Page 66 of My eX-MAS Emergency

Tristan nodded and stood, not wishing to let her out of his sight. He was afraid if he did, she would vanish. Today had been like a dream to him. One he knew he didn’t deserve, and he wanted to do everything he could to hold on to it. He still couldn’t believe she was here. More so that she’d let him kiss her. If he had his way, there would be more of that later. He might have to bribe Quinn to go to bed early.

Quinn joined Tristan in his open kitchen, which had an industrial flair, with vaulted ceilings, a modern stainless steel island, and concept lighting. He’d wanted a more masculine vibe when he’d worked with an architect to design the home.

Quinn sat on a stool at the island and propped her hands under her chin. “So, what’s your plan?”

“For dinner?” Tristan questioned.

“No, silly. To keep my aunt.”

Tristan opened the refrigerator and pulled out the steaks he’d been marinating. “She’s not a pet to keep.”

“You know what I mean. You can’t screw up this time.”

Tristan placed the tray of meat on the island. “I know.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Quinn was relentless.

“What do you think I should do?” Tristan couldn’t believe he was seeking advice from his fifteen-year-old niece. He ran a multimillion-dollar company, and executives from around the world sought his opinion. But he knew he had one shot to get this right with Calista, and he would do whatever it took, even if that meant getting advice from his teenage niece.

Quinn’s eyes lit up like she had been waiting for him to ask for her help. “Since you’ve now zombied her, you can’t make her feel like you’re just cuffing her.”

Tristan rubbed his forehead. “I have no idea what you just said.”

Quinn giggled. “When you zombie someone, it means you ghosted them but then popped up in their life again. Cuffing means you just want a girlfriend so you’re not alone on the holidays.”

Tristan stared blankly at her, thinking maybe she wasn’t the best person to get advice from. At least he knew what ghosting meant. He hadn’t ghosted Calista. She was well aware he had purposefully pushed her out of his life. “Obviously, that isn’t the case.”

“Exactly, so you need to prove to her that you want her forever. You have now entered IRL mode. That means in real life,” she clarified, like he was uneducated. “Maybe you should DTR sooner rather than later.”

“Let me guess: define the relationship?”

“Now you’re getting it.” She grinned.

“I think she knows where I want this to go.”

“You can’t be too sure.”

“Have you and Beckett defined your relationship?” Tristan was eager to know. While he liked Beckett, he wasn’t sure how he felt about the kid dating his niece, especially with how handsy he was at the parade.

“Uh, no. We hardly know each other.”

Tristan was glad to hear that. “That’s good. Keep that going.”

She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, just don’t screw up this time.”

“Thanks, Quinn. That was really helpful,” he said sarcastically while reaching over to rustle her hair.

She laughed and reached into the marshmallow bag he’d brought back to the kitchen. She grabbed a marshmallow and threw it at him.

“Two can play that game.” He grabbed a marshmallow of his own and chucked it at her, hitting her in the face.

“Hey!” She grabbed a few more marshmallows, and a food fight commenced.

Quinn took cover behind the island while Tristan grabbed the bag of marshmallows and ran around to pelt her with as many as possible. Quinn squealed loudly, grabbing as many marshmallows as she could off the wood floor to retaliate.

In the chaos of it all, Calista walked in wearing a sleepy smile, running a hand through her long wavy hair.

Tristan froze to gape at her. She was a vision.

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