“Finds the whole thing incredibly romantic?” Vivian asked knowingly.
“Are you kidding me?” Sami asked incredulously, her head jerking up in shock. “Romantic is a moonlight walk on the pier, Vivian. It’s certainly not a surprise announcement over a dying woman’s bed. What did the asshole have to say for himself after you got out of Nana’s room? What’s his plan? A divorce after good old Nana finally departs for the Hereafter?” she continued sharply.
“I don’t know,” Molly admitted softly, shrugging as she sank deeper into the sofa. “I wasn’t exactly in a frame of mind to stand around discussing it. Basically, after I assaulted him for rolling his eyes at me, I took off. I didn’t really give him a chance to tell me what he was thinking.”
“Well, you can’t make an informed decision until you know all the facts,” Vivian insisted, her voice shifting slightly into the same tone she was known to use with recalcitrant clients.
“I can’t disappoint Nana. You guys know how important she is to me and my family,” Molly moaned, taking another swig from her bottle. “Hell, she is family.”
“You’d rather be in a loveless marriage?” Sami questioned with a hard look at Molly.
“Who says it would be loveless?” Vivian disputed, leaning earnestly forward. “You’ve seen the way Devil looks at Molly when he thinks nobody is watching him, Sami. There’s something there.”
“Yeah. Lust,” Sami retorted succinctly. “I’m not saying that he doesn’t want to screw her, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to fall in love with her.” Shaking her head, Sami groaned. “How is it that the model is more rational than the attorney in this friendship?”
“Vivian does love a good happily ever after story,” Molly replied with a grin at Vivian, the vodka starting to make her world look slightly hazier and rosier.
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with rooting for an optimal outcome,” Viv justified herself, shifting her wine glass. “Devil has a lot going for him,” she pointed out. “He’s successful, handsome, philanthropic…”
“He’s also been known to be obnoxious, arrogant, and downright deceitful when he thinks the occasion warrants it,” Sami objected, leaning forward to glare at her so-called friend. “Not to mention the fact that the guy is a horndog with a serious wandering dick.”
“A good woman could change all that,” Vivian declared with a hopeful smile.
“So could a butcher knife to his balls,” Sami cooed sweetly, batting her eyelashes at Viv. “Which do you think is more likely?”
Molly giggled as she watched her two best friends do battle with each other. “You two are priceless. Remember who the enemy is, though.”
“I’m not so sure that Devil is the enemy,” Vivian mused, shrugging as she ignored the snort from across the room. “Sami is right about one thing. He could have plucked one of his former lady loves names from the air and given it as his perspective bride. He chose you. That has to mean something.”
“It means she was the one standing nearest him at the time,” Sami stated dispassionately. “This is not some grand love story that you’re watching unfold, Viv. It’s just a guy that used Molly because she was the nearest scapegoat. That’s what he does. He uses women. Then, when he’s done, he gives them the great kiss-off.”
“And a lovely parting gift,” Molly added with a laugh. Things always seemed so much sunnier when you had half a bottle of premium liquor coursing through your veins, didn’t they? She must remember this for the future.
“He’s going to give her a family heirloom for an engagement ring, Sami. That has to mean something,” Vivian argued.
“Yeah, because his Nana told him to,” Sami rebuffed easily. “I’m sure that’s the way every woman dreams of getting a diamond.” Swallowing the last of her wine, Sami shook her head. “The whole thing is repulsive.”
“Or, it could be seen as extremely caring,” Vivian remarked, holding her ground just as all three friends were blinded by headlights being reflected through Molly’s picture window.
Draining the last of the vodka in her bottle, Molly squinted at the bay window. “Who is that? Everyone I care about is here. Or at the hospital. Or in Bermuda,” she muttered, struggling to sit up.
“Just stay there, sweetie. You’ve had a hard day,” Viv soothed her friend, patting Molly’s leg as she stood up. “I’ll see who it is.”
“Get rid of ‘em, Viv, whoever it is,” Sami directed, eyeing Molly critically and not failing to notice the way that her friend was literally slipping deeper into the couch cushions. “I don’t think our girl is in any shape to deal with much of anything tonight.”
