Page 27 of Falling for Lucifer

“ Y ou look so nervous.” Harley giggled as she bumped her hip against Ellodie’s. They stood at the bar in the underworld, The Obsidian Rider’s headquarters. “I remember my first time in the underworld. The Obsidian Riders are cool, I promise.”

Lucifer had said the same thing to Ellodie. She wasn’t really nervous about meeting them though. She was nervous about seeing her father and meeting his girlfriend.

It was Ellodie’s birthday, and though she didn’t want to make a big fuss about it this year, Lucifer insisted she needed to be celebrated.

When Harley doubled down on that, Ellodie decided to go with the flow.

It had been three weeks since her father’s birthday, and she would be lying if she said she didn’t have a bit of trauma surrounding big birthday celebrations.

That was the reason she was so back and forth on if she wanted to invite her father.

Just last night, she decided that life was too short and that father/daughter relationship she always craved wouldn’t happen if she kept shying away from it out of fear.

When she called him, he was happy to hear from her and asked if he could bring Alandria, his girlfriend.

That almost pulled her back into her shell, but she shook it off and told him it was okay.

Now, she almost wished she hadn’t. It was her damn birthday, for goodness’ sake, and she had to juggle meeting the important people in Lucifer’s life too.

She felt overwhelmed, but Harley’s calming presence definitely helped.

When Yasmine got there, she would really feel at ease.

“I’m more nervous about meeting my dad’s mistress.

” Ellodie snorted before taking a long sip from the drink Hades passed to her when she walked into the room.

He grumbled happy birthday and told her to drink up.

Ellodie had eyed the concoction suspiciously for the past thirty minutes, but she figured Hades would gain nothing from poisoning her, even though he was scary as hell.

She coughed after swallowing, and Harley giggled as she patted her on the back. “I was wondering when you were going to drink that.”

“What’s in this?” Ellodie sputtered as she tried to catch her breath. Whatever it was, it was strong as hell.

Harley shrugged as her eyes traveled over to Hades, who held their daughter and spoke to Lucifer and a couple of other bikers. “No idea, but it was on my birthday last year that he gave me a drink like that, and Kali was conceived. Strong, ain’t it?”

Ellodie’s eyes ballooned as she nodded. “Are you saying Hades wants a niece or nephew? Because if I drink all of this, that will most likely happen.”

Not that she and Lucifer had been careful about making more babies, anyway. She didn’t feel like she needed to divulge that information to Harley though.

Harley grinned. “Hades is all about family. The more the merrier.” Ellodie grimaced at the drink, and Harley giggled. “Take one more sip to help with the nerves and then nurse it the rest of the night.”

Ellodie took Harley’s advice and took another healthy sip. Her face screwed up, and she shook her head back and forth before taking a deep breath. “Damn, that is potent .”

Harley wasn’t paying attention anymore though.

Ellodie watched as she squealed and ran toward a couple walking into the large space.

They looked similar, so Ellodie was willing to bet it was her sister Cati and her boyfriend Major.

Right behind them, Ellodie saw Yasmine and Uncle Martin.

A smile formed on her face, and she rushed over to them.

“Happy birthday, Ello!” Yasmine cheered as she gave Ellodie a big hug. “Where’s my baby?”

Ellodie scoffed. “Girl, it’s my birthday. You can’t even pretend to be here for me?”

Yasmine seemed to ignore her as she looked around the large space.

Though there weren’t many people there yet, there was a lot to look at.

The space was underneath Underworld Customs, but it looked like a different building completely.

There were hookahs on each table that would not be in use that day since there were babies and children attending the party.

The grand chandeliers running the length of the room gave the space a glamorous feel, and the full bar was stocked and ready to be taken advantage of.

Lucifer and Harley hired someone to decorate specifically for Ellodie’s birthday.

There were pink decorations everywhere and a photo booth in the far corner of the room.

Ellodie’s nerves were definitely relaxing as she took everything in.

Lucifer had gone all out for her, and as always, she appreciated him more than he knew.

Wes never celebrated her birthday, so this was all new for her.

The thought of him gave her conflicted feelings.

A week ago, Lucifer let her know that he had been arrested and the warrants along with her statement about the abuse he put her through would send him away for a very long time.

There was also the promise that he wouldn’t seek parental rights from behind bars.

