Page 60 of Outlier

“Vicky, you lost weight after I was a dick to you, and Ollie had to come and find you under that bloody coffee table. I willnever forgive myself for that, but I’m going to do everything I can now to sort it. I don’t want to stress you out again. I would never think you were being spoiled or awkward.”

I managed a small smile. “Mike, you’ve got to admit, I can be a little bit awkward.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t think so.”

I sighed. “I have a colour chart for my tea preference according to time of day, Mike.”

“Yes, well if anything, that makes you less awkward,” he said casually. “If only everyone would do that, a lot less tea would go to waste.”

I blinked at him. “I think that too,” I whispered. “I told Lottie that, and she assured me that most people wouldn’t agree. I’m not allowed to bring it out at meetings.”

He frowned. “You take your chart wherever you like, love,” he said in a grumpy voice. “You should have the tea you bloody well want.”

I put down my fork and turned to him on my stool. “I reallyreallylike you, Mike Mayweather,” I told him, and he smiled, his white teeth against his tanned skin and beard, so beautiful I felt stunned for a moment.

“I really, really like you too, baby,” he said in a low voice that I seemed to feel everywhere.

Heat rose to my cheeks, and I bit my lip.

His gaze dropped to my mouth and then he cleared his throat and shook his head as if to clear it.

“Listen, eat your eggs, woman,” he said, his voice now hoarse as he turned away from me. “I don’t want to be the reason you lose any more weight.”

“It wasn’t just what happened that day,” I blurted out, not wanting Mike to carry all this guilt anymore. “It wasn’t just your rejection. There was other…stuff, and, well… it wasn’t just because of you that I stopped eating.”

Mike stared at me for a long moment. “You’ll tell me the other stuff when you’re ready?” he asked, and I was glad he wasn’t going to push this now.

“Okay,” I said in a small voice. Then he kissed my temple, gave me a brief side hug, and just like that, my appetite was back.

Or it was until my phone started ringing, and I looked at the display. It was as if I’d conjured her up just by mentioning theother stuffthat had stressed me out.

Knowing that she would only keep ringing until I picked up, I decided to just get it over with.

“Hi, Mum,” I said, pushing what was left of my poached eggs on toast away.

“You need to ring the florist to pay for the arrangements,” she snapped.

This was the first time she’d spoken to me in over six weeks. No hello, no asking me how I was.

“Okay,” I said slowly. “But Mum, I already paid for the flowers. The florist invoiced me last week. It was?—”

“We’ve decided that we want both the table displaysandthe taller orchid cascades. It’ll be an extra five thousand.”

“Mum,” I said quietly, aware Mike was watching me with a curious expression on his face. “Is Gareth aware that?—?”

“Don’t you stick your fucking nose in with Gareth,” Mum semi-shouted.

Mike stiffened next to me, clearly having heard her shrill voice.

I sighed. Gareth would be deeply unhappy if he knew how much extra was being spent on the wedding behind his back, but there was nothing I could do about it.

“Okay, fine. I’ll call them tomorrow.”

“And don’t wear anything to upstage your sister.”

I blinked. “I’m not going to?—”

“I won’t have it, young lady.”