He shrugs. ‘I like working out, I’ll admit.’
‘Do you go every day?’
‘Six am before work each morning. And if not, I go afterwards. Never miss it.’
‘Oh Lord . . . you’re one ofthosepeople. I suppose you’re going to tell me it sets you up for the day?’
He chuckles. ‘I never realised I was so much of a cliché. Does it help that I haven’t always been like this? I didn’t exactly look after myself in my twenties. By then, my sporty teenage years were replaced by too many burgers, too much booze,’ he confesses.
‘When did the turnaround happen?’
‘Hmm. . . I guess when Sara became pregnant. Then, after the divorce, I didn’t want to sink back into bad habits, so hit the gym most nights. Part of it was because I had too much time on my hands. Pumping iron kept me occupied on the days I didn’t have Mila.’
As we stroll unhurriedly along the pavement, the conversation turns to the highlights of the evening.
‘Hope you’re not too disappointed about your loss.’
‘As a matter of fact, I’mgutted.’
‘You use that word a lot.’
‘Probably because I’m a very sore loser,’ I confess.
He slides his eyes towards me and smirks. ‘I could imagine that about you, somehow.’
I shrug. ‘I can’t deny it. I’m very competitive.’
‘It’s a good quality.’
‘You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen me playing Trivial Pursuit. It can get messy.’
He laughs. ‘Well, maybe this time next year you’ll be celebrating withMy Teenage Bombsite.’
I wince. ‘Hmm.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘Well, I would love to say that it’s running like clockwork . . .’
‘Oh no. Don’t tell me?’
‘Ah, hopefully it’ll all come good,’ I say, though in all honestly I’m currently not 100 per cent convinced. I look up at him.
‘Meanwhile,Our Girl in Milanis getting PR left, right and centre.’
‘You read the piece inBroadcastthen?’
He nods. The article was on their website today, detailing how filming has already started. ‘Well, that’s annoying. But I still don’t like that show. I don’t like that industry.’
‘Is this about your sister?’ I ask.
He narrows his eyes.
‘I saw your Instagram,’ I explain. ‘All the charity fundraising you’ve done.’
‘Ah. Well, yeah. I mean, maybe things would’ve turned out the same for Jenna with or without what happened. But I don’t think so somehow.’
‘That must be very hard, Zach. Were you close?’
