****
“Do you remember whose coming to dinner, tonight?” Demon asked from his position on his knees. He liked to be at eye level with Harley and Rocket.
“A babysitter lady,” Rocket said. Harley nodded her head in agreement, sending her curls flying. The serious expression on her heart—shaped face made him laugh. Her thick eyebrows were drawn together.
“Yes, very good job. She’s going to come and live with us, and take care of you while Daddy works. What do you think about that?”
“Is she nice?” Rocket whispered.
The hesitant tone and fear-laced hazel eyes made Demon wince. Fuck, I should’ve figured that bitch out long before she fucked up our kids. “Yes, very nice. She’s a big sister, just like you’re a big brother, and she has three younger siblings.” He held up three fingers.
“Wow,” Rocket whispered.
“Fwee,” Harley said, waggling four fingers in the air.
Demon smiled. “Almost, kiddo.” He smoothed the hair back from her face.
“What’s her name?” Rocket asked. Demon could hear the curiosity in his voice, but the wary looked remain.
“Her name’s Ardy.”
“Ardy?” Rocket wrinkled his nose. “That’s weird.”
“No weirder than Harley and Rocket. In this case, I’d say don’t throw stones,” Demon said, delivering a wink.
“Awy,” Harley cried.
“Yep, good job, Harley. She should be here any minute.” Demon decided to take things down and keep it private. Pizza for dinner in the hotel room, a treat for the kids, and a laid back environment for Ardy. It let them meet on neutral ground. A knock sounded.
“I bet that’s her,” Demon said. Rocket crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. “Hey, she’s nothing like Natasha. I promise.” Rocket refused to look up at him, and the knock came again. Demon sighed. “You’ll see.” He ruffled his sandy blond curls and walked to the door with an excited Harley on his heels. He opened the door, and Ardy looked up with wide brown eyes.
“H—hi.” Her voice wavered. With her dark hair spilling around her oval face and down her back, she looked like a teenager in the moonlight instead of her actual twenty—three.
“Hi, Come on in.” Demon stepped back from the door with Harley clinging to his leg.
Ardy stepped inside and glanced down at Harley, with her light brown curls, skin the color of coffee with cream, and large hazel eyes. He saw the moment she realized his children were mixed, the same as she was. “Oh.”
Demon smirked and closed the door behind her, giving her a moment to gather. Demon at home was a different breed from the president of the Dueling Devils.
“Hi.” Harley peaked from around his legs and waved.
“Hi, Harley.” Ardy smiled and waved back.
Harley gasped. “She knows my name, Daddy.”
“Yeah, she must be really smart.” Demon winked and turned to Rocket. “Rocky, this is Ardy.”
“Hi,” Rocket mumbled.
“Hi, Rocket.” Ardy knelt down. “My name is Ardy.” She stuck her hand out.
His son’s head came up, and he eyeballed her, clearly unsure of how to take the new adult. Rocket stuck out his hand, and they shook.
“Now that we’ve all met, how about I order some pizza? Cheese and pepperoni okay for you, Ardy?”
“Yeah, that’d be great.” She eyed him cautiously. Her hazel eyes were full of mistrust, and her body remained stiff. A few feet away, she stood with her hands shoved in the pockets of her jeans.
“Why don’t you and the kids get to know each other better while I order the pizza?” He pretended not to watch them as they continued to interact. Harley brought her dolls, already enamored with the new female playmate. There were so few decent role models for her to have, he couldn’t say it surprised him. Not many of the brothers had families, and of the few that had kids, most weren’t married and didn’t see their offspring on a regular basis.