Page 3 of Falling for Ash
Ready to go, she hopped into her small hybrid car and headed for the address of the restaurant Mim had sent her. It was one she’d never heard of before, but that was not surprising for LA. These things came and went faster than the wind.
“DeLux Cafe? Must be new,” she mused, and plugged in her smartphone so she could listen to her latest audiobook, a really fun vampire romcom by Carrie Pulkinen, and get directions at the same time.
Despite her job as a Sunday school teacher, Gabby was a bit of a paranormal romance addict. She loved anything having to do with the supernatural or occult, especially when they were entwined in a juicy love story.
Where else was a girl like her going to fulfill her romantic fantasies?
Chubby, nerdy, and an utter failure at relationships, Gabriella Keen had resigned to live her life alone. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t dream. With the new PNR romcom playing in the background, she began her trek to the restaurant.
Who knew?
Maybe someday Gabby’s fantasies would come true and some big, sexy man would look at her like she was the stuff his dreams were made of.
Yeah.
Right.
Shhh! She told her inner voice firmly and stepped on the gas. There was no time like the present to start a positive outlook on her life. Her prospects might be nil, but that could change. She just had to believe.
Chapter
One
Ash stared at the darkness before him. The soft growl built in his throat until it reverberated throughout his entire body. Shit. He needed more control of his emotions if he was going to get through this.
Everything was different now. Not just him. Even the Underworld was changing, and right before his very eyes. Fire and brimstone gave way to clean streets and sweet smelling air. From a pit of despair meant to reign terror and punishment, to an urbane looking environment thriving with life and possibility. He could scarcely believe his eyes.
But what could he expect when the Lord of the Underworld himself was no longer a miserable old sod?
Happily mated and more powerful than ever, Lucifer had truly done a number on things in Purgatory. Shops, cafes, boutiques, nightclubs, and even an office offering psychiatric counseling to those who needed it were springing up left and right.
Odd.
Very odd.
But not unwelcome.
Truth was, it didn’t matter to Ash in the least what the Underworld looked like.
Why should it?
He had a job to do, and he did it well. Protecting its borders and keeping the citizens of Purgatory safe was his purview.
The rest was none of his business. Even if all these changes were due to a certain Lord aiming to please his lady.
Blech.
Why should he, the Demon of lust, a Prince of Hell in his own right, care if Lucifer had found his fated mate?
Let the happy couple do whatever satisfied them. It meant no difference to him.
Nor did he care if Eve and Aphrodite ran a speed dating service for the denizens of Purgatory. It was none of his business.
Period.
The end.
Sounded bloody ludicrous in his opinion, but no one asked him. As such, he wisely kept his opinion to himself. Ash had enough on his plate without angering those two powerful ladies. Besides, there was a rumor of an uprising starting somewhere in the south borderlands.
