Page 76 of Hometown Touchdown
We eat at the counter again, plates between us, Priscilla snoring nearby like she had the hardest job of all.
“I forgot how good your eggs are,” I say around a mouthful.
“High praise coming from someone who once set boxed mac and cheese on fire.”
“It wasonetime. And the instructions were misleading.”
He grins and wipes a smear of butter from the corner of my mouth with his thumb. The casual intimacy makes my stomach flutter. A comfortable silence settles, until Knox clears his throat.
“Can I ask you something?”
I set my fork down. “Yeah, of course.”
He doesn’t meet my eyes at first. Just stares at his plate, jaw tight.
“I’ve been reading about POI. Trying to understand what it really means. What it’s like for you.”
My breath catches.
He looks up, eyes steady. “But I don’t want to just read about it. I want to hear it from you.”
I stare at him, heart cracking open. “It’s…hard. I mean, obviously. Physically, it wrecked my hormones. I felt like I was living in someone else’s body for a while. I still get hot flashes. Mood swings. Some days I’m bone-tired for no reason.”
He nods. “That makes sense.”
I look down at my plate, feeling the heat creep into my cheeks. “And sometimes I’m not always…ready. You know. When it comes to sex.”
“Okay.” His voice is steady, his eyes warm. “We’ll take our time. Just tell me what you need—I’ll always listen.”
I nod, not knowing how to respond to this man. He’s willing to ask, he’s willing to listen and care for me. And as much as I love it, it brings the memories of Henry back too quickly.
“But the mental part?” I swallow hard. “It felt like my future just disappeared. Like this picture I always had of what life would look like—family, kids, holidays with a dog and a toddler wrapped around my leg—it all just went blank.”
Knox is silent, listening like every word matters.
“And it wasn’t just about kids,” I add. “It was about choice. Theoptionbeing taken away.”
He reaches across the counter, takes my hand. “That has to be unbelievably hard.”
I nod, looking at my plate. “The fact that my partner made it more about him than about what I was going through was really hard too.”
Knox runs his hand down his face. I can feel the frustration coming off of him. “Brynn, that never should have happened. I might be biased here, but I’m glad he showed his true colors before you committed a lifetime to him.”
Tears prick the corners of my eyes. “I guess I just…I need to know that you don’t see me as less. Less of a woman. Less of a partner.”
He squeezes my hand. “Brynn, nothing about this changes how I see you. Or what I want with you.”
I let the words settle deep in my chest. Let them anchor me.
I blink fast, then laugh through the tightness in my throat. “You’re gonna ruin me with all this emotional maturity.”
He grins. “I’ve been listening to a podcast. It’s hosted by women who would destroy me in a bar fight.”
I snort, and he leans over to kiss my temple.
“I like this,” I say softly. “Us. Breakfast. Talking.”
He brushes his thumb over my knuckles. “Me too.”
