Page 151 of Lee

Rori stepped to the side of the path to wait, looking around the area. Not surprisingly, there were plenty of people taking advantage of the warm spring day. It had been a long winter with an early snow, followed by lots more of the white stuff, a blizzard, and cold temperatures.

The high point of her first winter in Serenity had been Christmas. The first one spent with people who truly wanted to be with her. She’d loved finding gifts for Lee, and then shopping with him for gifts for his family. And on Christmas morning, she’d received more gifts than on any Christmas ever before.

But more than the gifts, she’d enjoyed the events surrounding Christmas, especially the children’s Christmas program that Layla, Amelia, and Peyton had been part of. She couldn’t wait for next Christmas, even if she had to deal with winter all over again.

Finally, the temperatures had climbed, and the snow had melted. Spring had come to Serenity, and flowers were blooming. It was a good reminder that even in the roughest of times, winter ended, and spring brought new life.

Lee jogged back to her, a water bottle in his hand. He offered her his elbow, and she held on to it and walked close to him as they continued to make their way along the path.

“The flowers are already so beautiful,” she remarked as they turned onto a path that led into a garden area. “I can’t imagine what they must look like in full bloom.”

They passed a few people in the garden, but it seemed most preferred to be out in the open, playing sports or sunning themselves on blankets.

“Want to sit down for a few minutes?” Lee asked when they neared a stone bench.

“Sure.”

As they settled onto the bench, Lee slipped his arm around her waist. Rori leaned against him, tilting her head up to see his face. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes, and Rori was happy to see that the tension from earlier in the day had eased from his expression.

Her heart overflowed with love for Lee. He was everything she could have wanted in a man. The way he treated her showed that he thought she was special and worth treasuring. And the way he prioritized their relationship told her that it was as important to him as it was to her.

The past several months hadn’t all been sunshine and roses. While Lee had been dealing with his stuff, Rori had faced a few issues with her mom after she’d discovered that Rori was spending time with Essie. She’d been livid and had made Essie’s life miserable for a bit. In the end, her husband had stepped in and told Rori’s mom to back off.

She’d tried to turn her ire on Rori, but Rori had made it to a point in her life where there was really nothing her mom could do that would upset her. It had bothered her tremendously, however, when she’d attacked Essie, who had been more of a mother to Rori than her own mother had ever been.

But they’d weathered that storm, and any that Lee had dealt with, to come out stronger on the other side of each one. It gave Rori hope for their future together.

For the first time in her life, she could picture being a wife and a mother. But only to Lee and to Lee’s children. She knew it was what he wanted. It was just a matter of when it happened.

The peaceful atmosphere of the garden was nice after the intense time spent at the hotel. Not that it had been bad, but it hadn’t been relaxing. They needed this time to decompress.

“I love you,” Rori said, feeling like the words were needed in that moment. Once she’d said the words the first time, they’d come easier and easier, and he was never stingy with the words either.

Lowering his head, Lee opened his eyes and smiled at her. “I love you too.”

They shared a soft kiss, then Rori said, “Thanks for letting me tag along today.”

“Letting you? There was no letting you,” Lee told her. “I needed you there with me. You’ve been my closest companion on this journey, and I will always choose to have you by my side.”

Rori smiled as his words warmed her. “And I’ll always choose to be there.”

Lee’s expression turned serious as he shifted to face her more fully. His arm slid from her waist, then he took one of her hands.

“Once upon a time, always would have been a bit scary,” Lee said. “But now, it’s all I want. Always with you.”

Rori’s breath caught in her lungs at the depth of emotion she saw in Lee’s eyes.

He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled something out. “I want forever with you, Aurora Harlow-Gray.”

When he lifted his hand, her heart thumped hard in her chest as she realized he held a ring. The gold band was slender, and the diamond on top winked in the sunlight.

“Will you marry me, Rori?” Lee asked. “Will you spend forever with me?”

Tears sprang to her eyes and slid down her cheeks as her emotions got the better of her. This was what she wanted but there had been times she’d struggled to believe it would actually come to fruition.

“Yes. I will,” she said, forcing the words past the tightness in her throat. “I love you, and I can’t imagine marrying any other man. Only you.”

Lee brushed his fingers across her cheeks, wiping away her tears. Then he took her left hand in his and slid the ring on her finger.

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