Shaking his head as his daughter slammed on the brakes at the four-way stop sign a mere block away from their house, the sudden halt of the car jarred the teeth of each passenger in the vehicle. “Easy, Devlynn!” Devil groaned as the abrupt stop rocked his body forward and back in the passenger seat. “You need to start braking the vehicle way before you’re standing on top of the stop sign,” he chided sharply.
“What are you talking about? I did stop, Dad!” Devlynn argued defensively. “I stopped, didn’t I, guys?” she asked, looking into the rearview mirror for support from her uncle and great grandmother.
“Stop is such a relative term, mi Chiquita,” Mannie hedged.
“You’ll get better with practice, lass,” Nana soothed with a smile at her granddaughter.
“Thank you, Nana,” Devlynn replied quietly as she pressed on the gas again, driving them the remainder of the distance to her home in silence.
Finally reaching their destination, Devil held his breath as his only offspring navigated the car into the driveway, only relaxing when she pushed the gear shift into park and killed the ignition.
“Well, Dad? I know I had a couple of rocky moments, but overall, how’d I do?” Devlynn questioned excitedly.
Leaning his head back against the leather headrest, Devil debated how best to answer his offspring. He never wanted to kill her confidence, but at the same time he tried to never lie to her.
“Well, Spawn, I’d say you’re a chip of the old block,” he returned with a loving smile.
Because no one ever accused Devil Delancy of being a stupid man, the fact that it was her mother’s side of the block was left unsaid.
Epilogue: 18 Years Old - The Great College Debate
“No. Absolutely Not.”
“But Daddy….”
“Forget it, Spawn. There’s no way in hell I’m gonna finance a college degree at Oxford! First of all, it’s just too far away, and don’t even get me started on the cost of tuition. Out of state prices are exorbitant enough, but this is out of country tuition we’re discussing now. Sorry, kid, but no,” Devil insisted as he faced off with his child across the dining room table. His daughter had been able to make persuasive arguments almost from the cradle. Since the moment she’d been able to cogitate and speak in complete sentences, Devlynn had developed a special talent for being able to anticipate her adversary’s viewpoints and counter them with logical, well-reasoned arguments. When the rare occasion called for it, his kid could even be downright manipulative when it came to winning a disagreement - especially when the stakes were raised the way they were now. Most days, it made him proud to know that he and Molly had raised such a cunning opponent.
Unfortunately, this was not most days.
Today, he had to win.
Otherwise, there was going to be an ocean between him and his only offspring.
And he was NOT having that.
“Dad, I don’t know if your age is catching up with you or what, but I just told you that I got a scholarship. It would cover my entire tuition.”
“You’d still have to come up with room and board and living expenses. Then, there’s books and food and…”
“You do know that I’m aware that you’re a millionaire several times over, right?” Devlynn reminded him impatiently. Looking toward her mom with frustrated eyes, she begged, “Mom, please! Talk some sense into your husband before I have him committed to the closest funny farm I can find.”
Smiling at her daughter, Molly shook her head. “Your dad isn’t crazy; he’s panicked. You’re our baby, Devlynn, and you’re contemplating a move that would put a literal ocean between us. You’ll have to forgive both of us if we’re not turning cartwheels at the thought of you moving to an entirely different continent.”
Gazing at his wife, Devil reached for her hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever loved you more than at this very moment, Molly,” he informed her solemnly. He knew if anybody on the planet would get where his head was, it would be his gorgeous wife.
“Back atcha, handsome,” Molly replied tenderly, leaning toward her husband and pressing a kiss to his lips.
“I just threw up a little in my mouth,” Devlynn complained with a roll of her eyes.
“Get over it,” Devil ordered against his wife’s lips before pulling back to stare at his daughter. “What about Agnes Scott?” he suggested hopefully. “You got a full ride there, kiddo. And you could live at home if you chose that school.”
