Page 43 of Hometown Touchdown
Kate points at her with her fork. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” Kinsey says, sipping her hibiscus iced tea like a saint. “I said it’s why you’re single.”
“So what? You’re just as single as I am.” Kate fires back.
“I’m single by choice,” Kinsey says. “Some of us are enjoying our freedom. I get to sleep starfish and not share my fries. It’s glorious.”
Kate groans. “I miss sharing fries. And sex. But mostly fries.”
I snort into my hot chocolate. “Well, that’s definitely going in your future wedding vows.”
Evie, sitting between Kate and me with a juice box in one hand and a marker in the other, lifts her head. “What’s sex?”
Kate chokes on her water and grabs a napkin. “That’s—um, that’s when two people really like each other and want to…help each other…have fun. We’ll talk later.”
Kinsey is wheezing.
I grin, shaking my head. “Evie, how about we color?”
Evie holds up her napkin masterpiece, all swirls and stick figures. “This is you, Brynn, and you have sparkles!”
“Obviously,” I say, heart melting. “I do tend to sparkle.”
Kate leans back in her chair and sighs. “God, can we all just agree that dating in Cedar Falls is a nightmare?”
“Agreed,” Kinsey says. “Even if I don’t want to date, I still feel judged when I’m the only single one at a baby shower.”
Kate turns to me. “What about you? You’ve been back for, what, a few weeks? Any eligible bachelors fallen at your feet?”
I shake my head. “Just a squirrel that almost gave me a heart attack.”
Kinsey perks up, casually tossing it out: “Well, my mom said Mrs. Dalton’s been asking around. Seeing if any of her friends with single daughters would be interested in Knox.”
The words land like a glass tipping in slow motion. I feel it happen. My smile sticks in place, but my stomach drops clean through the floor.
“What?” I say.
“Yeah,” Kinsey says, completely unaware she just detonated a bomb. “She saidheaskedherto set him up this time. Like, actually wants to date. For real.”
Kate’s eyebrows shoot up. “Seriously?”
Kinsey shrugs. “Guess he’s ready.”
I bite into a chip too fast and almost choke. “Huh. That’s…good for him.”
Kate eyes me like she’s scanning for smoke. “Uh-huh.”
I keep chewing. I force myself to smile. Swallow down the burn like I’m not suddenly nauseous.
“Cool,” I say, picking up Evie’s juice box to keep my hands busy. “Totally cool. He should date.”
“He’s hot,” Kinsey says. “He should definitely date.”
Evie hands me her drawing again. “I gave you more sparkles and big hair.”
I blink. “Thanks, Evie. That’s very accurate.”
Kate narrows her eyes. “You’re being weird.”
