Page 44 of The Incredible Ordinary

“Thank you,” Milán says with the kind of easy confidence displayed by people who already know they’re good-looking. “But there’s not much market for emotionally closed off, has-been tennis players who regularly skip town on a whim because of a persistent feeling that the grass is always greener somewhere else. I don’t think anybody really wants to sign up for that. Man or woman.”

“You like your freedom.”

He considers that for a bit.

“More than anything,” he eventually says. There’s something about the way he says it, a slight pause and a look in his eyes, but the meaning stays hidden from me.

He smiles then. “What about you? A relationship guy?”

I have to think about that for a bit. “I think so.”

He raises his brows at me. “You don’t sound sure.”

“To be fair, I’ve only ever been in one relationship. It’s been a while. And it wasn’t what most people would call an ordinary relationship, all things considered. Kira and I were kids, and then we were parents. We never got to grow up as a couple. People change so much. We never got to that part. Honestly, I’mnot sure I even know what an ordinary relationship would look like.”

“You can find out.”

“I can try. Then again, there’s not much market for boring single dads with limited conversational skills. I tend to try and fill silences by talking about my kid.”

“You seem to be doing just fine with me.”

“Don’t jinx it,” I say, and he laughs. He orders another cocktail and raises his brows at me. What the hell, I think, and nod.

“Where’s your ex now?” he asks.

“San Francisco. Theo visits her in the summers and on school vacations, and she flies back here and spends time with him as often as she can. She’s coming to visit for Theo’s birthday.”

“You get along well?”

“It’s been over a decade. All the hard feelings have long since left the building.”

He tilts his head to the side. “What’s it feel like? Being a well-adjusted, levelheaded adult?”

That’s about as inaccurate an assessment as there could be. To this day, when there’s a problem, there’s always this moment when I expect a grown-up to step in before I remember that’s me.

“You probably meal plan,” he says thoughtfully.

“What’s that got to… Proper nutrition is important.”

“Do you have a favorite grocery store?”

“I order online. Saves time.”

“From the same store?”

“I have a loyalty card, so I get discounts. It makes sense financially.”

“Financially responsible. I don’t know how, but you managed to make that sound hot. A good two-thirds of the time, I forget to put in the order for groceries.” His eyes get a teasing light inthem. “Do you check the weather report before you go out for the day?”

“How else do you know what to wear?” I roll my eyes.

His grin stretches wider. “You probably know how to keep houseplants alive, right?”

I scoff. “Unless you just outright ignore the fact that you have plants, it’s pretty damn difficult to kill most of them.”

“And you have a toolbox,andyou fix things around the house.”

“I don’t.” I give him a smug smile. “I’ll have you know my dad does all the fixing in our household.”