“You say that like I’d think it was a good thing, Dad. Besides, there’s no way on Earth I’m agreeing to attend an all-girls school,” she snarled. “Can’t you understand that I want to stretch my wings? Try to fly a little on my own?” she complained, lifting her hand in the air helplessly. “I’m eighteen now. It’s time to take my training wheels off and let me have a little freedom.”
“Yeah, and the last time you tried to fly, you ended up with a cast. Remember that?” He felt Molly’s heel grind against his instep, but he powered through the pain. “A university in England isn’t offering you a little freedom, Spawn. It’s akin to disowning your family and disavowing your country.”
“Dramatic much?” Devlynn huffed, rolling eyes that were identical to her dad’s. “You’re just mad that Nyx won’t be able to birddog me if I choose a school that’s not in a hundred mile radius.”
Smiling at the mention of his adopted nephew, Devil smirked. “Don’t bet on it, baby girl. I’m pretty sure Nyx would follow you to the moon if he thought you might get yourself into trouble. And it wouldn’t be because I asked him to go. He’d do it all on his own.” Devil knew that Nyx’s protective tendencies were driving his little girl crazy, but he couldn’t deny that he was tickled pink that his child had someone looking out for her. The truth was that Nyx had been quietly watching over Devlynn for years and any idiot could see that the young man’s interest was anything but familial, but so far, Nyx had kept things strictly platonic between him and Devil’s spitfire offspring. He suspected Nyx had refrained from acting on his attraction because he wanted to let Devlynn grow up a bit, but Devil knew that when the time came, he’d give his blessing to the relationship. Nyx was a good kid who’d grown into an even better man, and his baby girl would be lucky to have a man that loved her that much. Sooner or later, she’d figure that out.
Glaring at her father, Devlynn huffed irritably. “Whatever. At least England would give me some space from all the overbearing men in my life.”
Making a timeout gesture with her hands, Molly whistled, drawing both her husband’s and daughter’s attention. “Okay, everybody, let’s take a breath. We’ve got a lot of schools here that would be a good compromise.” She gestured at the pile of college acceptance letters in the middle of the table. “Things could be a lot worse, y’all. We could have no options at all. Look at these,” she said, picking up a handful of the letters. “We’ve got plenty of choices to weed through. Can’t we all simply agree to seriously discuss the other options?”
Both Devil and Devlynn inhaled deeply as they considered what Molly said. Looking at her father, Devlynn shrugged. “I will if Dad will,” she consented.
“I will if the Spawn will,” Devil agreed.
Satisfied, Molly nodded and looked down at the first letter. “Then let’s chat about University of Alabama,” she suggested.
“No,” Devil and Devlynn announced in perfect unison.
Molly sighed as she tossed the letter aside. “This is gonna be one long afternoon,” she muttered.
Four hours later, a compromise was, indeed, reached and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, was one student heavier.
And wasn’t it ever so convenient that it was only a few hours’ drive from Atlanta? Negotiations could be rigged, you know.
Epilogue: 21 Years Old - What’s in a Name?
“Your request is denied,” Devil Delancy returned icily without looking up from the file on his desk. “Or, in other words: Hell, no!” he barked, lifting his head to level the woman acros
s from him with a hard look.
“C’mon, Dad. Don’t be that way. Please?” Devlynn pleaded, shifting from foot to foot in front of her father’s desk.
“No. I refuse to hire an employee that uses a false name. There’s no such person as Devlynn Ramsey,” Devil grumbled, tossing away the typed resume in his hand as he battled his bad temper. Highly irritated that his kid wasn’t proudly using the surname to which she was born and more than a little hurt that his offspring could so easily drop a name he had worked his ass off to build, Devil knew that if he wasn’t careful he’d say something he both didn’t mean and couldn’t take back. But, sweet Jesus, he was livid. The Delancy name was centuries old. It was a legacy, dammit! The fact that his beloved daughter didn’t recognize that was beyond painful. It was a downright brutal blow to his pride.