Both women watched as Vivian peeked out the sheer curtain hanging in front of the window.
“Oh, my God!” Vivian hissed, turning to stare at Molly and Sami with wide, excited eyes.
“What?!” Sami questioned, instantly alert and on her feet.
“It’s El Diablo, himself!” Vivian squealed, falling back against the wall as the doorbell pealed.
“Well, hell. Evidently, the Devil makes house calls,” Molly cursed with a groan. Burying her face in a throw pillow, Molly wondered if it was possible to smother herself. A girl could hope, couldn’t she?
Chapter Thirteen
Confronted by the angry green eyes of one of Molly’s best friends as she opened the door to her condo, Devil Delancy was momentarily thrown off balance. Not that it was surprising that he’d find Samantha Dixon standing guard over her friend. And where there was Sami, Vivian wouldn’t be far. No, that he’d expected. Both Samantha Dixon and Vivian Miller were loyal to a fault when it came to all things Molly.
But the level of animosity he felt rolling off the svelte model’s body was enough to give even a confident man like him a moment’s pause.
“Samantha,” he greeted the blonde haired model with a slow inclination of his head. “It’s nice to see you again. Is Molly here?” he asked, trying to see around the tall woman inside the house. “I need to speak to her.”
“Oh, I think maybe the time for talking was over when you announced that you were marrying her this afternoon, don’t you? It’s a little late for talking, Devil. I think begging and pleading might be in order tonight. I think maybe you should practice on me.”
“Begging and pleading?” Devil echoed, lifting his eyebrows as Samantha’s eyes glittered dangerously. They even seemed to have an orange glow that he prayed was just a trick of the dim porch light hanging above his head. But knowing Samantha, she had indeed channeled a creature from the nether world and was about to unleash her unholy powers upon his very soul.
“Actually I think you should do it in reverse order. Plead, then beg,” Sami informed him with a sneer. “First you plead with me not to cut off your balls for being a complete and utter horse’s ass, and then you beg me to just kill you and put you out of Molly’s misery when I give in to temptation and do it.”
“Okay, this is going well,” Devil muttered under his breath as he slid his hands in his grey slacks. Who knew a body wrapped in such a beautiful package could be so bloodthirsty?
“Samantha!” Vivian’s modulated voice admonished from inside the doorway.
“What?” Samantha spat, never taking her eyes off of her prey. “You don’t think he has this coming?”
“Hello, Vivian,” Devil called out hopefully, knowing that voice could only belong to one other woman. “Congratulations on the Winslow case.”
“Thank you! You heard about that?” Vivian asked, appearing just behind Sami’s left shoulder with a mildly shocked look on her pretty face.
Rolling her eyes, Sami shook her head. “Of course he heard. He’s the Devil. I think it might entitle him to some kind of omniscient powers.”
“Actually, I heard it on the Atlanta news on the drive here,” Devil corrected, pasting a smile on his face and ignoring the jab that Sami aimed at him. “May I talk to Molly now?”
“Uhmm… I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, Devil,” Viv denied softly with a
look over her shoulder at where Molly sat frantically shaking her head. “Molly’s not really feeling very conversational right now.”
“Yeah, for some odd reason, she seems to be speaking in a lot of four-letter words. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” Sami added with another sneer.
Damn, the model had taken snide to a whole new level. If he wasn’t so worried about Molly, he might have been suitably impressed. Instead, he simply felt irritated by the human impediment standing between him and the woman he’d decided to marry. He’d be damned if he’d beg this woman for a damn audience with his future wife, choosing instead to speak directly to the source. “Molly, I know you’re in there! Please don’t make me steamroll your friends because you’ve decided to act like a petulant child!”
Glaring at Devil, Sami started to close the door in his face. “You certainly know how to sweet talk a woman, don’t you? How in the hell you keep your harem happy, I’ll never know!”
“Sami, maybe we should listen to what he has to say,” Vivian worried aloud as Devil caught the door with his hand before the model could slam it in his face.
“Thank you, Vivian,” Devil said gratefully. Thank God at least one of Molly’s friends seemed to look favorably on him. Well, favorably compared to Sami; the model just wanted to gut him. “You know how ironic it is that it’s the attorney rather than the model that’s willing to give a guy a chance, right?” he asked Sami affably while the blonde struggled to close the door on him again. He was striving to maintain his patience, but damn it, the irritating woman was making it difficult.
