Page 14 of Falling for Lucifer
She made a move to walk away, but Lucifer gently tugged on her hand. When she faced him, he said, “Aye, call me anytime you need some help. I mean that. I don’t mind helping out where I can.”
She gazed up at him for a second before slowly nodding. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Reluctantly, he let her hand go, but he was happy to get a good view of her ass again as she led them back into the living room.
“I brought some food,” he said before she could sit on the couch.
Her eyes lit up just as her stomach growled. She placed her hand on it and blushed. “I can’t even remember the last time I ate.”
She rushed over to the counter and poked around the bag with the food in it.
“Go sit down, woman.” He grabbed the bag and chuckled because she pouted before following her to the glass table. “You gotta remember to take care of yourself, love.”
She sat down and frowned. “It’s not that I forget. It’s just hard to squeeze in the time to cook or even order some food, let alone eat it.”
Lucifer made a mental note of that. “I hope you like chicken and waffles.”
Her stomach growled again, and she giggled. “I do.”
“Bet.”
He placed a container in front of her, and she wasted no time digging into the food. Lucifer watched in amusement as she attacked the waffles while he ate his at a more moderate pace.
Halfway through their meal, he finally asked, “How is this shit supposed to work?”
He appreciated that she didn’t try to play dumb. Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she paused her eating as she responded. “I guess whenever I have a family function, you attend with me.”
Lucifer sat back in his seat and crossed his arms. “What about your real baby daddy?” He figured there was no time like the present to ask the million-dollar question. Ellodie stared at the table for a moment. Lucifer didn’t like that shit, so he grabbed her chin and lifted it so she looked at him. “You don’t want to talk about it?”
“I mean . . . You deserve to know.”
“That don’t mean you want to talk about it.”
Her jaw clenched slightly, and he saw tears swimming in her eyes. Just when he was about to tell her she didn’t have to answer, she said, “He’s not in the picture. We haven’t been together for years, but he . . . never really knew how to take no for an answer. I haven’t seen him for three months. I told him when I was in labor. I sent him pictures of Etta. He left me on read.
“I can’t tell my parents that, because my daddy would kill him, and my mother would ask me what I did to run him away,and then she would use that information as a way to remind me of how much of a fuck up I am?—”
“Aye, man. You ain’t a fuck up.” Ellodie dropped her eyes. “Look at me.” Her gaze snapped back up to him. “I don’t want to hear you say that shit again. You hear me?”
She nodded slowly before clearing her throat. “I know I’m asking you to do the most, and I know it seems stupid. I’m a grown ass woman and should be able to stand up to my parents. My mother . . . she’s just impossible. I’ve found it’s just easier to give her what she wants than to give her reasons to hate on me even more.”
“Just because it’s easier doesn’t mean it’s what you should do.” Although he was tuned into the conversation, Lucifer wondered what kind of father would stay away from that beautiful baby in there. Then he wondered what kind of mother would be so malicious toward her daughter. Neither of them deserved that.
“You’re right. It was a stupid thing to ask you to do.” The sadness in her eyes caused him to grab her hands.
“I ain’t say I wouldn’t do it.” She smiled, and that made this crazy ass thing all worthwhile to him. “What are the rules?”
She perked up. “Good question. I guess we need to get our stories straight, and we have to make it look believable. You’re supposed to be more than Etta’s father, but my man. You think you can handle that?”
Lucifer sat back again and gapped his thick legs before licking his lips. “You tell me.”
She blushed as she looked him over. “Yeah, I think you can handle it just fine.”
“So, where did we meet?”
She looked up at the ceiling as she thought about it. “Where do you work?”
He chuckled. “Me and my brother own a custom bike shop. You ever rode?”
