Okay, not that measly since the portions at Magnolia were huge. But Matthew's breakfast could feed a small family.
"That's why I need a big breakfast," Matthew said. "And you know I don't eat like this all the time."
True enough. Usually he ate a training diet she found both strange and unappealing. But when they did their semi-regular breakfasts together, he went all out. As evidenced by the mass quantities of carbs sitting in front of him at the moment.
"Besides," he added, "if you would work out, you wouldn't feel like you have to live on salads."
"Hello? Do you see the giant breakfast taco? And I don't live on salads. But they're my staple so that when I get a whim for something decadent, I have no guilt."
He stabbed a huge chunk of pancakes with his fork. "Fair enough. But exercise erases guilt, too. And, hey, you have a brother who owns a gym. I can hook you up with all the good machines."
She rolled her eyes. "I get plenty of exercise. In fact, I got an excellent workout last night."
A very excellent workout, and for a moment, she allowed herself to savor the memory. Even this morning had been incredible. He'd let her stay the night--which, considering how they'd started out, seemed almost miraculous--but he'd had to leave early to catch a plane to Dallas. And instead of kicking her out, he'd simply brushed a kiss over her cheek and told her to stay as long as she wanted.
If it hadn't been for her brother, she might still be naked in the sheets, waiting for him to come back.
The thought made her sigh, and when she did, Matthew narrowed his eyes and put his fork down.
"Easton? Oh, man, Selma. What the hell are you doing getting involved with him? You told me this morning that he'd agreed to sign on as your attorney. You didn't say you were sleeping with him."
"If it matters, we didn't sleep much."
"Don't even joke. Come on, Selma. You know that's just bad business."
"Trust me. It's fine. I'm fine." She reached over the table and snagged one of his pieces of bacon. "But thanks for caring."
He rolled his eyes, but the truth was they both probably cared too much. After all, at the end of the day, it was Matthew and Selma against the world. Because while they both loved their parents dearly, Selma and her brother had literally survived hell together. Beatings, weeks of nothing but water and saltines. And day after day after day of being told they were worthless. That they were only in the way.
It had gotten a little better when their birth father had disappeared. At least the maternal unit didn't bloody their backs with a leather belt. Mostly, she just ignored them. But when she'd run out of money, she'd gone to local shelters for help, and that had been when things started to look up. There'd been other adults who'd warmed to them, and Matthew and Selma let those grown-ups get close to their hearts.
But then their bio-mom would rip them out of that shelter and move them across town or across the state. Everywhere they went, they left a trail of people who might have cared for them, if they'd been able to stay long enough. Instead, they ended up in Austin, alone. Just Matthew and Selma and their birth mom.
Then even she'd walked away, and after that moment it really was Matthew and Selma against the world.
Even when the Herringtons had plucked them out of foster care, it had been hard to get close. At least for Selma. Somehow, she'd always been waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Honestly, maybe she still was.
Selma sighed, then took a contemplative sip of coffee. Yeah, she was screwed up. But by all rights, she should be a hell of a lot worse.
She stabbed a clump of sausage out of her taco with her fork, then looked up to find Matthew staring at her. "What?"
"It's not fine, Selma."
"Come on, Matthew. For once, just trust me. I'm thirty-five. I promise you I can take care of myself."
He started to respond, but she shook her head firmly.
"No. Moving on. Total change of topic. Have you talked to Mom and Dad? They called me the day before yesterday, but I couldn't hear a thing. Where are they now?"
"China. Can you believe it? Mom emailed me last night. They're traveling from Beijing up to Shanghai."
Their parents--the only people in her life who deserved to be called parents--had recently set out on a five-month adventure to see the world. "See," Selma said. "They're spontaneous. It's not just me."
"Sure they are. If you consider four years of planning spontaneous."
"A fair point. But what about you? Aren't you being uncharacteristically spontaneous?"