Page 18 of A Game-Changing Christmas

Raphael’s grizzly chuckle rippled through her flesh.

“I tell you what, you get whatever you want, and I’ll get this bottle of Gatorade over here.”

“Are you going to help me eat any of it?”

Raphael pondered for a slim minute. “Is that an invitation?”

“Yeah.”

They eyed one another.

“Okay. I accept.”

She blushed, and they turned into the freezer simultaneously reaching for the door handle. He grabbed it first then opened it, colliding in a grazing bounce with her breasts.

“Excuse me,” they said in unison, feeling the sudden charge in the quaint ambiance of their shared space.

Raphael smirked. “No. Excuse me,” he reiterated, incapable of pulling his gaze away from her radiant face.

Heat suffused her cheeks, and she reached for the pint of ice cream but was in no hurry to move away from him.

Damn it, Bri.

Again, they moved in sync, closing the freezer door and opening another so Raphael could retrieve his Gatorade.

“Do you require anything more from this store,” he asked.

“No, thank you.”

“After you.”

Raphael moved to stand at her side, and Bri snapped out of her trance reminding herself to put one foot in front of the other.

Their purchase was swift, only taking seconds, and a full minute later, they were back on the road.

“Where are you getting these steak and potatoes? And green beans,” she added on a smile.

“A quick pick up from my father’s house.” At Bri’s raised brow, Raphael offered, “Glenn made it. He’s my father’s personal chef, but he’s more like a brother to him.”

“How long have you known him?”

“My father’s known him for over thirty years, so they’re family. That makes us all family.”

“I need me a Glenn,” she teased.

“Nah, get you a Raphael,” he joked, but the jest gut-punched them both, tossing their senses into disorder. The air in the truck grew thick with energy, and Bri floundered in an attempt to change the subject.

“So you speak French,” she blurted.

Raphael quirked a brow at Bri, catching her drift. “I speak everything just about.” He grinned. “Being around the globe at any given time had its perks. I learn the language of the land I visited. Connected with the people.”

Bri nodded. “That has to be amazing.”

“It was.”

Noticing the past tense, Bri hesitated then asked.

“Don’t you enjoy those same pleasures anymore?”

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