Page 64 of Lock 'em Down

I plate our burgers and turn toward her. “Dinner is served.”

“Thank you, kind sir.” Cami stands from the chair, and we relocate to the kitchen island to eat our dinner.

And it’s easy. Comfortable. Fun.

A lazy summer I never want to end.

Seventeen

Cami

“What’s good, man?” Leif exchanges an easy handshake with Tarek as he and Sam enter our house.

Sam whistles. “This is a sweet setup, Leif.” He points toward the surround sound speakers and big screen television.

Leif laughs it off. “It’s for all the Hallmark movies Cam watches.”

I flip him the middle finger and he pretends to catch it and slip it into his pocket.

Tarek chuckles. “Man, I don’t know any married couples like y’all. Thanks for coming with us tonight. There are a few local bands playing, some regional talents, and even a couple of big-time headliners.”

“Sounds good,” Leif replies, tilting his head toward the kitchen. “You guys want to have a beer before we head out?”

“Sure,” Sam says.

As Sam and Tarek follow Leif into the kitchen, my guy tosses me a wink.

“I’ll just finish getting ready.” I tug on the half of my hair I haven’t used my straightener on yet.

“You look gorgeous,” Leif replies.

“You have to say that, or you won’t get any tonight,” I call over my shoulder as I walk toward our bedroom.

“Damn,” Tarek mutters.

“Cold-blooded, Cami,” Sam hollers. “Calling Leif out like that!”

Leif laughs and I shake my head. But I can’t stop my grin. I like that Leif has hit it off with my colleagues. It’s important to me that I have my own friends in Knoxville, that I build social connections here that aren’t tangled up in his hockey world.

As I resume fixing my hair and makeup in the bathroom mirror, I think about how each passing week with Leif adds more emotional distance between now and the woman I was three years ago.

After Levi broke my heart and left me with the threat of leaked nude photos as well as the possibility of drug-related charges, I lost myself. I forgot how to trust myself fully and became fearful of my own intuition.

My experience with Levi lacks closure and in the months that followed, I flirted and dated and had fun with boys, but I never let them in past the surface. With Leif, I’m starting to open doors I had slammed shut. Granted, he makes it easy. A hell of a lot easier than most men would. The fact that he’s my husband is as mind-boggling as it’s wonderful. As my confidence comes back, I feel more settled, more grown-up, more like myself, than I have in a long time.

I tuck my hair behind my ears and give myself a once-over. My eyes are bright, my skin glows, and I look happy. Truly content. I smile at myself.

Marriage never looked so damn good.

Flipping off the bathroom light, I head into the kitchen to rally up the boys so we can head to the music festival. Leif insists on driving. I noticed he does that whenever we’re getting drinks in a social setting. When I asked him why, he replied instantly.

I never want you in a position where you get in the car with a drunk driver and don’t know it. I know my limits and I’ll never have more than one when I’m driving you, Cam.

After falling for a guy who pumped me with drugs and chucked a champagne bottle off a seventh-floor balcony, Leif’s words were more soothing than he knows.

We enter the music festival and I’m relieved I wore cut-off black denim shorts and a cropped Rolling Stones tee with silver cowgirl boots. I fit in with the overall vibe—laid-back yet edgy.

“Drinks?” Sam asks, taking our orders.

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