Page 5 of Promised to the Demon King (The Demon Brides #1)

Nova wiped her face with her grease rag, which unknowingly only smeared more oil on her porcelain skin. The shop guys chuckled, and Dane, the lead mechanic, bent down and helped wipe the oil off her tiny face.

"You little grease monkey." Dane winked as he chuckled.

Nova was twelve years old, and on her birthday, her father took her to the shop where the guys had gotten her a few special gifts. One was her own child-sized mechanic coveralls to wear around the shop and protect her clothes. She had wanted one for a while and was excited that it even had her name, Nova, embroidered on the patch.

"Did I do good, Dane?" Nova asked with a big grin. This was her first oil change. She wasn't the one doing it, but she was the official helper. She slid under the hoisted truck with Dane and handed him the items needed. Now that she had her suit, she could get underneath the cars. As long as she had one of the guys with her, that is.

Nova was the shop princess since the moment Jonathon brought her to meet the guys. Her big doe eyes and bright smile captured their hearts instantly.

Every day after school, she rode her bike to the shop and helped until closing time. Her dad would load her bike into the back of his truck, and they'd go home to cook dinner and do homework together.

Today will be different, however. It was her birthday which meant everyone would meet in the backyard for a huge BBQ and fire afterwards. Her father was big on community and there hadn’t been a birthday where the shop guys, with their families and the neighbours hadn’t celebrated Nova’s birthday.

As Dane cleaned Nova up, he tested her knowledge of which parts and equipment they had used during the oil change to gauge how much she had retained.

Nova walked Dane through the steps to do a successful oil change, and he wasn't surprised. She always knew.

Later that day, Nova will assist him with a basic tune-up on a Toyota Corolla. She studied and could recite the steps thoroughly to Dane.

"You're such a smart cookie." Dane praised her while bopping her button nose.

"I am no cookie, but I will take one if you offer it," Nova teased back. Dane's head flew back in laughter.

Nova was Dane's shadow around the shop. It's been like that since she could walk. He was also one of the first guys at the shop to see her potential in learning the trade, and he took great joy in watching her apply what she had learned. Even at the tender age of twelve, she absorbed knowledge around her.

Her desire to learn everything she could and her photographic memory only heightened her impressive intelligence.

"So, you want a cookie, do you?" Dane said, tapping his chin as though in ponder.

Nova nods enthusiastically and smiles. "Yes, please."

"Hmm, I don't know. It might ruin your dinner," Dane said thoughtfully. He was teasing, but this was their relationship. It was full of playful ease. Dane had a son. He was four years older than Nova but showed less ability than this little girl.

"We'll both sneak one. I won't tell your dad, and you don't tell my misses. She is threatening to put me on a diet. She says I'm having too many sweets." Dan pats his slight belly and laughs as he opens the cookie package and hands her one.

"I promise!" Nova gestures like she is zipping up her lips and throws away the key.

"That's my girl." They clank their cookies together like celebratory glasses and smile as they eat their secret and forbidden cookies.

"Are you ready to take the lead on this next tune-up?" Dane asked with a grin as he wiped away his renegade crumbs.

"Uncle Dane! Don't be silly. I'm just a kid. I can't take the lead. I am the helper." Nova laughs and rolls her eyes. "You're silly!" she says as she pops the last bite of cookie into her mouth. It was fortunate timing because her father, Jonathon, walked into the room right after she finished.

Jonathon froze in the room, taking in the two suspicious and guilty expressions.

"Well," he squints, his eyes playful in suspicion. What do we have here?" he asks, slowly taking calculated steps towards Nova, who is sitting on the counter. Jonathon raised his eyebrows as he watched his daughter press her lips tightly together and avoid eye contact.

Dane, watching the father-daughter pair, broke out into laughter. Everyone knew that Nova was a twinkle in her father's eye. Despite being rather obvious that she wasn't his biological daughter, the guys watched as Jonathon dotted over her as though she were a precious gem, and to anyone who met her, she was.

Her unique features only made her more memorable. Watching the strict boss turn into mush when it came to Nova was a sight.

Dane was with Johnny before he passed away, and he watched Jonathon take the business and grow it beyond any heights he thought possible. He had to be strict with standards, but when it came to Nova, he was the world's biggest softy.

Dane watched as Jonathon reached out. With the padding of his thumb, he wiped the cookie crumbs trapped in the corner of Nova's mouth.

Nova's eyes grew wide with surprise. Followed by a blush from the embarrassment of being caught.

"You wouldn't have swiped a cookie before dinner and birthday cake, would you have?" Jonathon's eyes were playful as he questioned his daughter.

This caused Dane to laugh harder.

"She did great on the oil change, boss. She recited every step. I figured she earned a reward." Dane chipped in, showing his support to Nova. She nodded quickly at Dane's words.

"You did?" Jonathon could feel his chest puffing with pride. He didn't know where Nova got her high level of intelligence from. It certainly wasn't from Carol; he knew he wasn't her biological father. Not that that mattered to him. She would always be his daughter.

But Jonathon was always taken aback by how special Nova was. Every day, she surprised and impressed him. She had such high intelligence and artistic skills well beyond her age and was an avid reader. There wasn't anything she wouldn't read if it were lying around.

It wasn't lost on him that she had no friends her own age. She always appeared more comfortable around adults, which he figured was due to her high IQ, but she always seemed bored doing kid things.

When Jonathon questioned Carol about who her father truly was, she told him this cooked-up story about an angel coming to her one night and promising her the next Son of God. Instead, they received the Devil's daughter. This angered him, not because she was lying to him or refusing to admit an affair before the Deacon. No, he didn't care about that. What bothered him was that Carol would refer to their daughter in such a disrespectful manner.

Because Nova was an angel child, she couldn't list that as her father on documents, so it stood that Jonathon was listed. This worked out for him, however. It gave him custody rights.

"I did! I also know the steps for the tune-up that Uncle Dane and I will do today, Dad. Are you proud?" Nova's big smile stretched across her heart-shaped face. Her green eyes shone brightly in anticipation.

"I am always proud of you, my little cookie monster. Don't ever doubt that, Princess."

Stretching out her arms, Jonathon stepped into them, pulled Nova into a hug and off the counter. While hugging her, he kissed her forehead. "You are my bright star, Princess. I'll always be proud you're my daughter." he whispered into her ear, and Nova smiled, hugging her dad tighter.

There was no question that these two were a bonded Father-daughter duo. Jonathon didn't have time to date around; his focus was on work, the community, and Nova.

Putting her down on her feet, Jonathon turned her around and quickly redid her hair to keep it back from her face. Her deep crimson hair was thick and soft as he combed his fingers through it. He may be a masculine and large man, but he was a girl-dad, meaning he knew three types of braids and all the ingredients in the shampoos she preferred for her hair type. In preparation for the next few years, he studied pamphlets for girl talks and learned how to shop for dresses and makeup.

These things often surprised many, especially given Jonathon's physical appearance, but he was proud to be a girl-dad.

Jonathon reached into his pocket and pulled out a clean bandana, tying it around her forehead.

Taking a step back, Jonathon took in her image with a smile.

She was a beauty all wrapped up in little girl-sized coveralls, and oil was smug on her face—his beauty queen-tomboy.

There wasn't a day that he didn't thank God for his little star. She was his entire world, and although he knew he may not have been able to make up for the deal he grudgingly made in the past, he wouldn't trade Nova for a son like he initially hoped for. Nova was everything he wanted in a child. She was his entire world.

His little shop Princess.