Page 11 of Falling for Lucifer
He sighed. “We gon’ work something out, sweet pea. Tell me about my granddaughter.”
“Antoinetta is perfect,” she said with a smile as she glanced at Lucifer. It was clear to her that he could clearly hear her conversation. Her father was that loud, but it didn’t bother her that he was listening. She pointed at the couch and whispered, “Sit.”
He kept his eyes on her as he slowly walked to the couch and sat down. She took that opportunity to walk over to therefrigerator in the open concept kitchen to grab a bottle of water. She walked over to Lucifer and handed it to him as she listened to her father speak.
“Antoinetta.” She heard the emotion in his voice. “After Mama?”
Ellodie giggled as she sat on the couch. She realized she sat extremely close to Lucifer. When he put his arm across the back of the couch behind her, she almost melted. Being this close to him did something to her insides that she wanted to explore, but first, she had to get her father off the phone.
“Yes, after that old woman.” She paused for a moment as she thought about her grandmother. Her death had been hard on the family, but especially on her. Her grandmother hated her mother and was Ellodie’s biggest advocate. “I miss her.”
“Me too.”
“Listen, Daddy, my midwife is here, so let me get back to her. I’ll send you some photos of Etta and call you back later, okay?”
“Well, hold on now. I was going to stop by. You up to seeing your old man?”
Ellodie shook her head as if her father could see her. “I don’t want to see Mama. You know if you even look like you’re about to leave the house, she’s either going to come with you or follow your location.”
Her father grumbled something under his breath before saying, “Fine. But your mother put together a huge party this weekend so the family can meet Antoinetta?—”
“Etta, Daddy. We’ll call her Etta for short.”
“Etta. Your mother planned a party for Etta,” he finished.
“She doesn’t even know her damn name, but she’s planning her a party?” That irritated Ellodie.
“I know, sweet pea, but try to keep the peace and come, okay? I want to meet her, and I know the rest of the family does. Mybaby has a baby. This is one thing your mother got right. You and Etta should be celebrated.”
“Fine,” Ellodie replied. She didn’t want to share Etta with her mother, but she didn’t want to keep her daughter away from the rest of her extended family. They were good people, even though she wasn’t that close with them, and Etta deserved to grow up around their love.
“Good. And bring Etta’s father. Your mother had plenty to say about him, but I want to meet him for myself, and sweet pea? That’s not up for negotiation. Love you.”
Before Ellodie could reply, her father hung up. She looked over at Lucifer with wide eyes. He shook his head, and Ellodie immediately knew he heard exactly what her father said.
When he looked at her again, a playful smirk formed on his lips. “Let me guess? You want me to play pretend?”
She bit her lip, completely unsure of how to respond. The other day when she brought it up, she had been only half joking about pretending that he was her baby daddy. Now, she felt like her back was up against a wall. Her family didn’t really know how to take no for an answer, and she could only imagine the words her mother would have for her if she showed up without Lucifer.
Looking into his eyes, she asked, “If I said yes, are you going to turn me down again?”
He chuckled and dropped his chin to his chest before glancing over at her. “It was hard enough to say no to you the first time. You expect me to say no now?”
Her eyes lit up with relief. In the back of her head, she knew this was childish. She knew she should just stand up to her parents and let them know the truth. Her baby daddy was an abusive asshole that had yet to meet his daughter, but the allure of spending more time with Lucifer and not having to hear her mother’s mouth overpowered that voice.
With a challenge in her eyes, she gazed at him as her lips turned up, before she said the words that felt like they might change her life forever. “Not really.”
Sweat poured off Lucifer as he walked through his home. Every morning at five, he woke up to get a workout in. When he had this home built, he made sure he had everything he needed within the walls, which included a home gym, a theater, several guest rooms, and an acre of land right on a lake.
When it was all said and done, and he moved in almost nine years ago, he realized he’d built a damn family home, not a bachelor pad. It got lonely. He knew that was why when he heard Ellodie say she was lonely last night it hit him right in the heart. Lucifer knew all too well what it was like to be lonely. He had his family, which grew every day it felt like, but he didn’t have a person to himself, nor did he have a family of his own. Somewhere in the past few years, that had been something he wanted.
As he entered the master bedroom, he noticed the unmade bed with black sheets. Making the bed was never something he did, mostly because his father used to force him and his siblings to do it every morning before school, and if they didn’t, either Hades or his mother would get beaten. Little shit like that shaped Lucifer’s life. Everything his father used to force on him, he did the complete opposite now. It was his mission to be nothing like the man who used to dominate his life and now dominated the city. No resident of Ellwood would guess that the mayor of the city used to beat his oldest son and was the reason his late wife committed suicide.
Lucifer took his time undressing and placing his gym clothes in the dirty clothes hamper before he grabbed his phone from his messy bed and checked it. A smile formed on his face when he saw a text from Ellodie.
Baby Mama: What time are you stopping by?
Last night, before Harley finished with Etta’s exam, Lucifer and Ellodie decided that he would stop by again today to go over the rules for their fake arrangement. Disappointment filled him every time he thought about this situation being fake. He had been feeling Ellodie from the moment she demanded he get her some ice chips when she was in labor, but he wasn’t lying the night before. He found it hard to say no to her the first time, so he couldn’t this time. Her parents seemed to be overbearing and controlling, especially her mother. Her pops didn’t seem so bad, but he got the sense that she didn’t want to disappoint him. Now, because of that, he was stuck playing pretend instead of actually courting the first woman who had caught his eye in years.
