Page 18 of Falling for Lucifer

“ Y ou know I don’t do churches, dawg.” Hades grumbled as he tugged on his tie and kept his eyes sweeping over the parking lot.

Lucifer, Ellodie, Harley, Hades, and the babies stood just outside the church, waiting to enter.

Nothing stopped them from doing so, outside of Ellodie’s apparent nerves at being in the same building as her mother again, and Hades’s reluctance at stepping into a church.

He swore up and down that he would burn to a crisp after the hell he rained down on Earth.

Harley elbowed him in the ribs. “Hades, hush. You’re going to have to go into one for Kali’s christening, so think of this as a practice one.”

Hades looked at her like she had two heads. “What christening? What the hell you talkin’ ’bout, woman?”

“Of course, I want to have her baptized, Hades. I just haven’t started planning it. Kudos to Ello for making it happen so soon for Etta. I could never. I’m too tired.” As if to emphasize her point, she yawned, which made Ellodie laugh.

“I didn’t plan this. My mother did,” Ellodie corrected her. “She would have been nineteen by the time I got around to planning this.”

“I know that’s right.” Harley agreed as she pushed Kali’s stroller back and forth to soothe the fussy baby.

For now, Etta slept in Lucifer’s arms, her new favorite place to be.

Ellodie knew it wouldn’t be long before she was wailing in front of everyone after having water sprinkled over her head.

Her baby hated bath time, so she knew this wouldn’t go over well.

It made her even more thankful that Lucifer was there because he would be able to calm her right down.

She couldn’t lie to herself and pretend like she wasn’t happy Lucifer was there for her too.

Over the past few days, he had been her backbone.

He helped take care of Etta so she could rest. Most days, she didn’t even feel like getting out of bed.

She thought she had postpartum depression before, but she knew that was nothing compared to what she felt now.

It was exactly like drowning in a pool in front of people who could do nothing to save her.

But that wasn’t true because every time it got so bad that all she could do was cry until there was nothing let, Lucifer was there.

He would sit with her, hold her, and patiently wait for her to calm down.

And then he would make sure she ate, bathed, and spent time with Etta.

She had yet to go home. She wasn’t sure she ever wanted to, honestly.

Wherever Lucifer was suddenly felt like home.

She worried that he might want his space back soon, or that she was overstaying her welcome, but he never hinted that was the case.

Her insecurities were at an all-time high.

The last thing she wanted was for Lucifer to find her as a prisoner in her own home with two black eyes.

At the same time, he was the only person she asked God for during that time.

Lucifer must have sensed she got lost in her head because his arm circled around her waist, and he pulled her close. “You good?”

His breath on her ear had her thinking unholy things as she watched one of her mom’s friends walk into the church.

The woman held her nose up, and Ellodie had the urge to give her the middle finger in response, but she refrained.

There went her unruly emotions again. Lucifer was the only one grounding her at the moment.

She leaned into him and nodded. “Thank you.”

She smiled up at him, and he grinned at her.

“Ello, there you are,” Yasmine snapped as she poked her head out of the church. “Your mama is about to drive me nuts. She’s about two seconds away from making me waterboard her with that holy water. Get in here so we can get this over with.”

Ellodie snickered because she knew Yasmine was dead serious.

“Let’s go,” she muttered to everyone before leading the way into the church.

She heard Hades behind her grumbling under his breath and Harley chastising him, but she tried to tune it out as she focused on the feel of her hand in Lucifer’s.

Yasmine disappeared down the hall to the right.

If Ellodie remembered correctly, the bathroom was that way.

The church was the same one Ellodie used to go to as a child.

Her family wasn’t super religious, but her mom liked to keep up good appearances and attend at least two Sundays a month.

She hadn’t been since she was eighteen. Her and God’s relationship developed into something more personal and relaxed and not for show.

The wooden pews looked like they had recently been upgraded.

The smooth dark wood went well with the bright white walls and purple-toned decorations through the space.

The stage was set up for the christening, and Ellodie immediately felt her mother’s glare land on her.

She groaned quietly when Kamilah excused herself from the conversation she was having with the pastor and marched down the long aisle to meet her.

“Where have you been? Do you know how it makes our family look when we’re late to our own events? I can’t believe?—”

“Mama, I’m here now.” Ellodie had to cut her off for her own sanity.

