“I’m teasing you, Callie.”
“It’s hard to differentiate between that and your blunt honesty sometimes.”
Eliza’s perfectly lined lips pull into a smile. “I get that a lot.”
“Other than the unexpected growth spurt, was Scarlet well-behaved?” I run my hand over her fur. Instead of being soft and fluffy, her fur is gray and wiry. This is so fucking weird.
“I kept her busy. We went on lots of walks and she ate lots of treats.”
“You want a dog now, don’t you?” I get up off the floor, yawning. The private jet ride from Orlando to Chicago went by fast, thanks to the on-flight entertainment Lucas graciously provided me with. Needless to say, it’s late and I’m tired.
“Where’s Julian?” Eliza looks at the door. “I thought he was with you and I was hoping to corrupt him tonight.”
“He got called back to angel HQ or wherever it is he goes. And you’re not having sex with Julian.”
“You can’t tell me what to do, Mom,” she sasses. “Or him, and if he wants this, he’ll get this.”
“Gross.”
She giggles. “This is just the beginning of payback for making me listen to you and Lucas going at it.”
The front door opens again, and Lucas brings all our luggage in at once since it’s not heavy for him.
“You didn’t leave with that many bags,” Eliza notices.
“No, I had to buy an extra suitcase for everything I bought in Disney. Most of it is for Penny, and we both had fun buying baby stuff.”
Lucas closes the door and comes over, standing behind me so my back is to his front. He places both hands on my stomach and kisses my neck. Eliza rolls her eyes and gags.
“You still think it’s a girl?” she asks. I thought I heard my father tell me to do it for her when I was tied up by Ruth, and at the time I took it to mean the her was the baby.
“We’re not sure, but we got mostly gender-neutral stuff,” I tell her. “Though there were a few really cute newborn princess dresses I had to get. Just in case.”
“Because you couldn’t go back in a month or so when you find out.”
“Oh, we will,” Lucas says with a smile and kisses me again.
“Didn’t you get enough of each other on vacation?”
“This was the second leg of our honeymoon,” Lucas reminds her. “It reminded me why I married Callie all over again.”
“Yuck. Go upstairs and do that.”
I yawn again, spinning around in Lucas’s arms. “I’m good with that.”
“Ready for round two?” He squeezes my butt. “Technically round three.”
“If round three is you rubbing my back until I fall asleep, then yes. Though if you want to stay up and hang out with Eliza, I’m fine with that too.”
“When was the last time you ate?” Eliza asks Lucas, knowing he’s not getting much from me right now. “I was just about to go out and find someone.”
“Go with her,” I tell Lucas. “We’ve had an exceptionally normal vacation. We’re due to be attacked any day now so you need your strength.”
Lucas frowns but knows it’s true. “I won’t be gone long.”
“I’ll be fine here,” I tell him. “Scarlet will actually intimidate people on her own in this form.”
“She will.” Lucas pulls me in for a hug. “Do you need anything before I go out?”
I shake my head. “I’m good. I ate on the way back from the airport, and I just want to sleep now, so go.”
Lucas kisses me again and leaves with Eliza, arming the security system on his way out. I open one of my suitcases, grabbing underwear and one of Lucas’s t-shirts. I go upstairs, take a quick shower, and settle into bed. Scarlet joins me, taking up half the mattress.
“Lucifer?” I whisper in the dark and close my eyes. “Dad?”
I haven’t heard from either of them, and it if wasn’t for Julian popping in and out throughout our vacation, I’d have had no connection to my angel side for the past three weeks. Lucifer is still on the run, and Heaven is still busy looking for him. The attention has been shifted from me, which is nice.
But the demons haven’t forgotten, and without Lucifer on the throne in Hell, Julian is worried they’ll grow even more restless and basically see this as an opportunity to somehow get me down there, laying claim to the throne.
“Anyone there?” I ask once more and then roll over, snuggling with Scarlet. Being in Florida for three weeks was a nice break from reality. I was almost able to forget everything going on. Almost. But no matter how magical the vacation was, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being in the calm before the storm.
Because I know it’s coming.“Abby’s here.”
Eliza’s voice cuts through the room. The metal blinds are drawn, blocking out all light.
“Already?” I ask groggily, sitting up. Lucas is naked in bed next to me, and I don’t even remember him coming in last night. I passed the fuck out, exhausted from traveling. “Tell her I’ll be right down.”