Page 55 of Lock 'em Down

“Sorry, Camille. I wasn’t insinuating anything.” My mother is a terrible liar.

“Really?” I give her a look.

She shrugs and gives me a sheepish look back. “Are you okay, love?”

“I’m fine, Stella.” Cami manages a chuckle.

“All right, I better finish dressing before we leave.” Mom slides off her barstool and retreats to my guest room.

“I’m relieved we’re already married or I’m sure you’d bolt,” I tell Cami.

She grins at me. “I really like your mom. From the mother-in-law horror stories I’ve heard, I think I hit the lottery with Stella.” She wrinkles her nose. “Too bad you can’t say the same for Cheryl.”

“Ah! You speak too soon.” I pull my phone from my back pocket and pull up a text exchange I now have going with my mother-in-law. I slide it across the island so Cami can read it.

“Oh, God,” she groans. “She got your number?”

I laugh easily. “It’s fine.”

“She’s messaging you constantly. Are these…cake flavors?”

“She offered to do our cake tasting for us. We’re getting married August 21 in Crosslake.”

Cami’s mouth drops open. “Leif, you have to put a stop to this.”

“Me?” I shake my head, grinning. “She’s your mom, Cami.”

Cami groans again and drops her face into her hand.

I round the island to stand closer to her. Take her hand and hold it against my chest. “Look at me, babe.”

She does. Instantly, I’m captured by her big, blue eyes. “I want what you want. Whatever that is, I’m good with it.”

She makes a sound in the back of her throat I can’t decipher. It’s a little laughter, a little frustration, a little confusion. “I do like Crosslake. We used to go there every summer for a week when I was a kid. Rhett would make bets with Jenna and me over who would catch the biggest fish.”

“Let me guess—you won.”

Cami gives me a look. “Obviously. Rhett was too technical, and Jenna got bored after an hour. But I was committed.” She pauses when she says the word and her eyes scan mine sharply. She smirks. “I guess sometimes, when I commit, I do follow through.”

I laugh and bend down to press a kiss to her mouth. “I’m glad to hear that, Knox.”

“You should be,” she tosses back, lacing my fingers with hers. “But if Mom becomes too much…”

“She’s fine. It’s all fine. We’ll…figure it out.”

“And tonight, I’ll meet your teammates.”

“And next week, I’ll meet your coworkers.”

Cami nods. “You know, this is the most functional relationship I’ve ever been in. Not that I have a lot of experience to draw from but…we’re doing a bang-up job.”

“Definitely bang-up,” I agree.

She groans. “I’m so not taking your last name when we do this again.” She gestures between us, her purple ring flashing.

I gasp. “No? But think of all the jokes and puns you’ll miss out on hearing.”

“I’ll hear them by association.” She pinches my side.

---