Page 42 of Lee

“Is that okay, Rori?” Charli asked.

“Yep. That’s fine.”

“Well, you take their picture,” she said, gesturing to Janessa and Will. “I’ll go talk to Aria.”

Since there were only two of them, photographing Will and Janessa went quickly. Rori had a hard time keeping the camera steady because she kept laughing at their antics. They were so funny, not taking things too seriously as they arranged themselves into wacky poses.

“Think you got any good shots?” Will asked.

“I’m not sure…” Rori said with a grin.

Janessa made grabby hands. “Let’s see.”

Rori showed them the pictures, which they both declared were perfect. When they were done, Aria and Gareth were there with Timothy.

Much like Charli, Aria had poses in mind, and when they were done, she and Gareth appeared to like what they saw on the camera screen.

Even after all that time taking pictures, Lee was still talking to the woman. He had his back angled toward them, so he was probably oblivious to everything that had gone on since starting the conversation with his ex-girlfriend.

Back at the blanket, Rori packed up her camera, then she went to Charli. “Thank you so much for including me this afternoon.”

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes. I still have a few things to do today before we dive into the week.”

“Well, I’m so happy you ended up joining us,” Charli said, then gave her a wink. “Maybe next time you’ll come when I invite you.”

“I’ll definitely consider it more seriously.”

“I’m glad to hear that. And now I have your phone number so I can harass you from a distance.”

Rori had no idea why she’d want to do that, or if Charli would actually follow through, but she liked the idea that Charli had at least thought about it.

After she had gathered up all her stuff, she said goodbye to the others, then headed in the opposite direction of where Lee stood, even though her car wasn’t parked that way. The plan was to avoid drawing Lee’s attention to her departure.

Keeping her head bent, Rori walked for a while before crossing the road that ran through the park. Keeping to the grass, she circled back around to the garden.

Parts of the walk tempted her to stop and take more pictures, but Rori would save that for another day. Summer wasn’t over, and even when it did end, there would probably be glorious autumnal colors to shoot. Though she’d had fun taking pictures of people and animals, she would never abandon the nature photography she’d always loved.

The one person Rori wished she’d gotten a picture of was Lee. It was probably for the best that she hadn’t, however, or she’d move way beyond crush into unrequited love. Normally, she didn’t have this much interaction with someone she had a crush on.

The last guy she’d crushed on had been a water delivery driver. He’d come by the dental office once a week to drop off water, and they’d chat for a few minutes each time. It had never gotten personal, so she’d always known there would never be anything between them. And she’d been fine with that.

It was different with Lee, though. Already, she knew more about him than any other man she’d had a crush on. And with each new thing she learned, her attraction to him grew. Which would only lead to disaster.

Having a crush not return her feelings wasn’t anything new, even though it always hurt a bit hurt. However, falling in love with someone who didn’t love her in return would be devastating.

Somehow, she had to figure out how to be around Lee without being drawn to him even further. Or be strong enough to say no when they wanted to include her in things.

CHAPTER TEN

“Are you getting back together?” Charli asked as she put a bottle into the diaper bag on the counter.

Lee looked up from where he was preparing his supper. “Getting back together?”

“With Anya.”

“Of course not.”

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