Page 99 of Lock 'em Down

Cheryl laughs and pours wine in our glasses.

I squeeze Cami’s hand under the table. “More than positive,” I say.

Cheryl takes her seat and Ben lifts his glass. “To Cami and Leif. We’re happy for you, proud of you, and here for you. Congratulations.”

“Welcome to the family, Leif,” Jenna tacks on.

“Thank you.” I dip my head in thanks and take a sip of my wine. Rhett picks up a serving platter and adds some turkey to his plate. We all dig into lunch and spend a leisurely afternoon around the Coleman’s table, talking, laughing, and enjoying time together.

I never thought I’d belong to another family, but the Colemans are pretty special. And, with their proximity to the Bang household, Cami and I continue our family time. In early evening, we head over to see my parents and siblings.

“They’re here!” Annie hollers, rushing me. I pull my sister into a hug. “Missed you!”

“Missed you, too,” I say. We have a quick thumb war and I let her beat me before I exchange greetings with my brothers and parents.

“It’s good to finally meet you,” I say, kissing Rory’s cheek hello. “Hey, at Empress Hollywood.” I hug Jensen’s girl, Bailey, and use her gaming handle. “And you must be Gardenia,” I greet Jake’s woman, who has Ryder on her back, his little arms wound around her neck.

“It’s great to meet you, Leif,” Gardenia says, a twinkle in her eyes. “And your wife, Cami.”

Cami smiles and holds out her arms. I have no idea how, but Ryder jumps into them, forgoing any awkwardness and claiming her as his aunt.

Mom is in her glory, with all her children under one roof. As we settle in the living room, puzzle pieces strewn on the floor and Ryder challenging Tanner to a game of Uno, Dad approaches.

“Dad,” I say.

He holds my gaze for a long beat, before smiling. Then his arms dart out and he pulls me into a hug, clasping my shoulder. “I’m proud of you, son. Real proud.”

And it hits me unexpectedly. Because yeah, my dad’s been proud of my hockey accomplishments for years. But I think this is the first time I’ve proved to him that I’m grown-up. A man. A man with a wife I plan to honor the same way he’s honored Mom.

“I had a good role model,” I tell him.

He pulls back, his eyes flaring with unexpected emotion. I chuckle and tap his shoulder.

He turns toward Cami. “I’ve always wanted another daughter,” he admits, surprising everyone in the room.

Cami grins, unflappable and easygoing. “I should warn you, Mr. Bang, I’m a bit of a wild card.”

Surprise flickers across Dad’s face and then his eyes crinkle. He laughs, louder and longer than I’ve heard in a long, long time. Then, he pulls Cami into a hug. “Call me Lars, Cami. And I always bet on the wild cards.”

My family drifts back to their games and side conversations. There’s an absurd amount of appetizers and snack foods. Plus, endless drinks. Naturally, Mom made my favorite banana bread. We order an obnoxious number of pizzas and Gardenia sneaks the twins a few sips of pop.

There’s raucous laughter, settling of old debates now that there’s more women to weigh in on who was right and who was the asshole, and so much reminiscing.

Cami fits right in. She slides into my life like a puzzle piece, snapping in and making the picture complete. I look around at the faces of my family members and wonder how I got this lucky.

A few months ago, I wondered if I would ever find this. The stability, the love, the trust. And now, I wonder how I lived so long without it.

“To the Bangs.” Tanner lifts a bottle of beer in a toast. He glances at each of us Bang brothers and sends Annie a grin. Then he turns his attention to the new women in our world. “And to the women who chose these brothers.” He winks at Rory, and she laughs. Then, he gives a full-on body roll, flexing to show off his muscles. “You could have had this!”

“Oh my God!” Cami laughs, smacking a hand over her mouth.

We dissolve in laughter and Jake tosses popcorn at Tanner’s head. “You’re a goofball.”

“Dad! You have to pick up the popcorn,” Ryder schools his father.

Gardenia nods in agreement. “And vacuum.”

Annie shakes her head and glances at Cami. “You sure you want to marry into this chaos?”

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