“Viv’s a soft touch, and for some reason, you appeal to her romantic nature. Unfortunately for you, I’ve got a core of steel and think romance is a fantasy created by the advertising industry to sell cards on Valentine’s Day!” Sami snapped. “Now move that hand or lose it!”
Devil had no clue what man had made Samantha so bitter, but the bastard had his sympathy. She’d probably killed him and eaten the body. Georgia was still mostly a “no body, no crime” state, after all. Smoking hot or not, she certainly seemed like she’d be capable of the feat. “Sami,” he growled, his own eyes flashing with irritation as he leaned forward to go nose to nose with the tall woman, “I’m not leaving. I want to see Molly. I will sit out here all night. I’ll pitch a tent on her lawn if I have to do it. I will become a waking nightmare for all three of you. Eventually, however, I will talk to her.”
“Oh, dear,” Vivian murmured behind Sami as she shot an anxious look over her shoulder. “Mols, I think this might turn bloody,” she warned with a small shake of her head.
“Call the cops, Viv,” Sami ordered over her shoulder as she used one hand to try and pry off Devil’s grip on the door. “Let’s see how well he can stalk an innocent woman from inside a jail cell.”
“When exactly did I become your enemy?” Devil griped as his determined gaze collided with Sami’s.
“About the time that you decided to use one of my best friends as a pawn in your fucked up games, asshole! You’ve got a posse of pussy you could have drawn on to fulfill your marital needs, and you went after one of my girlfriends. That was a foolish move, Devil.”
Posse of pussy? Really? Where the hell did these women come up with the stuff they said, Devil asked himself? Did everybody he knew think he was a slut? Did his donations to the United Way not do a thing for his image? He was seriously going to have to re-evaluate those charities if he wasn’t getting any bang for his buck.
“Really, Samantha,” Vivian chastised from behind the blonde, “You could have put that a little more delicately.”
“I call ‘em like I see ‘em,” Sami declared unapologetically.
“You know, this is the third time today that somebody implied I was a man whore,” Devil replied through gritted teeth. “A lesser man might begin to get a complex.” Okay, maybe there had been a time when he’d held a somewhat fluid moral compass. He was a guy. The fact was that he was trying to be a good man now. He was trying to do the best thing for everyone, Molly included. He hadn’t touched another woman intimately since he’d realized that the feelings he held for Molly weren’t simply that of a guy that cared about his best friend’s little sister. He knew what it looked like from the outside looking in, but appearances were deceiving.
Not that he’d share any of that with the she-beast glaring at him. She’d obviously rather rip out his tongue than listen to him.
“If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s a pretty sure bet that the fucker is a duck, Devil!” Sami shouted heatedly, her voice loud enough for the neighbors across the street to hear. “Molly deserves better than that.”
“That’s for Molly to decide,” Devil returned, equally vehement. There was no way that he was going to let a slip of a woman chase him away from what or who he wanted.
And he wanted Molly Ramsey.
Desperately.
Molly’s laughing voice came floating down the hallway just then. “Well, well, well! Instead of Howard the Duck, it’s Devil the Duck!”
He heard Molly giggle from the safety of her condo. And if he wasn’t mistaken, there was a lilt in her voice that only came after she’d had one too many glasses of the champagne at a company party. Turning his eyes back to Sami, Devil growled, “Is she drunk?”
Momentarily stunned speechless, Sami blinked at him.
“She’s a little tipsy,” Vivian admitted guiltily with flushing cheeks.
Looking between the two women, Devil’s determination to see his intended only grew. “You both know that woman can’t hold her liquor,” he accused, quickly shifting from aggravated to worried.
“Hey, if you wanna blame somebody for her inebriated state, then look in the mirror,” Sami ordered sharply, tapping her foot against the parquet entry floor. “She was holding her vodka bottle like a lifeline when I got here. You want three guesses on who’s responsible for that, Dev?”
