Page 153 of Wicked Believer

It’s the morning of our family brunch, and my nerves couldn’t be any higher. I flit around the table, fiddling with various aspects of the fall-themed centerpiece and straightening the napkins and silverware for what has to be the hundredth time within the past twenty minutes. My whole body feels like it’s vibrating with energy, even though there’s not much left to do.

Mia stands off to the side of the table, her tablet in hand. It didn’t take much to convince her not to report the finer details of our family get-together to Lucifer, because I want to tell him myself when I’m ready.

All I had to promise was that I’d let her sit at the table with us next to Greed.

Now that she’s serving as my personal assistant and I’m getting to know her, I’m starting to think the idea of her and Lucifer together wasn’t just a projection of my own insecurity but categorically incorrect on several levels.

If her fangirlish obsession with Mimi is any indication, she might have no interest in men, actually.

The idea has warmed me to her considerably.

Whichmaybe something I have to work out in therapy.

“Hey, Mia, do you remember when we first met in the foyer a few weeks back?”

Mia snorts. “Yeah, I remember.”

I adjust one of the French porcelain plates from our Sèvres dinner set. “Well, when you said that you’d been handling Lucifer’s household affairs long before I got here, what did you mean?”

Mia shrugs, glancing down at her tablet like she doesn’t want to look at me. “I guess I was just taking a snipe at you, to imply that you and Lucifer weren’t going to last long.”

“Why’s that?”

Mia rolls her eyes. “Because I was pissed you didn’t remember me.”

“Remember you?”

She sighs, shifting her stance. “We met on the first day you and Lucifer debuted. I was there to organize Xzander and Sophie’s teams. I only said a few words to you, and I know you had to have been introduced to at least forty other people that day, but it ... made me feel small, insignificant, and I ...”

I rush forward, pulling her into a hug before she can finish.

“I’m sorry. I wish you’d have said something sooner.”

I pull back and see she’s blushing. “I was embarrassed.”

I nod, understanding. “I know what it’s like to be one of the staff. How it feels like you’re background noise in the face of so much power and celebrity. I’m sorry I made you feel like that. I forgot where I came from for a moment.”

Mia smiles softly. “Apology accepted.”

“Though to be clear”—I pull back, still holding her shoulders—“you and Lucifer have never ...”

“Ugh, no.” She wrinkles her nose. “I’m into women exclusive—”

Her voice trails off as Greed enters the room, the first among our guests to arrive.

I press my lips together, stifling a grin as I mumble, “Yeah, I thought so,” before I turn toward Greed. “Mimi, thanks for coming.” I kiss both her cheeks before she can get a word in edgewise. “Have you met mynew assistant, Mia? She’s a big fan of yours, and I bet she’dloveto hear about all the rare statues of Sappho you’ve collected to decorate your office.” I give Mia an encouraging push in Greed’s direction. Her eyes grow wide, and she flushes.

Lucifer’s other siblings start to arrive after that, thanks to the celestial loophole in the penthouse’s security that I still haven’t spoken to Lucifer about. Not that there’s anything either of us could really do about it now. He and Azrael are off on some mission this afternoon related to finding where his Father’s blade, the Holy Lance, last resided before Michael managed to get his hands on it, in hopes that it might lead to getting the blade back, which I’m pretty sure Lucifer believes is step one of restoring his power. They won’t return home until later tonight for our engagement-turned-play-party.

I was expressly ordered not to leave the penthouse for any reason while they were both out, but Lucifer said nothing about inviting othersin.

Once the Originals who RSVP’d have arrived and everyone has our brunch’s custom cocktail in hand—an apple-cider mimosa made from a blend of Champagne Brut Goût de Diamants and freshly pressed Honeycrisp apples from upstate (Gluttony really took my suggestion of doing something harvest/autumn themed to heart)—we all tuck in.

Bel—a.k.a. Sloth—is the one Original I didn’t manage to get in attendance, though when I mention this to Wrath, who sits to my right, he snorts and says, “You honestly expectedhimto come to you? That’s too much work for him.”

I chuckle like I’m in on the joke, mentally trying to calm my nerves. A huge chunk of the world’s monetary wealth is concentrated in this room, which is both a grim and incredibly depressing thought—capitalist hellscapes for the win—and that’s not even considering the divine side of the power all the Originals hold.

Honestly, I’m counting myself lucky that I managed to get even this many of them to show up. Wrath and Envy are only here because Azmodeus called this in as part of a “small favor” they owed him, andapparently, he’s willing to help me out now that he’s my new “gay bestie.” Or maybe he just really wants to fuck with Lucifer.