If she hadn’t, she might have cried. Her mother had no idea the nightmare she had to live for those few days.

The evidence shown from her black eyes were covered by heavy makeup.

Ellodie wondered if her mother had seen her without the makeup, would she have been a bit nicer to her?

Then she shook the thought away because she knew the answer was no . Hell no .

Kamilah glared at her daughter before glancing at the people behind her. “I see Yasmine is here. She told me she’s your daughter’s godmother?”

“Etta,” Lucifer said.

“What?” Kamilah asked, looking at Lucifer with her brows pulled tight.

Disdain displayed across her features, which immediately put Ellodie on the defense.

She hadn’t realized how protective she’d gotten over that man.

It might as well have been Etta her mother was looking at all crazy because Ellodie was ready to pounce.

“My daughter’s name is Etta.” Lucifer remained calm as he looked Kamilah in the eye.

Kamilah glanced at Etta resting in his arms before her hardened gaze landed back on him.

She took a tiny step toward him, causing Ellodie to shift in front of him slightly.

It was rare that she stood toe to toe with her mother.

She’d learned long ago that the best thing to do was to let Kamilah have her way.

Today, something shifted in her. The way Lucifer so easily claimed her and Etta as his own had Ellodie ready to go to war for him.

“Boy—”

“Aye, I know this lady ain’t ’bout to call my brother a boy,” Hades barked, causing everyone in the church to look their way.

“Hades,” Harley hissed, elbowing him in the ribs and hiding her face in embarrassment.

He looked down at her with a frown. “What? I ain’t call her a B-I-T-C-H. I got some respect for the Lord or whatever.” He spelled the word out as if that was a loophole to being able to curse inside a church.

“Oh my God, please ignore my husband,” Harley muttered as she tugged on his arm, pulling him away from the rest of the group.

“Who is that man?” Kamilah demanded, steam practically coming out of her ears.

“My brother,” Lucifer responded. Ellodie looked up at him, and she saw he was cool as a cucumber.

“Your brother? Well, I never?—”

“We aren’t about to do this here, Mama,” Ellodie cut in.

Her mother could be dramatic as hell sometimes, and the last thing she wanted to deal with was her theatrics.

“Either you respect my man and his people, or we’re walking out of here right now.

Imagine how that will make our family look.

” Ellodie raised a brow at her mother in challenge.

Kamilah’s skin tinted red as she looked between Lucifer and Ellodie and then behind them at Hades. Finally, she leaned into her daughter and whispered loud enough for Lucifer to hear. “This man is no good for you. We will have a talk about this later.”

“No, we won’t,” Ellodie asserted.

Kamilah’s jaw clenched as she leaned away and shook her head slightly before clearing her throat. “Yasmine is here somewhere. Where is the godfather?”

Ellodie was thrown off by the change in subject. She blinked rapidly as her brain processed. Here she was ready to throw down with her own mama in her childhood church, and her mother had inconspicuously slipped a mask back on and switched gears.

“Godfather?”

Kamilah sighed heavily. “Yes, Ellodie. You need a godmother and a godfather for a christening. People who will take an oath before God to step in and love your baby as her parents.” She cut her eyes at Lucifer as if there was no way he could possibly love anyone. “In the event of your deaths.”

“That’s morbid,” Ellodie said, mortified at that thought. Of course, if something happened to her, she would want Etta to go to Yasmine, but that wasn’t what she thought of when she imagined godparents. They were supposed to spoil her daughter rotten and babysit when Ellodie needed a break.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Ellodie. Do you have a godfather for the child, or am I going to have to find someone to step in?

” Kamilah asked. Ellodie could tell her mother was losing all patience with her, but she didn’t know what to do about that.

It wasn’t hard to do, and Ellodie seemed to do it often without even trying.

“My brother is the godfather.” Lucifer spoke up, tilting his head back toward Hades.

Kamilah’s eyes grew wide. “Him? Oh no. No. I will not allow it.”

“Aye, Hades.” Lucifer called out to his brother. “Come here.”

“Hades? Absolutely not. Ellodie?—”

Kamilah was cut off when Hades walked up on them, intimidating her into shutting up.

“What?” Hades’s words always seemed to come out in a growl.