Page 94 of Lee

He acted like it was no big deal, but it was a huge deal to Rori. Walking beside Lee in the warm summer night felt like a dream.

She didn’t know why it was happening, but she was going to enjoy every single minute of it.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Lee slowed to a stop and waited as Elsa sniffed all around the base of a large shade tree. Rori’s hand on his arm felt right, and he hoped it did for her too.

Their earlier conversation had cemented his plan to ask her out. As long as she was being honest about it, his unknown past wasn’t an issue for her.

And when he’d realized that, he hadn’t wanted their time together that evening to end. Lee knew it was time to let her know how he felt. Normally, he wouldn’t walk Elsa for too long in the evening, but that night, he planned to take her all around the neighborhood.

“Is this an older neighborhood?” Rori asked as they waited for Elsa to start off again.

“Not really. The oldest homes in this area were probably built back in the eighties. There are definitely older areas of town.”

“It’s so pretty with all these trees. They’re big and leafy.”

“Yep. And as you’ll see in a couple of months, they’re even prettier when autumn arrives.”

“I look forward to taking some pictures then.”

Throughout their walk, Lee answered all the questions she had about life in Serenity, including his years spent growing up there. He would have liked to ask about her life, but he got the feeling she wasn’t ready to share beyond what she already had.

He was glad she’d shared at least that much with him because it had given him a bit of insight into her. It had helped him to understand why she was so hesitant to immediately accept invitations. She’d probably never been made to feel wanted in her life, which meant that she had a hard time believing that she would be wanted somewhere.

It was his hope and prayer that soon she would come to understand that she had value to him and to his family.

They slowly made their way down a few blocks, then Lee guided them a couple of streets over before heading back in the direction of the house. Elsa guaranteed that they didn’t move too quickly, but eventually, they approached the house.

As they walked up the sidewalk to the front porch, Lee slowed to a stop, and Elsa took advantage of that to sniff the plants in the yard.

When Lee shifted to face Rori, her hand slipped from his arm. She looked up at him with a curious expression.

“I don’t know if you’ve been able to tell,” Lee began, feeling a bit like he was back in high school, trying to ask his crush out. “But I like you.” He hesitated. “I mean, like, really like you.”

In the light cast from the lamp post that was in the landscaped area next to where they stood, Lee could see Rori’s eyes widen as her mouth dropped open. Was that a good surprise or a bad surprise?

“You like me?” she asked, her voice soft. Her tone was incredulous.

“I do.” He wasn’t going to back down now. It felt like an all-or-nothing sort of moment, and he was going to dive right in. “And I’d like to spend more time with you.”

Lee thought she might like to do that too. She’d seemed to enjoy the time they spent together, and she had accepted his invitation for the pizza night readily enough.

Still, his heart banged against his ribs as he waited for her to respond, praying that she felt as he did and would want to move things beyond just friendship.

“So like… you want to go on a…?” Her voice trailed off, as if she was afraid to say the word.

“Date,” he filled in for her. “Yes. I would like to go on a date with you.”

“Oooh.” The word escaped her as she continued to stare at him.

Lee smiled, understanding in that moment that while she might like him, she hadn’t thought it would actually go anywhere.

“Is that a yes?”

Finally, she seemed to snap out of her shock. “You really want to go on a date with me?”

“Of course,” Lee assured her.

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