Darian caught the look on Larkin's face and chuckled.
"That's a lot of food," she said.
"It is. What you can't eat, I will. So, dig in."
They ate in silence for several minutes.
She took a drink from her glass. "You didn't answer me about how long you've known Brylee."
"Since we were seven or so."
"Met in grade school?" he asked between bites.
Larkin set her fork down and wiped some syrup off her fingers. "No, not school. We were put into the same foster home."
"Foster," he exclaimed, clearly shocked.
She nodded. "It wasn't too bad because we had each other."
"Why were you there?"
"My mom dropped me off in front of a fire station and said to wait for her. She never came back."
"Jesus, honey. I'm so sorry."
"It actually might have been a good thing now that I'm older I understand the danger she put me in. My mom did drugs. I can remember the smell and the creepy people she'd have over. She slept with a different guy just about every night."
"Did any of them try to touch you?"
Larkin looked out the window. She didn't like talking about that time in her life.
Darian reached across the table and picked up her hand. "Tell me."
She turned back to him. "A few times, but I was able to run away or hide, or my mom would intervene."
"I'm so glad you weren't hurt like that."
She nodded. "Me, too. I think something hurt Brylee. She won't talk about it. She says she doesn't remember, but certain things will freak her out. Like once, we were walking out of the movie theatre and she tripped. A guy caught her. She freaked out and started screaming. He let go, and I calmed her down. It took a long time for us to go back to a theatre."
"I hope she's getting help."
"Not yet." She pushed her plate toward him. "I've had enough. They were delicious."
"Ready to go?"
Larkin nodded and stood. She followed him up to the register, almost tempted to lean against his back when she felt the warmth of his body.
Darian turned and wrapped an arm around her. He got her into the car and made sure she was strapped in. Then he pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward her apartment.
"Hey, sweetheart," he murmured as he swept the hair from her face.
Larkin hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep. She sat up and looked around. He had gotten them to her place within half an hour.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Let's get you up to your apartment."
"I can walk up myself. You don't have to…" She paused when she caught his expression.