
1. The Cooking Disaster (Monaco, 8 months into dating)
Carlos came home to smoke.
Not the faint, cozy kind that came from candles or a quick sauté ... but the thick, black, “oh god, I hope the fire alarm doesn’t go off” kind that clung to the air like fog. The sharp scent of burnt oil and something suspiciously seafood-like hit him before he even reached the kitchen.
He paused in the doorway, blazer half-off, brow furrowed. The living room lights were dim, the windows cracked open to let in the sea breeze from the harbor ... which, unfortunately, was doing absolutely nothing to dispel the smoky chaos.
And then he saw him.
Charles Leclerc, his whirlwind of a boyfriend, stood in the doorway like a guilty child caught red-handed. His curls were in disarray, flour dusted across his cheekbones and nose like war paint, and he was wearing an apron that boldly declared “Kiss the Cook.” Carlos instantly recognized it ... Lando’s Christmas joke gift ... and almost laughed, if not for the tragic sight of the kitchen behind him.

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