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“I love you, that’s all. And I’m so proud of the woman you are.”

“Mom…”

“Well, I am, and you should hear it. You’ve clearly thought through all the pros and cons, and you’ve come up with a plan that suits everyone. It’s perfect. Is Ellery excited about it?”

“I don’t think she knew how to feel about it,” Lori said. “She said she was overwhelmed.”

“That’s not surprising. It’s a very generous offer. Perhaps she wanted to talk it over with her mom too.”

“That’s okay though, isn’t it? I don’t think I’ll ever get to an age when I won’t seek your advice on things.” And she didn’t even want to contemplate the time when her mom simply wouldn’t be around for her to ask.

Her mom waved the notion away like she was swatting a fly. “You’d better not!”

“Phew.” Lori sighed and enjoyed the warmth that spread through her chest. She really missed her mom and loved talking to her, but they were both so busy, they didn’t get to connect anywhere near as much as she liked. “Will you ask Bruce to draw up a contract and rental agreement for that too?”

“Not yet. I’ll talk to him about it and get him to call you, but there’s no point in us paying him for work that may not be needed. How long have you given Ellery to get back to you?”

Lori bit her lip. “I didn’t give her a schedule. I didn’t think there was any hurry.”

“But she shouldn’t keep you waiting indefinitely.”

“She wouldn’t do that.”

Her mom wrinkled her nose. “I’m sure she wouldn’t, sweetheart, but if she decides she doesn’t want it, I bet there are plenty of non-profits in your area that you could look at. Now that you’ve made the decision to do something about that building, you should maintain your momentum. Remember, this isn’t just about the bricks and mortar; that building represents a part of your life that you’re getting away from.”

Lori nodded. Her mom was right, of course, as she almost always was, which was only mildly frustrating. “How long should I give her to think about it?”

“No more than two weeks, for a principal decision anyway. You don’t have to have all the answers and the particulars settled in that time, but she should be able to give a firm commitment that she wants to move forward with the idea.” Her mom stopped to take a sip of iced tea. “Those lemons you sent me were beautiful, by the way. So tasty.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’m glad they made it to you fully formed,” she said. “So then Bruce will talk to Ellery’s lawyer to hash out an agreement?”

“Exactly. And that might take a little more time than usual, given that you both need the flexibility to assess the picture at the end of each fiscal year and potentially change the figures.”

Lori’s enthusiasm for the idea had deepened as their conversation had progressed, and she couldn’t wait to talk with Gabe and Ellery more. Although she had to admit that meeting Gabe for lunch took precedence. It had been a while since someone new and exciting, and who didn’t work for her, had come into her life, and she was looking forward to getting to know Gabe better. The restoration project itself held little interest, and it wouldn’t until she could begin to plan the actual auction, but building a new friendship with a person as interesting as Gabe seemed to be was very appealing indeed.

Before Lori opened the large glass door to the restaurant, she waved at Gabe, who was sitting in a booth facing the window. Gabe’s slightly crooked and awkward smile made it clear that she wasn’t sure how to handle this lunch. That wasn’t surprising given that Lori had all but dismissed Gabe’s restoration project idea moments before shutting down any potential sexual relationship too.

She entered the burger joint, already fixed on establishing open communication. If they were going to have a business agreement, neither of them needed potential misinterpretation clouding the water, and Lori had never been someone who enjoyed playing power games with people, unlike the lawyer. She pushed that thought away for now and realized she had more processing to do; the lawyer had been on her mind a lot more since Gabe had come into her life two weeks ago. But that was for her and her therapist to sift through another time. Right now, she wanted to continue on this friendship path and not taint it with any comparisons to the lawyer.

“Hey.” Gabe stood to greet her, still looking hesitant.

A hug? A handshake? A kiss on the cheek? Lori took all three options off the table by sliding into the booth opposite where Gabe had been sitting. “Hi, Gabe. How are you?”

“Really good, thanks. And you?”

“Great,” Lori said. God, this wasn’t even a date, and she was already reminded of why she hated dating. The best way to push through this phase was to dive right into the deeper stuff, wasn’t it? That’s what Rosie always purported anyway. And didn’t it make sense that the same rules could be applied to friendships? In many ways, they were more or less the same as sexual relationships. There were just no physical benefits. “I chatted with my mom this morning, and that always brightens my day.”

“Yeah?” Gabe smiled. “That must be nice.”

Before Lori could dig into that response, the waiter came to the table to get their drinks order. She scanned the menu quickly. “Coke Zero, please.”

“Do you mind if I have a beer?”

“Of course not,” she said, wondering why Gabe would think she’d mind.

“I know it’s early, but I’m a little nervous.”

The shy grin that accompanied Gabe’s confession was adorable, even though it seemed totally out of place. She’d seemed supremely self-confident in their previous two meetings. “Why are you nervous?”