Page 105 of A Hard Fit

“Sorry, we do have to run,” Amy apologized. “But we’ll see you tomorrow at Bailey’s party?”

“Yup. See you tomorrow.” Rory sighed as they watched them leave, then they went to find the others. Griffin had joined the group, and was entertaining the kids by folding paper napkins into bunny ears while Steffie and Mikala went to collect the food.

“Uncle Finn!” Cali cried when she saw him. “We did the Ferris wheel and the Ziller, and it was so fun! It whips you all around like…” She turned in mad circles while Finn laughed and caught her before she could fall over.

“Amazing! I’m sorry we missed it. Maybe we can do it again after lunch.”

“Yeah, and the Thrilloscope!”

“And the Thrillcoaster again!” Bryson chimed in.

So they did, and then some. The sun was nudging the horizon when they spilled out of the Diamond Dash for the second time. Cali took Finn’s hand while Bryson hopped around with Leo and Troy in some invented game. Griffin laughed at something Rory said and threw his arm around their shoulders. Steffie fed Mikala a piece of cotton candy.

Family.

The word thumped in Finn’s chest.

Cali tugged on Finn’s arm. “Can wepleasedo the boat ride now?”

The boys moaned. “Noooo.”

“I’ll take these hooligans to the arcade if the rest of you want to go on the boats?” Griffin offered.

It was a short wait in the long willow tree shadows, then Mikala and Steffie loaded Cali into a boat with them. Finn and Rory got the next one to themselves.

Finn stretched his arm around Rory’s shoulders once the boat pushed out into the canal. Rory cuddled up against him and laced their fingers together.

The sun was setting, and the cotton-candy-pink light filtered through the hanging branches. The noise from the park was distant and muffled, almost covered by the sound of the water lapping against the boats. The ‘Haunted Lagoon’ graveyard was gone, replaced by glimmering piles of gems and jewelry, spilling from chests and velvet bags, treasure abandoned, left to wink at them from the long grass.

Finn’s chest felt too full. “I’m so proud of you,” he said, pressing a kiss to Rory’s temple.

“You are?”

“You’re—” Finn’s voice caught in his throat. “You’re so brilliant. Watching you take charge in there and fix everything…”

Rory lifted Finn’s hand and kissed his knuckles. “You had half the park eating out of the palm of your hand…literally.Wefixed it. On top of that, we designed this whole place together, and it’s amazing.”

Finn’s throat tightened until he couldn’t speak, so he only nodded and squeezed Rory’s hand.

“We make a pretty good team, don’t we?” Rory murmured.

Finn nodded and kissed Rory’s head again.Sure do.

* * * *

“That was the best day,” Cali said, tipping her head onto Finn’s shoulder and sinking into her seat on the train. She closed her eyes over a sleepy smile.

“Bestever,” Bryson agreed. He clambered into the seat opposite them and crammed the last of his cotton candy into his mouth.

“Pretty great,” Finn added, looking up to meet Rory’s gaze.

Rory shook their head, a sweet, slow smile lighting up their face. “Yup. Pretty great.”

Finn reached for Rory’s hand and pulled them into the seat on the other side of him.

Rory squeezed Finn’s knee as they settled. “Should we order some dinner so it’s ready for us when we get home?”

“Excellent idea.” Finn pulled out his phone. “Are you guys hungry?” he asked the kids.

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