Love in the Dark (LarssonSiblingsSeries#1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE - EDWARD

EDWARD

It sounds like Betty has something to say around her huge bite of porridge this morning at breakfast, but I don't have the time for it. I can say for sure she wants to talk about Delilah and how she didn't leave until late last night, because it came as a shock to me too that I allowed it.

Delilah is my business.

It has nothing to do with my family.

I press the slice of apple into the almond butter to get a coating of the creamy nuts and shove it into my mouth, reading through the morning paper. Out of habit, I go straight to the advertising pages to see our agency logo sitting in the corner of almost every picture. Victory. There is nothing like seeing your business on top. I pull out my phone to snap a picture of the beautiful sight and send it to my father because I know this will make his morning too.

"You can ignore me all you want, but I know you have feelings for Delilah," Betty says out of nowhere.

I read back the congratulatory message my father sent, stopping the obnoxious smile tugging at my mouth when my body buzzes with pride. I look over at my sister, shoving more apple into my mouth. "I'll be away until late tonight. Are you fixed on things to do on your day off work?"

"College work," Betty answers, chewing on her oats. Eyes narrowing on me. "And, I know what you just did there."

She slows me down with her knowing words, eyes still trained on my face while she stirs the spoon around her oats. I struggle to believe why she's so confident about it, acting as if she can read my mind.

I change the subject. "When do you go back to college?"

She rolls her eyes to the sky. "I don't go back. This year was my last year, remember? I'm just finishing off the last of my coursework."

No, I don't remember, but I nod anyway. "Of course, you told me. Eat what you want from the kitchen, but leave it how you find it."

Betty's a joy to be around but is so damn messy. It drives me insane. If you use a dish, you wash it up and put it away, right? Oh no, she likes to save several beside her bed, sending me crazier when there are no forks left to use because she's storing those too.

It's clear she's not bloody listening when she searches through her phone. "You got it, bro."

"I mean it when I say to tidy up, Betty."

"Yeah." She's chuckling away at some video playing out loud. The speakers of her phone screeching. I'm glad to be leaving the apartment. "Tidy up. Got it."

The last thing I need is for Delilah to come over here tomorrow night and think we live like slobs.

"Do as your told," I raise my voice, realising pretty quickly that she's a twenty-year-old with her own mind, so, I mumble, "I have boundaries, you know." Then I leave.

The agency is buzzing when I step through the door with clients taking up the sofa and seats. I greet them all with a smile and head for the photocopying room. Noah is in there, hunched over the photocopying machine, pressing the button several times when nothing happens. A few interns hovering around him with a nervous look on their faces.

I paid a fortune for that thing, and the way he's forcing the buttons down is going to break it. I step beside him, nudging his sturdy body out of the way when it becomes painful to watch. I get his rare glare when he lowers into the chair beside us, throwing a huff of annoyance over at me. I pull up the hood where the paper ejects from to spot the problem. It has wrapped several pieces of paper around the filter, meaning the machine is well and truly jammed.