Page 98 of Lee

"Wow, Lee, this... this is breathtaking," Rori breathed out as they reached the blanket. Her eyes sparkled with unspoken words, a mixture of admiration and something more.

"I thought you might like it." Lee couldn’t keep the hopeful anticipation from his voice. "There's so much beauty here. I knew it would be perfect for you to take pictures if you wanted."

Her hand tightened around his arm where she held onto him. “I do want to do that.”

“But first, let’s eat.”

Rori slipped off her sandals before she stepped onto the blanket and sank down to sit cross-legged. “I tried to imagine what you might have planned, but I didn’t come close. This is amazing.”

Lee couldn’t help but smile as he settled across from her. It was exactly the response he’d hoped for. Not because he wanted to feel good, but because it meant that she was happy.

“Let’s pray, and then we can dig in,” Lee said, holding his hands out.

Rori hesitated for just a moment before taking them, then she bowed her head.

“Heavenly Father, thank you for the beauty of this moment. The beauty of the nature you created, but also of Rori. Please bless our conversation, and may this time we spend together be honoring to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Rori also murmured an amen before lifting her head. Their gazes locked for a moment, and Lee was loath to let go of Rori’s hands. But they couldn’t eat with their hands clasped, nor could Rori take pictures, so he gave her fingers a squeeze, then released them.

“We have potato salad, chips, and all the fixings for sandwiches.” There were also fresh strawberries and some whipped cream that Charli had insisted he bring for dessert, even though he’d just been planning on brownies.

“You’ve done such a great job with this.” She took the paper plate he held out to her. “Thank you for all your efforts to make this date special.”

“I have to be honest and say that I didn’t do it all by myself. Charli helped me a lot.”

“So she was okay with us going on a date?” Rori asked, her gaze sliding from his to focus on the sandwich she was assembling.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t she be?” Lee sensed that Rori had assumed there would be some objections to their dating. Why, he didn’t know. “And even if she wasn’t, that wouldn’t have stopped me from asking you out.”

Her blue eyes widened. “You would have still set all this up, even if your family didn’t like me?”

Lee had no idea why she thought people might not like her. From everything he’d seen of her, she got along well with everyone. If she’d been a highly divisive person, he didn’t think he would have been attracted to her.

In all honesty, he’d dated a couple of women his family probably wouldn’t have liked had they had the chance to get to know them. But that definitely wasn’t the case with Rori.

If there was one thing he’d like to change about Rori, it was for her to be more aware of her value to people. Of her value to God.

He suspected the reason she was so self-abasing had to do with her family. If they were all as distant as her mother was, Rori probably hadn’t had anyone to let her know she was worth having in their lives. Worth loving.

Before Rori began to eat, she opened her bag and pulled out her camera. Lee watched as she checked the lens, then lifted the camera to her eye as she aimed it at her lunch.

After she’d taken a couple of shots, Rori turned the camera to where the picnic basket sat on the blanket.

“You couldn’t just take pictures with your phone?” Lee teased.

She grinned at him. “Nope. If I’ve got my camera with me, I’m going to use it over my phone. Plus, my phone doesn’t have the best camera on it. Certainly not as good as this.”

After taking a few more pictures, she set aside her camera and picked up her fork to take a bite of the potato salad. “This is delicious. Maybe the best I’ve ever eaten.”

“Misha’s mom actually made that. Denise is a terrific cook.”

“Have I met her?”

“Maybe not, though you might have seen her at church.”

“This really was a joint effort,” Rori said.

“Pretty much every special event within our family turns into a joint effort, with everyone pitching in. The only way someone would have to do everything all on their own was if they kept it secret, so no one knew what was going on.”

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