Page 92 of Lee

Lee once again made s’mores for both of them, taking great delight in the perfection of the marshmallows he’d toasted.

Rori had no idea why he did things like that for her, but she wasn’t going to question it. She just hoped that he was doing them because he wanted to, and not because he felt like he had to.

“Do you want more?” Lee asked as they finished the ones he’d made them.

“Tempting, but I’m fine,” she said. “Thank you for making me this one.”

Lee smiled. “You’re welcome. I love the challenge of trying to get the perfect marshmallow.”

“Seems like you’ve managed it,” Rori said. “Neither of the ones you’ve made for me have been burnt.”

“Daddy!” Amelia wailed. “It fell!”

Rori looked over to where the little girl was pointing into the flames. Blake immediately went to his daughter, stopping only briefly to pick up another marshmallow. He lowered himself to a knee beside Amelia and put the marshmallow on her stick.

“Try again, Berry.” He helped her position the stick close to, but not directly in, the flickering flames.

Rori leaned close to Lee and said, “Why does he call her Berry?”

Lee glanced at Rori before watching the father and daughter duo once more. “Apparently, she’s a big berry fan. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries. She loves them all.”

“That’s cute.”

“Do you have a nickname?”

Rori shrugged. “Not like that. I mean, Rori is shortened from my real name.”

“Which is?”

“Aurora.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

“My grandmother chose it for me.”

“Was she a Disney fan?”

Rori shook her head. “I was named after her mother.”

“That’s nice.”

“What about you?” Rori asked, appreciating the opportunity to exchange a bit of personal information with the man. “Is Lee short for something?”

“Not that I’m aware of. My folks said it was the name I had when they adopted me.”

“Were you a baby when they adopted you?”

Lee shook his head. “I was three.”

“Do you know anything about your birth family?” After she asked it, Rori realized that perhaps that wasn’t an appropriate question to ask someone who had been adopted.

“No. Although I’m endeavoring to remedy that.”

Rori’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Lee glanced around before answering. “I was told by a girlfriend that not knowing about my biological past made me a bad choice for husband and father.”

“What?” Rori wondered if she’d misunderstood. Someone hadn’t wanted to marry him because he didn’t know about his birth family?

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