Love in the Dark (LarssonSiblingsSeries#1)

CHAPTER SIX - EDWARD

EDWARD

It's Friday night which means dinner at my parent's house. I'm the only one out of five other siblings who have fled the nest to find my own apartment. Aside from Noah, who's moved into the outbuilding until he finds a permanent place with his girlfriend, Clara. I use the term girlfriend loosely, but to be polite to my brother, I try keep my mouth shut. They seem to like the girl, which makes no sense to me.

Mum greets me at her door with her usually warm smile. "Hallo, Mijn liefde."

Hello, my love.

I capture her in my arms to kiss her cheek. "Hey, mama."

Both of my parents split between English and Dutch when speaking to us. It used to annoy me as a child growing up. But, now I'm used to it, I don't notice. My mother gave up on me speaking Dutch in my early teens when I rebelled against learning the subject. I know enough to get me by when visiting family in the Netherlands, but French is my chosen language.

Mum combs her fingers through my hair. "Your hair is getting long. You will be joining your brother soon."

My younger brother, Levi, sports hair that skims his shoulders and a full-length beard. It's no secret that our mother dislikes this hairstyle, although, Levi couldn't care less.

I place my hand on her shoulder. "I'm scheduled in for a hair cut on Monday."

"Are you working too hard?" she tuts, reaching up to touch my jaw. "You are not looking after yourself, darling. I can tell."

The Dutch words replace the English, which tells me that she's genuinely worried for me. I don't like it when either of my parent's worry. It isn't necessary. I'm a grown-ass man. I can take care of my problems without dragging in the people I love.

"I'm fine. Busy is all." I remove my jacket and let, Janice, the house helper hang it up for me. My parents are very privileged. As kids, it wasn't unknown to have an extra person living in to help around the house. It's the way of life for my family.

I walk into the dining room at the sound of my brothers booming voices, seeing the food already spread out on the table. I spot the spare seat next to Laine and think twice about taking it. Trevor's sitting next to her, which means that I'll be forced to speak to him too. I grab a handful of french fries as a reward for putting up with the pair of them and sit down.

Laine beams at me. "Hey, there. You're late again."

I dip a fry in mayonnaise and shove it into my mouth, before mumbling out, "Work."

Trevor sips from his beer bottle. "You gonna join me in a drink, man? Or are you going to wait until the clubs later?"

Count to ten.

I glare at him but don't say a word. Join him in a beer. Who's he trying to kid?

I managed to get myself roped into a Friday night out on the town. I didn't want to go. But, Levi said I had to because we were celebrating Dexter's football success. My other brother plays for the local team, but there's word of a bigger league team scouting him out. I don't know the exact details and should ask him more about it.

I can be a shitty brother, sometimes.

"I don't want to drink too heavy tonight," I say to everyone but Trevor, feeling my phone buzz in my jean pocket. It's a client that I can't ignore. "I've got meetings in the morning."

"No fucking way," Levi splutters, giving me a death glare. "You're trying to get out of lads night again?"

"Edward, no phones at the dinner table," mum says, leaving her plate of food near her seat so she can walk towards Levi. I wait for her fingers to gently flick him behind the ear. "And, you watch your mouth, Levi. No cursing in my house."

Levi lowers his head. "Sorry, Mama."

"Leave Edward to his work, Selma," my father says in Dutch, patting me on the back with a firm hand. "How're things going, son?"

I stand and embrace him, feeling the respect pouring from his every pore. My father and I are the same people. We live for success. "Good, I'm working on a few deals. The restaurant chain we talked about last week has renewed its contract for another year. I'm pleased."

He smiles, which makes me feel good. "Good boy."

Mum is cutting into the fish on her plate. "Sit down, Viktor. We don't have to always talk about work. I want to know about things in our children's lives other than their pay packet."

"Of course, my love," Dad replies, giving me a wink as he turns around.

My mum has always been his weakness. The cold, ruthless businessman turns into a puppy in her presence. And, I see that trait as the only difference in our personalities. I will never have what they have or feel love like they feel love. I'm not interested in steering away from the path of victory. And, love would rot away the medal of it.

"I made sure the chef cooked the prawns through properly, Laine. Don't touch any near the smoked salmon, sweetheart," mum says, now dishing my father's plate up.

Laine stuffs several crochets into her mouth at once. "I won't, thank you, mama."

Trevor laughs, still drinking his beer. "Steady on there, dove. You'll end up choking."

My eyes automatically trail across to Betty's and feel anger at the hurt expression on her face. The need to punch Trevor straight across the jaw consuming me. I mouth. "You okay, kid?"

Betty tries to smile, but the anguish in her eyes isn't fooling me. "I'm alright."

Laine reaches over me to grab the prawns, her belly getting in the way as it brushes along the table. My anger triples. "Can you pass me the plate, Ed?"

I do as she asks, my eyes still on Betty. "Sure."

Out of the pair of them, Betty has always pulled at a protective cord within me. Laine is confident, outspoken and tough, whereas, Betty is the total opposite in every way. The littlest thing can upset her and send her off course for days. Trevor was her safety net for a long time until he decided to ruin that by sleeping with Laine. One night of lust, apparently. A stupid mistake. It's a shame Betty has to live with the consequences now she's going to be the aunty to her ex-boyfriend's baby.

Mum clears her throat and takes a drink of her red wine. "Edward, you should go let your hair down a bit."

"I will," I reply with the answer she wants to hear.

Her deep blue eyes shine in my direction. "I pleased to hear it. I do worry about you working too hard. It feels like you miss out."

I hold back my laughter. "I'm happy the way my life is right now. Stop worrying, okay?"

"Okay," she says, giving me that motherly once over.

We all look towards Dexter when he stands up. "I'm going to get changed. The taxi's booked for half-nine."

Levi gets up from his chair. "I'll go jump in the shower then."

"Why don't you shave that beard while you're at it?" I taunt, knowing he's going to hate me for it.

I get the finger.

Standard.

"Levi Larsson! How many times do I have to warn you about swearing under this roof?" mum shouts.

Oh, dear, it's full name territory.

I pour the rest of the french fries on my plate and smother them in mayonnaise, delving into the food with gusto, thinking it'll be the only type of pleasure I get all night.