through it.

Since the clinic was closed, Lee held out his hand, and when Rori took it, he drew her to his side. He pressed a kiss to her temple. It was the only type of kiss he’d allowed himself so far. He didn’t think it was his right to kiss her when he had yet to tell her he loved her.

It was there, though. He just hadn’t found the perfect opportunity yet.

“How is he?” Rori asked as she laid her head on his arm. “He looks like such a sweetie.”

“He does seem to be pretty mild-mannered,” Lee agreed. “And I didn’t find any obvious signs of abuse or neglect, and he appears to be well-fed. Unfortunately, the phone number attached to his tattoo doesn’t work. Rachel is monitoring social media to see if anyone has reported a dog like him missing. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have someone here to pick him up tomorrow.”

“That would be a happy ending,” Rori said.

“We get a few of them,” Lee said. “Unfortunately, not as many as we’d like.”

“How’s the cat?”

“Seems like she might be a bit feral, but otherwise, she’s okay.”

“That’s good.”

He took his time finishing up his evaluation on both animals, wanting to give everyone enough time to get to the house before he arrived with Rori. She didn’t seem upset by the delay, and when he asked if she wanted to go by her place to change, she said yes.

As usual, she was in and out of the apartment building in short order, swapping out the jeans and work T-shirt she’d been wearing for a pair of denim capris and a floaty, see-through blouse over a tank top. Her practical work style didn’t spill over into her casual attire as much as it had when they’d first started hanging out.

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