“Try to understand, Daddy,” Devlynn stated softly. “This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I don’t want to stand on the power of the Delancy name. Using the name you built to score a coveted position in either your company or one of your competitors is the absolute last thing I ever want to do. If I rise here at your company, I want to do it because I’m good at my job – not because I am the Devil’s spawn. I want to be known for what I can do… not for being lucky enough to be your kid. Using Mom’s maiden name isn’t something I’m doing to hurt you. It’s something I’m doing to prove to myself I’m good enough to succeed on my own. I want to make you proud.”
Stunned, Devil blinked at the young woman that was his incredible child. “Of course you’re good enough! Devlynn, you graduated at the top of your class a whole year early while still working a full-time job at the bank. You refused to take any money from your mother or me during the entire time you were at college. You’ve done it completely on your own. Every single one of your accomplishments was completely yours. Your family name didn’t offer you any advantages. What you achieved belongs solely to you and you alone. You have nothing to prove, baby girl. Not to me. Not your momma. Not to any-fucking-body. There’s not any way I could be more proud of you, sweetheart. If you feel like you need to use your mother’s maiden name to prove something to yourself, do what you have to do, but as far as I’m concerned, you’ve already paid your dues. Whatever name you go by, the job in accounting is yours because you are unequivocally the best candidate for the job.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” Devlynn whispered as she furiously tried to blink back tears.
Rising from his chair, Devil opened his arms and smiled as his little girl rushed toward him, hurling herself into the safety of his embrace. Burying his nose in her thick auburn hair, he inhaled deeply and thanked God for the miracle that was his beautiful Devlynn.
Epilogue: 22 Years Old - I Loved Her First
“No.”
“Daddy….”
“No.”
“Uncle Devil…”
“You should give serious thought to never talking to me again, kid,” Devil ominously warned the man currently responsible for all his troubles.
Smacking her hand against the muscular arm of her fiancé, Devlynn Delancy pursed her lips and glared. Their engagement was only mere minutes old, and already, they were already bickering like a couple of old married farts. “I thought you said you asked his permission, Nyx,” she hissed, flapping a hand at her dad as the light caught on the princess cut diamond on her left hand, the stone twinkling as she moved. “This does not feel like the approval you said we had!”
Nyx didn’t bother responding to his girl; he simply stared at her father with one brow cocked heavenward, waiting for the other man to speak.
Jerking her gaze back to her dad, Devlynn frowned. “Daddy?”
“He asked, and I answered. I just decided that I’ve changed my mind,” Devil declared quickly, glaring at the boy that had created this trouble for him. Devlynn was his baby, damn it. Giving her to another man – even a good one like Nyx – it just wasn’t something he could do. He’d thought he could. When he’d given the kid permission to ask his daughter to marry him, he’d truly believed that he could let her go.
But now? Seeing his little girl with a sparkling diamond on her hand as she stood beside a man that claimed he wanted to love and protect her until he took his last breath, Devil realized that he didn’t think he’d ever be ready to let his baby go.
A man was allowed to change his mind, wasn’t he?
“You’re too young to take this kinda leap, Spawn. You’ve got your entire life ahead of you,” Devil said, grasping at the first obstacle he could think of to try and dissuade his child from making this commitment. Devil’s eyebrows lifted as he heard a low growl emanating from Nyx Santino’s throat as the younger man curled his arm around Devlynn’s waist and tugged her against him. Surprised, Devil fought a grin as he focused his attention on the boy who’d grown into a man. “Something you wanna say to me, kid?”
“Uncle Devil, I wanted Devlynn when she was sixteen and, but I held back out of respect for you and our family. Besides my two dads, you’ve been the one person I’ve always wanted to make proud. I knew that making a move on your daughter would not only anger you, but disappoint you, too. So, I stood back and swallowed my feelings. In my heart, I knew I was doing the right thing. Back then, she really was too young for what I wanted from her.”
“I always knew you were a smart kid,” Devil murmured, offering the other man a pleased nod.
“I held back again when she was eighteen and went away to college in Nashville. It went against every instinct I had to let the woman I knew was meant for me drive away from this house to an unknown future. Do you remember what you said to me that day when we stood outside this house and watched her car disappear?”
