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happened at their very first cookout, Adele was a little unsure of how to take it until all the guys started laughing. So the one thing she knew about today’s meal was that if Ethan said they needed a certain type of food, garnish, or seasoning, then she would get it. No questions asked. She also knew Ethan would pay her back every penny she spent today. Not just on the items she picked up for the cookout, but the entire grocery bill.
    Pulling up to her local market, she was glad the parking lot wasn’t overflowing. After a few minutes, she was able to find a pretty good parking space. With her sore muscles, she was especially grateful for that little bit of luck today. That was part of the reason she had arrived so early. In and out of the store in less than thirty minutes was her motto when visiting the market—she just didn’t have time to linger. Gazing longingly at the coffee shop next door to the main grocery store, she started planning the type of flavored coffee and flaky pastry she would order when finished with her required shopping. Adele grabbed a shopping cart and walked into the store, not wanting to waste any additional time dawdling. Only going to the sections that carried the food she needed, she was so focused on picking up the right ingredients that she didn’t see the guy in front of her until it was too late.
    “Hi. Adele? Is that you?”
    “Oh! Hi.” The man standing in front of her was sexy as hell and, interestingly enough, very familiar. Then she remembered where she’d seen him before. “I met you at the gym yesterday, right?” Damn, did he have to look so good in a pair of scruffy jeans this early in the morning?
    “Yes. Fancy meeting you here. How are you?”
    Noticing that he looked just as good as he did yesterday, she could not help the breathless tone of her voice, “Fine, thanks. I’m just picking out some food for a cookout this afternoon with my family.”
    “Oh, that’s nice. I’m just picking up a few things myself.” He shifted a few items in his arms, as if showing her proof of his statement. “So, you’re married? Do you have a large family?”
    “No. Yes.” She grimaced a bit at how she was messing this up so bad. “Let me try that again. No, I’m not married. But, yes, I guess I do have a pretty big family. You met three of them yesterday at the gym. The other two were off doing God knows what.”
    Adele smiled at the confused look that came over his face and waited for him to ask the obvious question. “The three guys from the gym are your family?” He shifted his feet, looking a bit more uncomfortable every second. “Yeah, I noticed that they seemed quite protective of you. So, I know this may be a pretty bold question, but you all look so different. How are you related? Or, are you are you dating one of them?”
    “Well, that’s rather forward of you.” She laughed at the thought of her dating one of the guys, but noticed that Stefano seemed completely serious. “Me? Dating one of them? Oh goodness no! They’re like my brothers. Did they tell you I was dating one of them? I’ll hurt them. I swear I will.”
    He laughed at her final statement, and his hazel eyes got a wonderful crinkle on the side. It made her smile as well. “No, nothing like that. Although they did seem quite…out of sorts…when I noticed you in the ring. They made a point to give me a warning you were off-limits.”
    “Ah, that explains it. Yes, they are quite protective of me, but they just look out for me. Sometimes more than they should.”
    “Well, I don’t think they view it that way.” She watched him shift the items in his arms and his muscles flexed. Instantly, she thought of what it would feel like to be held in those arms. Attraction to a man like this had not happened in years. She could not understand what was going on. Why this man? Why now?
    Responding to his last statement, “No, I don’t think they do either. So, do you live in this area?”
    “Yeah, I