Love Rush (LarssonSiblingSeries#4)

CHAPTER THREE

Unedited 💓

Tilly

I stir my soup with the gold spoon and wonder what universe I woke up in. Levi sits next to me on his bed, freshly showered and dressed for work this afternoon. While I still reek of the night before, and some. I don't dare look in the mirror because I know I'll hate what I see, so I'm playing dumb to it all, letting Levi suffer through my state.

"Soup okay?" Levi asks, munching on his baguette filled with cooked salmon and what looks like cream cheese.

I blow onto the spoon, shoving it into my mouth a moment later. "Yes, thanks. Leek and potato's my favourite."

"Good guess from me then," he laughs, standing up to brush the crumbs from his trouser leg.

"Yeah," I wait a beat. "Levi?"

He looks up from the floor, giving me an encouraging smile. "Hmm?"

I put my spoon down having lost my appetite. "I don't dare face your family. I bet they're all downstairs aren't they?"

"No, they're all at work apart from Laine who's playing with George in the gardens," he gives me a small smirk, "why are you dreading it?"

"Yes. Can you slip me out your window or something? I'll climb down the drainpipes," I respond, not even kidding.

Levi seems to think I am though when he tips his head backwards and laughs, "I'd pay to see you attempt to even try. Tillly, you can't even carry plates through to the kitchen without dropping them."

I cover my face with my hands. "I know, you don't have to remind me."

"You'd probably die," Levi agrees, nodding his head.

Someone's feeling morbid. "Nice. At least I'd go with the memory of a few hours sleep on a comfy bed," I point towards the duvet, "is it made of marshmallows and clouds?"

"Memory foam," he corrects.

I put my dishes on the side, feeling satisfied, starting to pull off the covers. "I could stay here forever."

"Then do," he says, walking over to his wardrobe to pull out a suit jacket. "I'll come get you on the way to the shelter."

"No," I push the duvet away, not wanting to overstep my mark. "Thanks, but I best get home."

"Laine won't bother you. She's got college work, and George is going to the park with mama," he says, shrugging into a light grey suit jacket," he pulls on a pair of socks, "or, you can drive around with me sorting out peoples rent?"

"Rent? For what?"

"Houses, shops, restaurants. My dad owns and rents out a lot of property here and further south."

I bet he earns a pound or two. They say property is the job to be in if you've got the cash. It seems a shame that there's so many vulnerable people out on the streets when people make hundreds of thousands of pounds each year.

"And you go around collecting rent?"

He shakes his head. "Not usually. The agent does it, but she's on holiday and couldn't get anyone to cover."

I find my denim jacket hanging over the chair next to his desk and fight to get my arm through the hole. "You go up to people's doors asking for rent money?"