Chapter Two
The next two weeks flew by, and Larkin hardly saw Darian. He was gone by the time she woke up in the morning and asleep when he came to bed. More times than not, he rolled over and fell asleep instead of taking her in his arms like he’d done most times in the past. They had sex but not like they used to. It felt like he was holding himself back somehow.
She was excited and getting ready for Darian’s get-together at his office. Maybe if she tried to act more grown-up, he’d see that she was ready for marriage. A lot of her friends would be there, plus she’d be able to spend time with her daddy. She wore a dress that had always been his favorite, made sure her skin sparkled, and she curled her hair.
The phone rang by the side of the bed, and she ran for it.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Miss Larkin. Mr. Marsh wanted me to take you to the place he’s at. Are you ready to go?”
She tried not to be disappointed that it wasn’t Darian. “Yes, Hicks. I’ll be right down.”
Larkin pressed on her stomach where a sharp pain came and went. It seemed to worsen with time, but she knew her relationship with Darian was most likely causing her to feel sick. She hadn’t gotten the guts to ask Darian the questions she needed. The fact she hardly saw him made it easy to forget them.
Larkin walked down the stairs to see Hicks waiting at the door.
His brows snapped together. “Are you feeling all right?”
“Yes. I just have a little stomachache.”
“I can call Mr. Marsh and tell him you don’t feel well.”
She shook her head. “No. I really want to go. I’ll leave if it gets worse.”
They pulled up outside of their building, and Hicks helped her out. She stood and caught her breath when another pain shot through her.
Hick grabbed her elbow. “Let me take you back home.”
“No, I’m fine. I don’t want to disappoint Darian.”
“If you change your mind, I’ll be down here waiting.”
“Thank you.”
Larkin walked into the building and took the elevator up to the floor they were having the get-together. She wiped the sweat from her face, pasted on a smile as the doors opened, and walked down the hallway.
Several people said hi, but she didn’t stop to talk. A few gave her worried glances. God, did she look that bad?
She stood inside the doorway and looked around. Brylee headed her way.
Brylee grabbed her arm. “Larkin, are you sick?”
She shook her head. “I can’t talk about it here. This thing with Darian is giving me a stomachache.”
“What’s it about?” Brylee asked.
“Darian. He doesn’t want me anymore.”
Brylee gasped. “Where did you get that?”
“It’s a lot of things we’ll have to talk about later. I need to find him and tell him I’m here.”
“Pinch your cheeks a little.”
Larkin did that to bring color to her pale face.
“Good. He’s over in that group of people by the window.”