Page 79 of Lee

More than happy to hold his niece, Lee took Shiloh from Charli and got her settled on his shoulder. “Is she ready for a nap?”

“Yeah. Maybe you can get her to sleep.”

Lee slowly rubbed her back as he swayed back and forth. Though he hadn’t had a lot of contact with babies while in Chicago, he’d had plenty of experience as he was growing up.

Though he’d been almost eight when Cole was born, he had clearer memories of helping his mom with Skylar when she’d been born a couple of years later. He remembered holding her so his mom could do other things.

He hadn’t been the only one holding her, of course. Since there were so many kids, including several that were older than him, they had all helped out.

Glancing over at Rori, he saw that she was still petting Elsa. She was also watching him with Shiloh. He wondered if she’d thought about having a family herself.

In his mind, he’d always assumed he’d have children one day. His ex had told him she didn’t want to have children without knowing what they might end up carrying in their genetic makeup.

Maybe she had a point.

But he assumed there were adoptive parents who didn’t know everything about their children. They just took them in and loved them.

That’s what Charli and Blake were doing with Shiloh.

“Would you like to hold her?”

Rori’s gaze slid to Shiloh for a moment, then she said, “She looks happy with you.”

It was true. She’d settled, her small body going lax against his chest as soon as he’d begun to rock her.

“Who’s up for another game?” Jay asked.

Carisa jumped up, but Misha stayed seated.

“I’m sitting this one out,” Misha said.

“Me too,” Lee said. “I’m on baby duty.”

“I can take her back if you want,” Charli offered.

“Nope. I’m good.” Lee was actually glad for a valid reason to stay on the blanket with Rori.

He felt a bit like Rori was a magnet and he was a piece of metal, helpless to resist her draw. It was stronger than anything he’d experienced before, and he wasn’t exactly sure why.

He prayed that it was because this was a good thing, a God thing, and not simply a yearning of his flesh.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Rori hung up the phone and saved the appointment entry on her computer screen. Between phone calls and appointments, it had been a busy morning for a Wednesday.

“Do you have plans for lunch?”

Lee’s voice had her looking up with a smile, then his words sank in. “Lunch?”

He nodded. “I told Carisa I’d come by and look at the puppies. I thought you might like to go with me.”

“Is she okay with that?”

Rori still wasn’t sure what to make about Carisa. She was friendly and talkative with Lee, but she was also that way with the other guys. Not really flirting, but edging in on it.

Maybe it was just that Rori couldn’t imagine a woman not wanting to get close to Lee. He was amazing. So she struggled to trust what Carisa was showing to them.

Carisa could be like her, hiding how she truly felt out of fear of rejection. Although, Rori doubted that was the case. Something told her that Carisa got what Carisa wanted, and she wasn’t the sort to worry about someone rejecting her.

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