“Well, you’re fighting hard for something. Maybe it’s time you figured out what that is.”

She laughed again and set her fork down on the edge of the plate. “Next you’re going to tell me you moonlight as a shrink. Wait, do you?”

“No, but I have a passion for people.” So he was an amateur counselor then, or just had a profoundly unusual interest in Harmony herself. She didn’t much care for either option.

“And I have a passion for avoiding people,” she shot back with a grin. At least her wit didn’t fail her when it came to Nolan Murphy, even if her judgment seemed to be somewhat on the fritz.

He took a giant chug of orange juice, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “The O’Briens are my cousins. None of them wanted to devote their life to the restaurant business, so it fell to me.”

“What?” So much for having her wits about her.

“You asked about the restaurant, and now you know. So then, I believe you were going to tell me something important, which is why you deigned to have breakfast with me.”

She smiled despite herself. Nolan was wearing her down, which could prove to be very dangerous if she wasn’t careful. “It’s good, by the way. The food.”

He nodded and took a bite from the center part of his grits where all the butter had pooled, turning it into an extra delicious treat.

Harmony did the same. By the time she worked up the courage to tell him her story, they’d both already finished their full and very generous servings of grits.

“You asked who hurt me,” she said. “The simple answer is everyone. The more complicated answer is your sister specifically.”

Nolan dropped his fork and it clattered onto the table with a clink, clink, clink. “Megan?”

“She was horrible to me. Never let me forget I was foster trash and that I was in that position because my parents didn’t want me enough to stay alive and nobody else wanted me enough to give me a forever home. She called it a forever home like I was some stray dog waiting to be adopted from the shelter. Well, I guess she was right about that part.” But, no, even dogs got adopted eventually. Harmony had remained without a home her entire childhood. She often wondered why they hadn’t just euthanized her if she was really such a burden to everyone who crossed her path.

Nolan stopped eating and stayed stock still, then started shaking his head as if in disbelief. “I just…I had no idea. Did she hit you, too? Hurt you in other ways?”

Why did it have to leave a bruise for people to consider the abuse she’d been through real? “No physical violence, no. Only damaged me to my emotional core which, in my very humble opinion, is far worse.”

Nolan crossed his arms and leaned back against the seat, continuing to shake his head, though he appeared to believe her now. “No wonder you hate me.”