Page 61 of Challenge Me

I blinked a few times. “Of course she wouldn’t. We may be divorced, but we never stopped being a team.”

“Okay.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“If you believe it, I believe it.”

He leaned closer, and somewhat reluctantly, I met him halfway. After a quick peck for appearances, I made sure to keep my expression clear so nobody would think I was angry. Even though I was.

“Maybe you could, uh, clear up that gold digger thing when you get a chance,” he suggested as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“What’s the point? None of this is real anyway.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.”

After clearing his throat, he turned around. When I reached the table, I leaned down to kiss Avery on the cheek. Mal jumped to her feet and wrapped her arms around me so suddenly that I laughed.

“Hey, you really managed to surprise me,” I said.

“Are you mad?”

“Of course not. Just . . . surprised.” I sat beside Remi, across from Mal, then opened my menu. “Interesting place, huh?”

Avery gave me a knowing look. “The man who owns it seems very sweet.”

“It smells fabulous,” Remi said with his nose buried in his menu. “That’s good enough for me.”

“We’ll see how my gut feels tonight,” I muttered.

“I got food poisoning at an Applebee’s. I trust Federico far more than all those places where everyone hates their job.”

“Fair enough, I guess.”

A middle-aged man with greying hair rushed over to our table wearing a bright smile. “Everyone’s here now?” When we nodded, he clicked his pen. “What are we having?”

Everyone ordered except for Mal. When he came to her, she glanced at him only briefly, then blinked down at her notebook.

“Do you have anything simple?” I asked. “She’s . . . picky.” I wrinkled my nose, hating the word but knowing it was the best explanation at the moment.

“Cheese quesadilla,” Federico replied. “Empanaditas with chicken or cheese. I can do grilled chicken strips with rice.”

I tapped my finger on the edge of Mal’s notebook. “What do you think?”

Trailing her pinky across her lower lip, her gaze moved around the table. “Quesadilla.” She looked at Federico without meeting his eyes. “Please.”

“Coming up.”

Once he was gone, I nudged Mal’s foot with mine. When she gave me her attention, I offered her a smile. “How’d I play today?”

Her head tipped left, then right as she thought about it. “Good. But you messed up twice.”

“The third inning, huh? I should’ve caught that ball.”

She nodded once. “And the eighth.”

Remi snickered beside me. He had an ‘I told you so’ look on his face that made my lips twitch.

“Some of those guys are slippery,” I said. “Can’t catch them all.”