Page 123 of Hometown Halftime

The silence stretches between us until I exhale sharply and throw my hands into the air.

“What the hell was that tonight?”

His jaw flexes. “He grabbed you.”

“That does not mean you drag him out of a bar in front of half the town!”

“He wouldn’t leave you alone, Kinsey,” he says flatly.

“And I said I had it handled!” My voice becomes louder.

“You shouldn’t have to handle that.”

I stare at him. “Riley, I’m a bartender. Creepy men are unfortunately part of the job description sometimes.”

His expression darkens. “That doesn’t make it okay.”

“No, it doesn’t,” I snap, stepping closer. “But you also don’t get to step in and try to play the hero every time somebody annoys me.”

“Well, I wasn’t just annoyed, Kinsey, I was fucking furious.”

The quiet anger in his voice catches me off guard. He takes a drink of water, slowly replacing the cap, then looks at me with eyes that could level me.

“Did you go out with him?”

“We went on one date months ago.” Anger rises in my voice. “But that doesn’t matter here, Riley. You aren’t my personal security detail.”

Riley pushes the water bottle aside and stands from the stool, running a hand through his hair while frustration rolls visibly through him.

“I was trying really hard to stay out of it,” he says. “And I did stay out of it as long as I could. But he kept pushing and acting like you owed him something, and you were clearly uncomfortable—”

“Because he’s an idiot!”

“Because he wasn’t listening to you.” His words crack through the kitchen.

I open my mouth, ready to argue again, but Riley keeps going.

“You were being polite because you were working,” he says tightly. “You were trying to keep yourself calm while that asshole ignored every signal you gave him, and when he touched you, I just…lost it, okay?”

All I can do is stare at him, because beneath the frustration still lingering between us, there’s something else written in his features now. Riley exhales and looks away, toward the kitchen window, before laughing once under his breath, devoid of any humor.

“I know I overreacted,” he says quieter now. “I know I embarrassed you.”

The anger in my chest surges again.

He shakes his head once before looking back at me. “But seeing him put his hands on you made me crazy.”

The words land squarely in my chest. And suddenly this argument doesn’t feel quite as simple anymore.

I fold my arms tightly across my chest, trying to stay mad. Then he sighs, looking up at the ceiling.

“I care about you, Kinsey.”

Everything inside me goes still. The kitchen feels too quiet as Riley’s eyes lock onto mine.

“I know this thing started casually,” he says roughly. “And I know we talked about how I’m leaving in a couple of months, but I care about you. More than I should, probably. So yeah, watching some guy grab you while you were clearly uncomfortable made me lose my goddamn mind.”

My throat tightens unexpectedly.