Seeing his daughter staring at the younger man with rapt eyes, Devil felt his kid drifting further away from him even though they stood in the same room. But he owed Nyx an honest answer. “I told you then that if it was meant to be between you and my baby that she’d come back to you all on her own,” he replied softly.
Nyx nodded. “Yeah. It took two hellish years, Devil. Two years that I spent aching for the other half of my soul. Two years where every day I walked around feeling like my heart had been ripped out of my chest.”
“Oh, Nyx,” Devlynn breathed, moving her hand to rest over his chest just above his heart.
“But I was right, wasn’t I?” Devil asked knowingly. “She did come back to you. And when she did, she was finally ready for the kind of commitment you wanted, too.”
“Yeah, she was,” Nyx agreed with a slow nod. “Which is why I won’t back down from you now, sir. I respect and admire you, Uncle Devil. You know that. But there is absolutely no way in hell that I’m gonna settle for less than everything with your daughter. I love her more than I ever thought I could love someone. Until I had to watch her drive away from me, I never understood sacrifice. But I do now. I now know what it means to love somebody more than you love yourself. She’s the air in my lungs… the reason I get up in the morning. I know you understand what that’s like because that’s what you have with her mom. So you also know that I’m not going anywhere. I’m hers and she’s mine, and I know that sucks for you, but that’s how it is. Whether I’ve got your approval or not, I’m marrying her. Yesterday, you got that. Today, I know, it’s real for you in a way it wasn’t yesterday. But, I’m not budging, sir. Devlynn is mine.”
Swallowing the lump of raw emotion clogging his throat, Devil forced himself to move his eyes to his daughter’s face. Seeing her eyes glued to Nyx’s, it was obvious that his kid had been completely captivated by her future husband’s speech. Watching the couple, his shoulders sagged as his heart recognized that he’d just lost the war for his daughter. His opponent had brought out the big guns… firing a shot of true love straight into his daughter’s soul.
“Okay, fine.” Devil finally conceded huskily.
Jerking her eyes toward her father, Devlynn’s eyes filled with tears. “Does that mean….”
“That m
eans that you should come give your old daddy a kiss before you go share with your momma that we’ve got a wedding to plan. You’ve both got my blessing. Again,” Devil clarified with a pointed look at Nyx as his baby hurled herself against his chest. Enfolding his girl in his arms, Devil buried his face in her hair as she laughed and cried against his shirt.
“Thank you, Daddy,” she sobbed. “I love you!”
“I love you, too, Spawn. Never forget that,” Devil urged, his throat thick as he squeezed his kid in his arms. Finally releasing her, he smiled down into her radiant face. “Now, go show your mom that rock while your man and I have a little chat,” he ordered, gently pushing her toward the door.
Devlynn nodded eagerly before quickly hugging him one last time. She paused only long enough to press a kiss against Nyx’s lips before running out the door toward the kitchen where Molly was making dinner.
Waiting until he knew they were alone, Devil ambled toward the large picture window that overlooked their sprawling lawn. Offering Nix a sidelong look as the other man came to stand at his side, Devil murmured, “Well, I guess you got what you wanted today, kid.”
“Yes, sir,” Nyx replied honestly, “Devlynn is all I ever wanted. Saying thank you seems trite at a moment like this. There just aren’t words meaningful enough to tell you how grateful I am to you. I know how close you are to your daughter. I can’t imagine how hard it was to give us your blessing.”
“No, you can’t,” Devil agreed hoarsely, staring at the wooden playset where he used to push his baby on the swing and watch her slip down the slide. He could still hear her childish laughter as if it were yesterday,
“Twice, no less,” Nyx added with a grin.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I guess when the moment of truth arrived, I wasn’t quite as ready as I thought I was to let her my angel go. One day, you will understand how difficult this was for me, Nyx,” Devil noted softly, walking over to stand beside Nyx.
The Sizzle Saga Page 59
