Page 59 of Lee

“Perfect.”

Lee couldn’t keep from smiling as they walked out the back door to where their cars were parked. “See you soon.”

He couldn’t quite believe that Rori had agreed, but Lee was so glad she had. It seemed that his heart had finally won over his brain.

At least for the moment.

Maybe he’d wise up, but he wouldn’t really be mad if he didn’t.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Rori hurried to change out of her work shirt and into a dusty rose T-shirt. She was tempted to change into one of her nicer blouses, but she reminded herself that this wasn’t a date. This was an evening with friends… Well, acquaintances.

She ran a brush through her hair, then swiped on a little concealer to cover the darker than usual smudges beneath her eyes, thanks to her shortened night of sleep. After adding a bit of lip gloss, she considered herself ready.

Once Rori was in her car, she pulled up the map app on her phone so she could input the address Lee had given her.

His invitation had come as a surprise, and her heart had definitely fluttered with excitement at the prospect of spending time with him. She had expected that any further invitations would come from Charli, so it was hard not to want to read something into the fact that this one came from Lee. But that would be a waste of time and emotion.

However, the invitation made her feel… hopeful that these people actually wanted her around. That they weren’t just tolerating her presence because she and Lee worked together.

There was no reason they had to include her. From what she’d seen so far, Lee hadn’t invited Alys or anyone else from the clinic to join him and his family.

So maybe it wasn’t a pity invitation, and they really did want her to be there with them.

If that was the case, the last thing she wanted was to do something to make them change their mind. It was why she wished there was something she could contribute to the meal, so they didn’t feel like she was leeching off them.

These were the first people who didn’t seem to have their fill of friendships already. In Denver, the people around her had apparently assumed she had a set of friends outside of work, just like they did.

Here, however, they must have realized that she wouldn’t have friends close by since she was new to the area.

Rori hoped with all her heart that they weren’t assuming that she’d move on to other friendships once she was settled in Serenity. Because she wasn’t sure she’d have any better luck making friends on her own there than she had in Denver.

After she came to a stop in front of the address Lee had given her, Rori stared out the passenger side window at the house. She’d wondered about the living situation when Lee had mentioned he and Janessa both lived with Charli. Now she could see that even with all of them living together, they had plenty of room because the house was huge.

It wasn’t like the mansion her mom currently lived in, but it looked spacious and homey. There was an abundance of flowers growing in elevated beds along the front of the house, and there were several large trees in the front yard. It was beautiful.

Pushing aside the feeling that she didn’t belong there, Rori climbed out of the car and headed for the front door. She’d barely pressed the bell when the door swung open to reveal Layla and Amelia. The younger girl held a squirming Elsa.

“Hi, Rori!” Layla greeted her with a wide smile.

When the girl motioned for her to come inside, Rori stepped into a large foyer. It had shiny wood floors with a carpet runner leading away from the door. There was a narrow table set against the wall to her right with flowers and several framed pictures, and a large mirror above it with more framed photos surrounding it. The space was warm and welcoming.

After Layla closed the door, Amelia put Elsa down on the floor and the puppy approached Rori for some petting. Once she’d straightened from that, Layla surprised her by giving her a quick hug. Emotion swamped Rori as she wrapped her arms around the young girl.

How long had it last been since someone had hugged her? The way-too-short hug was like getting a single gulp of water after being in the desert.

Rori clenched and relaxed her hands, then took a deep breath as she followed the girls into the kitchen.

The large, sunny space was a hub of activity. Lee was there along with his sisters, and the baby was in a swing off to the side and out of the way of the adults. Lee had changed into a pair of long basketball shorts and a black T-shirt and looked very relaxed and at home in the kitchen.

“Hi, Rori,” Charli called out with a smile. “Welcome to chaos.”

“We’re trying something new,” Janessa said. “Someone at church was selling an outdoor pizza oven, and for some reason, we thought it would be a good idea to buy it and start making our own, since we eat pizza at least once a week.”

“So not only do you get to eat pizza tonight,” Lee said. “You also get to make it.”

Rori smiled. “That sounds like fun.”

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