Playable meetup with Desmond Hale
Fill the Boot
His captain just yelled it across the intersection: you're out-earning him.
Saturday, 10:40 AM · Fire Station 14, Inman Park
Meet Desmond HaleAfter Things We Never Got Over
Books like Things We Never Got Over: the grumpy guy in a small town
What is Things We Never Got Over about?
Things We Never Got Over is Lucy Score's 2022 small-town romance, the first Knockemout book. A runaway bride lands in a rough little Virginia town and runs straight into its grumpiest barber. Readers love the grumpy-sunshine banter, the found family, and a gruff man who protects her fiercely.
Start a storyFree to start · every character is AI · 18+
Pick someone. He texts first.
599 more guys like these are in Yome. You meet them in the app, one card at a time, and the ones you like write to you first.
Meet the restPlay these scenes
Playable meetup with Desmond Hale
Chili Night at Fourteen
His crew wants to know why you dumped him. He's at the stove, listening to every word.
Thursday, 7:10 PM · Fire Station 14 kitchen, Inman Park, Atlanta
Meet Desmond HalePlayable meetup with Desmond Hale
The Porch in Kirkwood
He made lieutenant today. You're on his porch with your keys out. A storm is coming.
A Friday in April, 9:50 PM, thunderstorm · Desmond's bungalow, Kirkwood, Atlanta
Meet Desmond HaleThree moments you'll play
- Story opening
You are running Mrs. Patterson's lemonade stand at the fire station's charity drive. Nobody mentioned it sits on Desmond's corner. You have not spoken to him in two years.
- The meetup
It is Desmond's night to cook chili for Station 14, and the cook gets one guest. His crew wants to know why you dumped him. He is at the stove, listening to every word.
- He texts first
Dermot's first message is two lines. He saw your photo, he has a chair by the window, and he does not do small talk. Then he asks what you are running from.
Why people love it
A barber with a past
Yome has barbers who fit this type. Dermot, 32, was born in Belfast and cuts hair in South Philly. His Saturday list is a month long, and he left a few things behind in Ireland, mostly on purpose. Yeison, 34, runs a six-chair barbershop in Atlanta where nobody knows his last name.
Grumpy outside, soft inside
The fun is a man who growls and then fixes your problem. Bo, 40, builds cabinets in a cold Fairbanks shop left to him by a friend who died last month, along with a pencilled hot chocolate recipe and the most dramatic husky. He needs a wedding date for Saturday.
A town that knows his business
Small-town romance is about everyone watching. Desmond, an arborist, left Atlanta for a cabin in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom and helps his neighbor Ruth with her maple sugaring. Sterling is a park ranger in Montana's Bitterroot Valley whose father keeps sneaking out.
The grumpy small-town type on Yome
Yome has no Knox Morgan, and no guy here is modeled on him. Every man is an original AI character. The grumpy, protective man with a past is one of the most common types on Yome, though, especially in the brooding-loner, ex-con and craftsman groups.
Malik is a barber in West Baltimore who raised his little brother more than anybody did. Boone, 41, builds furniture by hand outside Asheville and has spent six years making up for ten. Caleb is a locksmith in Milwaukee who shows up at 2 a.m. in a flannel when people are locked out of their lives.
A slow thaw, by text
He texts first, even the grumpy ones. He remembers what you tell him, so the gruff guy who barely answered last week will bring up your sister's name. He keeps a daily rhythm and goes offline to rest, and you can Peek at what he is doing.
As your level rises, he asks you out. Desmond Hale's Story lead is a second-chance romance in Atlanta: a lemonade stand, chili night at the station, a birthday candle on a fire escape, a flash flood and a porch in Kirkwood. You pick your lines or write your own, and the chemistry score decides whether he gets his second chance.
Questions, answered
Is this the official Knox Morgan from Things We Never Got Over?
No. Yome has no connection to Lucy Score or the publisher, and none of our guys are Knox Morgan or a copy of him. Every man on Yome is an original AI character in his own fictional story. We mention Things We Never Got Over only to say which type of romance you will find here.
Is there a grumpy barber AI boyfriend?
Yes. Dermot cuts hair in South Philly, Malik works the third chair at a shop in West Baltimore, and Yeison runs his own six-chair barbershop in Atlanta. Each has his own bio, photos and personality.
Are there small-town stories?
Several guys live in small places, like Bo in Fairbanks, Desmond the arborist in Vermont and Sterling in Montana's Bitterroot Valley. Desmond Hale's Story lead is set in Atlanta neighborhoods but has the same close, everyone-knows feel.
What is a second-chance romance on Yome?
Desmond Hale's story is one. You lived together for four years and broke up two years ago. His tagline says letting you go without a fight was the biggest mistake he ever made. His five meetups follow the way back.
What other books on this site match this one?
Twisted Love has the gruff, protective hero. The Spanish Love Deception has the grumpy man who shows up when it counts. The small-town romance page groups every Yome guy who lives somewhere quieter.
Is Yome free to play?
Yome is free to start. You make a free account with your email, and you get free daily messages that refill. Sparks, the in-game currency, unlock extras like some photos, early wake-ups and certain moments. Daily tasks earn you more Sparks as you play.
Find the one for your story
Pick a character, say hello, and play the romance one text at a time.
Start a story