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“Thanks.” He reached down to make a fuss over both dogs before they followed Lucky and Dalton over to a pile of mats. He smiled as the dogs settled down together to watch their men work out.
~ ~ ~
Tori couldn’t resist giving her mom another hug before she and Xander left. Her eyes pricked with tears yet again when her mom squeezed her tightly and whispered, “Thank you, darling. This afternoon was wonderful.”
“It really was, Mom. I love you.” Tori’s voice came out as a croak.
Xander held the door of the truck open for her, and she pecked Russ’s cheek before climbing in.
“I forgot to ask,” said Russ, “Have you guys spoken with Clay yet about delivering this thing to him?”
“I called him this morning,” said Tori. “We’re supposed to take it over to him this weekend.”
“I’m going to talk to Smoke before then about renting a car from the airport until we can buy one,” said Xander.
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” said Russ. “There are a couple of dealerships down Route 20; we can drive you guys out there anytime you like.”
“Thanks,” said Xander.
Tori met her mom’s gaze and laughed. Her mom gave her a rueful smile in return. When Tori first moved to Nashville, they’d had a long running battle over her mom wanting to buy her a car.
“I’m staying out of this one, I’ve learned my lesson.”
Tori smiled at her. “Thanks, Mom. I’m going to stay out of it, too. Xander’s the one who does most of the driving, so I’ll leave it up to him.”
Xander came around and climbed into the driver’s seat, and they both waved as they pulled away.
“I take it things went well between you and your mom?” Xander asked as he turned out of the driveway.
She nodded happily. “I can honestly say that was the best afternoon that I’ve ever spent with her.”
“That’s awesome, sprite. I’m happy for you – I’m happy for your mom, too.”
Tori slid to the middle of the bench seat and rested her head against his shoulder. “I’m happy all around. I was all tense about this and now I feel silly. There was no need. And you don’t mind having dinner with them tomorrow?”
“I don’t just not mind; I’m looking forward to it. I like Russ, he’s a good guy. And you already know that I like your mom, and I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to her today.”
Tori laughed. “I’m not even going to say sorry about that. You didn’t get the chance to spend much time with her because I was hogging her, and I never thought I’d see the day that would happen.”
He shot her a quick smile. “You know that I was hoping it would.”
She made a face at him. “Xander Jacobs, are you saying I told you so?”
He laughed. “Nope. I’m not. I’m saying that I’m happy for you. What do you want to do now? Are you ready to head back to the house?”
Tori glanced out the window at the lake. “We can, if you like, but maybe we should explore a bit first?”
“Sounds good to me, where do you want to start?”
“Let’s go and have a look at the resort. When we came before, Bentley, Willow, and I stayed over at the Lodge at Four Mile Creek. I liked it over there – it’s really nice, but I want to see the resort.” She smiled. “That’s where Bentley and Alyssa were both staying when they met.”
Xander grinned. “And things have worked out pretty well for them. We should definitely go take a look.”
~ ~ ~
Xander parked the truck in the square, and as soon as they reached the restaurant, Tori headed for the ladies’ room.
He made his way to the bar with a smile on his face. She hadn’t even told him what she wanted to drink – she’d just said that she would meet him there. They’d spent so much time on the road together now that they had their own routine. He knew that she would want an apple juice and a menu. He didn’t think that they were here for dinner, but Tori loved to study the menu wherever they stopped. She wasn’t a big eater, she just liked to see what was on offer wherever they were.
