Page 84 of Under the Radar

She was right. It had been great.

The band revved up for their last number—a rock ballad that had been huge in the eighties. I spun her in my arms, and we swayed to the music, kissing under the stars and not caring who saw us. The song ended, and the applause was loud. We waited patiently as the crowds dispersed, surprised when we bumped into Stefano and Gabby.

“I didn’t know you were here,” I said.

He grinned. “We love these festivals. Maxx and Charly are here too somewhere.”

“I assume Mack and Rosa have the kids?”

“Yep.” He glanced at Hannah. “I think I saw your mom and Dom too.”

Hannah’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

“I was sure it was them, but I lost them in the crowd.”

“Huh,” I muttered. “He never mentioned it earlier at the garage.”

Hannah pouted a little. “Neither did Mom when I spoke to her yesterday.”

“Ah, those crazy kids,” Stefano chuckled.

I had to laugh. “Yep.”

“Where’re you parked?”

“The field at the edge.”

“We’re going for sliders first,” Hannah interjected.

“Oh, sounds good.”

“Come join us.”

“Join you for what?” Charly appeared at my elbow.

I laughed, dropping my arm around her shoulder. “Sliders.”

“Ooh, good idea.”

“No curfew tonight?”

She smiled widely. “Nope. Rosa and Mack have all the kids tonight. Mary and Larry were there for the day. We’re going over in the morning for brunch and to pick up the kids.”

Stefano laughed. “Theo won’t want to come home. He never does.”

Maxx chuckled. “Ours are the same. They get spoiled.”

“So, sliders for six, then?” I asked.

“Let’s go!”

The crowds dwindled as we ate our late snacks. We ordered a bunch of items, creating our own little buffet of delicious messiness. We ate sliders and cheese fries. Chicken bites and burnt ends. More mini donuts Hannah simply had to have. All were eaten with our fingers, with plenty of napkins to wipe up the gooeyness. We sat at two picnic tables, watching as the fair began to shut down and the late-nighters walked around, enjoying the benefits of the quieter grounds. Music still played, and the rides were running for at least another hour. We talked about the concert, the crafts, and the day. It felt great to be part of the conversation, sharing the time I spent with Hannah instead of being on the fringes of the day. Tagging along with one of the couples. Today, I was one of them. I slipped an arm around Hannah, tucking her to my side and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“What was that for?” she asked, a donut held between her fingers and cinnamon-sugar on her lips. I bent and kissed her again, tasting the sweetness on her mouth.

“For being you.”

She smiled at me. “Carry on, then.”