Leif
“It’s good to meet you, Ben,” I say, shaking Cami’s dad’s hand.
“Good to have you here, Leif,” he replies, giving me a firm shake.
Cami’s sister Jenna pulls me into a hug, Rhett gives me a solid slap on the back, and Cheryl beams.
Today, I meet the family. Tomorrow, we head to Crosslake. And in two days, I marry the woman of my dreams.
Cami slips her hand in mine and draws me deeper into her childhood home. It’s wild that she grew up only a handful of streets over from my house. Our paths could have crossed an infinite number of times, yet we met on a random night in Vegas.
If that’s not fate, I don’t know what is.
“Are your brothers and Annie in town?” Cheryl asks as I take a seat at the dining table. It’s already set with a beautiful spread to welcome Cami and me home to Minnesota.
“They’re all arriving today,” I say, grinning. “Mom’s over the moon.”
“I bet!” Jenna says, sitting across from me. “Mom hates when Cami, Rhett, and I are away at the same time.”
“And that was such a short window,” Rhett admits. “Jenna and I live nearby, and Cami stayed local for college.”
“Yeah,” Ben says, sitting at the head of the table. “Now it’s time for Cami to spread her wings.” He tosses his youngest daughter a wink.
“Can’t believe you’re getting married first,” Jenna says.
“I can’t believe you’re getting married at all,” Rhett jokes, smiling at Cami. He turns his gaze to me. His eyes are filled with amusement, and I know that he’s happy for his sister. While he wasn’t thrilled about our Vegas wedding, it was born out of concern for his sister’s happiness. I can appreciate that because I’d feel the same way about Annie. “You sure about this, Leif? There’s still time to make a run for it!”
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?”
Cami exchanges a look with me, her smile big, her eyes bright. “More than positive.”
I lean toward Annie. “You joke now but watch out. You’re next in line and while wedding planning may have occupied Mom’s time for a few months, I doubt you’re off the hook.”
Annie’s eyes widen.
I snort. “Be on the lookout, little sister. Mama Bang is coming for you next!”
Jensen and Bailey snicker. King nods in agreement.
I sit back and wrap an arm around my girl. We spend time hanging with my family. After Rowan wins a game of Uno, I lean into her side. “Want me to show you my old room?”
King hears me and snorts, giving me a look.
Cami bites her bottom lip and nods. I take her hand and pull her from the living room to the cheers, whistles, and obnoxious comments of my family members.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Tanner hollers.
“So, anything is up for grabs?” Jake asks.
“Your bed squeaks,” Annie warns.
“I shared a room with you!” Jensen reminds him.
Cami dissolves in laughter as I ignore my siblings and pull her into my bedroom. I close the door and she leans against it, crossing her arms over her chest. Her eyes dance when they meet mine.
Amused, excited, happy. She looks at me like she did at the club that night in Vegas. Like our future is filled with possibilities and we’re on the precipice of diving in.
“We can’t have sex in your childhood bedroom with your family downstairs,” she says.
I snort and shake my head. Then, I place a hand on the bedroom door next to her head, dip down, and kiss her hard. “I want to show you something.”
She quirks an eyebrow, curious.
I walk to my bedside table and pull out an old journal. I kept it for years. “When I was ten, I wrote down all the things I hoped to accomplish in my life. I would have forgotten all about it, but Mom mentioned writing letters to her friend Diane, who passed recently, and it jogged my memory.” I flip to the page and pass it to Cami.
She takes it and bites her bottom lip.
“When I grow up, I want to be a hockey player. I want to learn to surf and travel all over the world. I want to get a big tattoo as long as Mom doesn’t get mad. And I want to marry a pretty girl who likes to laugh. She must also like hockey, tattoos, and surfing.” Cami closes the journal and looks up, her expression radiant.
“So, I have an important question for you, Camille.”
“Shoot,” she says.
“Do you like surfing?”
She laughs and it’s like music. “I’d like to learn.”
I grin and pull her close for another kiss. “Then you’re the perfect woman for me. I dreamed you up when I was ten.”
She giggles and wraps her arms around my shoulders. “You were pretty smart for a ten-year-old.”
“Yeah,” I murmur, brushing the tip of my nose against hers. “I knew laughing was important.”
She laughs again and my smile widens. Then, I kiss her sweetly.
“In two days, we get married,” I whisper.
“And I become a Bang.”
“You ready for life with me, Knox?”
“I can’t wait, Ten.”
“Good,” I murmur, kissing her again.
Ryder and Rowan burst into the room and the bedroom door slams off the wall. Cami and I break apart in surprise.
The twins crack up and Ryder holds out a hand. “I knew they’d be kissing.”
Rowan grumbles and slaps a five-dollar bill in his waiting hand.
“You two are smart cookies,” Cami says, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders. “Who wants to play me in Uno?”
“Me!” they both shout. Then, they each take one of her hands and pull her back downstairs.
A cheer goes up when she enters the living room.
I stand at the top of the stairs and listen to the conversations, to the excitement, to the love flowing from my parents’ living room.
Mom appears at the bottom of the stairs and gives me a knowing look.
“Happiness looks good on you, Leif.”
I take the stairs slowly and when I reach the bottom, wrap an arm around Mom.
“Scheming looks good on you,” I say.
She laughs.
I kiss the top of her head. “But if you tell any of my siblings I said that, I’ll deny it to the death.”
Mom wraps an arm around my waist and pinches my side. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
We stand like that for a long moment.
In two days, I’m getting married.