“You think we can do that?” she whispered, moving closer.

“I don’t only think so, I know so.”

He dipped his head for a kiss and she savored the brief moment their lips touched. Daniel’s love was giving her strength. She wouldn’t disappoint him; she would do everything so that his friends and family accepted her.

“Come, we’re almost here,” he said and squeezed her hand.

Sabrina looked toward the large open space where a huge Ferris wheel and lots of smaller rides and booths had been built. The area was crowded, but the sounds of the rides and games and the squeals of laughter pulled her in. She felt like a child again.

“Wow. I don’t think I’ve been to a fair like this since I was in high school.”

“Neither have I, but I used to come to this every year when I was in school.” He let go of her hand and draped his arm around her shoulders. “What would you like to do first?”

“I don’t know. Surprise me.” She smiled. As long as they did it together, she didn’t care.

“We’ll start with the Haunted House.”

“Way too creepy.” She shook her head. “That’s one ride I don’t like.”

“I’ll protect you.” Daniel led her toward the ride.

While Daniel purchased tickets at the booth, Sabrina looked around, watching the people as they walked from booth to booth, from ride to ride. Mostly adults and teenagers wandered around the fair grounds, since it was well past most children’s bedtime.

“Ready?” Daniel said, waving the tickets in his hand and ushering her toward the entrance.

An operator took their tickets and directed them toward a car that reminded her of an old bumper car.

Once they were seated in it, Daniel put his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Sabrina leaned her head on his shoulder and slung her arm across his chest. “I’ll hold you to that.”

When the car jerked to a start, she blew out a breath and momentarily closed her eyes. The colorfully painted double doors in front of them opened. As they closed behind their car, they were plunged into complete darkness. Musty air hit her face, and something touched her skin. She screamed and the skin on her arms turned into goose flesh.

Daniel pulled her closer immediately. “It’s just gauze made to look like cobwebs.”

Ahead of them, other passengers screamed too, others laughed nervously.

“This was a bad idea,” Sabrina claimed.

A dark figure jumped out in front of them, making her heart stop for a moment and her throat release a choked scream. She clutched Daniel tighter.

“I’ll make it up to you,” Daniel claimed.

“How?”

Daniel shelved her chin and brought her face close to his. “Like this.”

He slanted his mouth over hers and captured her lips. Warmth flooded her instantly as he kissed her deeply, his tongue delving into her, caressing her, exploring her. Her hand slid onto his nape, holding him closer to her, feeling the heat of his body seep into her chest. Farther down, desire spiraled, her body aflame now, hungry for more, hungry for his touch. No man had ever been able to ignite her this fast.

“Ride’s over!” a voice said close to her.

Sabrina severed her lips from Daniel’s as heat flooded her cheeks. She hadn’t even noticed that the ride had come to an end. An operator stood at the exit, lifting the bar from across their laps and pointed toward the stairs that led down from the ride.

“People are waiting,” he said.

“Thanks for the ride,” Daniel answered, grinning, before he helped her out of the car and led her down the stairs.

He leaned closer, bringing his mouth to her ear. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

She lifted her lids to look at him. “No, it wasn’t, but you should have stopped before we went through the exit doors. People were looking at us.”

He chuckled. “Let them look. I’ve got nothing to hide.” He pressed a kiss onto her cheek. “Okay, next ride. You choose.”

“The Ferris wheel,” she answered without hesitation.

“The Ferris wheel it is,” Daniel agreed.

He loved the look of excitement on Sabrina’s face as they walked hand in hand down the fair midway. He was grateful to his mother that she’d reminded him of the fair. It was exactly what he and Sabrina needed to relax and reconnect.

They approached the ticket booth for the Ferris wheel and stood in the short line that nevertheless seemed to move at a snail’s pace. Daniel turned to Sabrina and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, never missing an opportunity to touch her, even if it was just an innocent touch like this.