“I don’t even want to tell you how many packs of Starbursts I had to buy to make this happen.”

He turned to her with a look she couldn’t quite comprehend as he asked, “Wait, you bought a bunch of Starbursts and picked out the pink ones?”

Cosima nodded. “I did.”

She didn’t know his smile could get wider, but it did before he let out a deep belly laugh. He rested the glass jar on the counter and pulled her into a tight hug, kissing her softly a few times before he whispered, “You’re perfect.”

“I feel like I’m missing something.” She squeaked at how tightly he still hugged her to his body.

“Babe,” he said, “they sell packs with just pink Starbursts.”

She playfully shuddered. “You’ve got to be joking.”

“I’m not,” he whispered, amusement still in his voice. “But this means so much more. Thank you. It’s perfect.”

She welcomed the soft pressure of his lips against hers, barely hiding her disappointment when he broke the kiss and lamented, “It’s going to be so hard waiting until after dinner.”

“You’re the only one trying to wait,” she said with a sly smile. “I’ve been trying to get in your pants since yesterday.”

“The food is almost ready.”

“Trust me,” Cosima replied. “The food can wait.”

She could see him considering what she was offering and realized for the first time that Tristan liked when things went to plan. She wasn’t sure why that touched a spot inside her when she thought of how much he was willing to deviate from his perfectly planned Christmas for the sake of his daughter. It made his willingness to spend Christmas with her even more endearing when she considered he was willing to risk discomfort. She rose to her toes and pressed her lips to his again, harder this time, sighing contently when he stopped fighting it and sank into the kiss. His hand cupped the back of her neck as he pulled her into him.

There was soft sweetness in the kisses, but there was something else skirting around the edges, too…the promise of unbridled passion intense enough to set them both on fire. Cosima’s stomach tightened. God, she couldn’t wait. She wrapped a leg around his waist, and he rewarded her by lifting her right up off the floor, barely breaking from their kiss as he moved them clumsily toward his bedroom. He rested her down in the middle of the bed like she was something precious before lying beside her. Tristan turned her to face him so he could kiss her again.