He falls silent as the countdown begins, people chanting from ten to one around them. Seeing as she has dodged all his attempts to kiss her in public, he's curious to see if she'll follow through with this one. Even trying to kiss her under the mistletoe at the winter ball had resulted in his lips meeting her forehead instead of her lips when she bowed her head at the last second. But she pointedly asked about his knowledge of the tradition, so perhaps this time...

—three, two, one—