Page 42 of Doc Hollywood

“A few streets over. Really, you don’t need to. It’s safe enough here,” she informed him, purposefully keeping her head straight to give her blush a chance to settle down.

“It’s no problem. It’s a nice evening for a stroll.” His long legs easily kept pace with her hurried steps.

“Thanks,” Clara squeaked, her mind churning with what he had said. He had been there to see her and left because she did.

“Are you working tomorrow?” Taylor’s voice rumbled through the silence, which made Clara jump, but she quickly pulled herself together.

“Yeah, Theatre Six. It’s my last day this week. If you want, I can find someone for you to follow on Friday,” she offered.

“No, It’s alright. I’ve had a change of plans. I have to fly out on Friday,” he disclosed.

“Oh,” Clara stammered, stopping suddenly.

Disappointment overwhelmed her. She tried to shake it off, telling herself that she was reading too much into a man being kind to her, and that the small part of her brain that had flitted off and imagined him still being in town on the weekend and wanting to do something with her was absolutely ridiculous.

Taylor began to talk, but must have realised she wasn’t there and his long stride ate up the distance back to her before he spoke again. “Yeah. I’ve just heard from my manager. I’ve got to do some reshoots on location for my last movie. And they need to be done before I start Dreamless Sleep.”

“Dreamless Sleep?” Clara queried and began walking again.

Taylor fell into step with her. “Yeah. That’s the name of the movie that I’m following you for.”

“Oh, right,” Clara muttered, knowing her voice sounded disappointed, so she brightly added, “I hope you’re filming somewhere nice!”

“The Antarctic,” Taylor stated.

“The what now?” Clara had heard him and was intensely jealous.

She was stuck in a boring small town, and he was going to a place she was desperate to visit.

“Yeah, we were shooting at one of the research stations. A few scenes didn’t work in previews, so they’ve done a rewrite, and we need to get them filmed fast. They’re putting me on a plane tomorrow.”

“The Antarctic! I’ve always wanted to go there!” Her voice was full of envy.

“You’re not missing much. It’s cold and white.” Taylor grinned at her and nudged her shoulder with his.

“And incredible?” Clara could tell by the look on his face, a blend of happy and wistful, that he had enjoyed his time there.

“Yeah. It’s so barren. It was amazing. It’s one of the most stunning places I’ve ever been.”

“So you’re not disappointed that you get to go back?” Clara nudged him back.

“No. It was a mind-blowing experience. It’s amazing to be in the middle of nowhere. To be somewhere completely silent. It’sa small shoot with minimal crew, which makes it even more special.”

She guessed, “You don’t spend much time alone anymore?”

“No. There’s always someone with me: my manager, my agent, my PR, my personal assistant, my mom,” he sighed, going through the list.

Clara sputtered with laughter. “Your mum?”

“Yeah,” Taylor confirmed, rolling his eyes. “I bought a house, and she moved in to ‘house sit’ the dogs while I was away filming a movie. Then she discovered the pool house and never left,” he huffed in annoyance.

“You have a whole house by your pool?”

He shrugged. “It’s not very big. Just a living area, a couple of bedrooms and a small kitchen.”

“That’s literally the same size as my entire house.” Clara chuckled, which trailed off at the thought of how differently the man who walked beside her lived.

“Your house is a little bigger,” he said seriously.

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