Ellodie didn’t even know that was possible, so she was glad Lucifer and Mayor Ashford seemed to think of everything.

“Oop, I see her,” Yasmine said before she thrusted a gift into Ellodie’s arms and took off toward Lucifer, who had Etta in a baby carrier strapped to his chest.

Uncle Martin chuckled. “That girl know she ain’t right.”

Ellodie smiled up at him. “That’s yo’ daughter, Uncle.” She hugged him. “How have you been?”

He shook his head. “No, how have you been? I know shit with the family has been pretty heavy.”

Ellodie sighed as she looked around the room again. More people filed in, and she knew by the end of the night, she would know most of them by name. When her eyes met her uncle again, she decided to ignore his question and ask another of her own. “Did you know this whole time? Did my grandma know?”

He nodded slowly. “We did. And we supported your father as best we could. Ya mama threatened to ruin his good name and his career. Your father worked hard for the life he lived, and he found himself in a hard place.”

“Is she nice?” Ellodie asked. She didn’t care much about the other stuff, because there wasn’t much she could do about it now.

Her mother had left her a few voicemails, trying to get her to talk some sense into her father, but she ignored them.

All she wanted to do now was help her family to move on from the mess her mother created.

Uncle Martin put his arm around her. “She’s the coolest. You know I wouldn’t lie to ya. Only thing I can’t stand about her is she don’t got a sister for me.”

Ellodie giggled as relief flooded her. She couldn’t deal with an evil stepmother. She already had an evil mother, and she knew her uncle wasn’t one to spare people’s feelings. She felt comfortable knowing he told her the truth.

“Speak of the devil,” she muttered when she caught sight of her father and a pretty, tall, caramel-skinned woman getting off the elevator.

“I’m going to grab a drink. You want anything?” Uncle Martin asked. Ellodie lifted her glass and shook her head as she kept her eyes on her father and his date.

Uncle Martin squeezed her shoulder. “Happy birthday, Niece.”

Ellodie watched as he left her side to go greet his brother and Alandria.

Uncle Martin went toward the bar while the couple glided into the room, looking like a million bucks.

Her father looked younger somehow and more carefree than she had ever seen him.

Alandria had beautiful curly hair that touched the middle of her back, and her makeup was flawless.

She looked regal but kind, the kind of image she knew her mother always went for but failed miserably at.

As if he could sense she needed him, Lucifer appeared at her side. His strong hand found her waist, and he pulled her into him before placing a kiss on her head. “You good?”

Ellodie noticed Etta was missing from the baby carrier he wore. “I’m okay,” she whispered. “Where’s my baby?”

“Yasmine.”

It was all he needed to say. Ellodie was willing to bet that Etta would stay in Yasmine’s arms for the duration of the party.

Daniel spotted his daughter and smiled brightly as he led Alandria toward Ellodie and Lucifer. When he was within arm’s length, he pulled Ellodie in for a hug, which lasted several long seconds before they pulled apart.

“Hey, sweet pea. Happy birthday.”

“Hey, Dad,” Ellodie responded, but her eyes kept traveling over to Alandria, who smiled kindly at her.

Daniel shook Lucifer’s hand before pulling Alandria into his side. “Baby, this is my daughter, Ellodie, and her man, Lu. Where’s my grandbaby?”

“Yasmine,” Lucifer said, and Ellodie covered her mouth to hide her laugh. It was clear to her that he was salty her cousin had come in and taken his baby from him. “Nice to meet you, Alandria.”

“Likewise.” Her voice was warm and smooth like syrup. Although she didn’t want to, Ellodie immediately relaxed at the sound of her voice. Alandria’s eyes found Ellodie, and her smile brightened. “And it’s so good to meet you, Ellodie. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Ellodie blushed as they shook hands. She realized Alandria probably knew way more about her than she knew about Alandria. The woman would have been hearing stories about her since she was a baby. That was a long ass time.

“It’s nice to meet you. I haven’t heard much about you other than you have no sisters.” She giggled and nodded her head toward her uncle, who was still at the bar.

Alandria glanced in that direction and laughed. Ellodie couldn’t describe the sound other than it sounded like honey—sweet and rich.

“I hope we can get to know each other better,” Alandria finally replied. “And happy birthday.”