“The vodka’s gone. I’m afraid Molly’s moved on to the rum while you two have been arguing,” Vivian lamented as she turned to stare at Molly. “Maybe you better let him in, Sami. I think we might need his help. I tried to coax the Captain Morgan’s out of her hand and I almost drew back a nub.”
“Okay, enough of this,” Devil muttered, using his superior strength to shove the door back and cross the threshold into the house. “Oh, dear God,” he groaned as he spotted Molly, flat on her back with legs in the air where she laid on the sofa, singing at the top of her lungs.
“Devil the duck! Dooodeeedoooo! Devil the duck! Dooodeeedoooo! Devil the Duck!” she sang, kicking her tiny feet from side to side.
Looking at each other, Devil and Sami simultaneously accused, “This is your fault!”
Chapter Fourteen
Moving quickly across the room, Devil squatted beside where Molly’s head rested on the couch and ran his eyes over her. Bleary-eyed and flushed, she smiled at him. “How much have you had, honey?” Devil asked, reaching for the bottle Molly had tucked in the crook of her arm.
“Devil!” Molly blurted as she recognized that hypnotic voice talking to her. Her eyes widened as she tried to focus on the man suddenly kneeling beside her. “You weren’t supposed to let Satan in my house!” she yelled, rolling onto her side to glare at Sami.
“Well, I’m sorry,” her friend retorted sharply, “I left my holy water in my other purse and I’m just plumb out of crucifixes. I was relying on my faith in the Almighty to get us through the night, but evidently He’s busy right now.”
“Go home, Debil,” Molly ordered, slurring her words and swaying precariously as she attempted to sit up on the sofa. “When da hell did I get on a tilt-a-whirl?” she asked, grabbing the side of the couch. “Gemmee offfff!” she shouted to no one in particular before bursting into a fit of giggles.
“Oh, bless her heart,” Vivian murmured to Sami, shaking her head as she watched Devil take Molly firmly by the shoulders and ease her down on her back. “I haven’t seen her like this since the
night He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named broke her heart. Remember?”
“Who could forget?” Sami replied dryly. “It took four of us to coax her off that bar. You, me, Grant, and Satan’s spawn there,” she added with a nod toward Devil. “At least she hasn’t tried taking her clothes off yet.”
“You wan’ me to strip?” Molly asked drunkenly, cocking her head to the side as she stared up at Devil. “Cuz, I will,” she said happily, reaching for the buttons on her shirt.
“No!” Vivian, Sami and Devil yelled together as Devil lunged to stop her uncoordinated fingers from acting on her impulse.
“Clothes stay on your body, babe,” Devil admonished her gently. Casting Sami a hard look over his shoulder, he growled, “Reminiscing about the past isn’t exactly helping the situation here, Samantha. Help me get this rum away from her,” he ordered as he and Molly continued their tug of war over the bottle.
“Hell, no!” Sami denied, shaking her head wildly and taking a step backward. “I tried to take a bottle away from her that night! As I recall, she bit me!”
As soon as the words left Samantha’s mouth, Molly’s sharp little incisors sank into the fleshy part of his hand. “Damn it, Sami, I may kill you,” Devil threatened on a pained hiss, quickly withdrawing his stinging hand and shaking it furiously. He directed a look toward Samantha that made grown men flinch and quake in their shoes.
The blonde never batted an eyelash, but merely raised a challenging eyebrow.
Stepping between the two combatants before their exchange could devolve into a free-for-all, Vivian held up her hands. “Okay, enough! Everybody in this room cares about Molly.” Seeing Sami open her mouth to object, Viv shook her head. “Sami, you know it’s true. Devil wouldn’t ever hurt Mols intentionally.” Turning to look at Devil, she narrowed her eyes at the handsome man and smiled. “He knows we’d have him killed if he did, right?”
Sighing heavily, Devil nodded and slowly rose to his feet to face both women.
“Okay, good,” Viv replied calmly, ever the negotiator that she was lauded by her colleagues to be. “I’ve put a pot of coffee on to brew in the kitchen. It should be done in about five minutes. We all know that if we can get a couple of cups of it down Molly’s throat, she’ll sober up pretty quickly. I suggest that we leave Molly in Devil’s custody and give them some time to work things out, Sami.”
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