Page 44 of Doc Hollywood

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she whispered, opened the door and slipped into the car.

When she pulled away from the curb, she glanced into her wing mirror to see him still standing there, watching her go.

CHAPTER 12

“Thanks for looking after me this week.” Taylor stood in the empty theatre with Clara after he had followed her for another ten-hour day.

Clara had been unfailingly polite and helpful to him but had made sure she didn’t act like a girl with a crush. Not letting herself linger in his touches for longer than she should or get lost in the blue pools of his eyes.

“Is there anything else you want me to run over with you or show you? To make you more fluid in the movie,” Clara asked.

“I think you’ve given me a good starting point. I hope you don’t mind if I contact you about a few things during the shoot.” Taylor looked at her hopefully.

Clara glanced away from him quickly, muttering, “Of course. That’s no problem at all. Although I’m sure they’ll have medical advisers on set for you to ask.”

Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she strode out of the theatre, but Taylor easily kept pace with her.

“Yeah, you’re right. They probably will.” He stopped speaking, and the silence stretched until they were outside the changingrooms. “So, well. Can I take you for dinner tonight? As a thank you for all of this.”

Taylor stepped in front of her, forcing Clara to stop walking or crash into him.

Clara stared up at his face for a moment before she dropped her eyes and began shaking her head. If she went for dinner with him alone, she would carry on getting more ideas than her stupid brain had already concocted. And in a few hours, Taylor would be gone from her life, so she needed to get her head out of the clouds and firmly back into her normality. Which was Wednesday pub quiz, Thursday night in, then every other day in the week was a night in. Going out with a Hollywood star, kidding herself into thinking that her life could be something more, something vividly bright, rather than the drab colours it usually was, would just hurt her.

“That’s kind of you. But I can’t tonight,” she lied, her gaze skittering around without meeting his.

“Another pub quiz?”

“No,” she mumbled.

“A date?”

Her eyes met his for a second before she looked away. “No.”

“Sooooo…?” Taylor let his question hang in the air.

“I, um, well,” Clara faltered and internally kicked herself; she was a terrible liar.

“Have I done something wrong?” Taylor asked quietly.

Clara’s eyes snapped up, finally meeting Taylor’s bright blue ones.

“No. You haven’t. It’s just I, umm, I…” she hesitated, and as she stared at him, her resolve to protect herself wavered, and she found herself saying. “I’ve enjoyed hanging out with you and teaching you this week, and I appreciate your offer for dinner. I was turning you down because, because,” she wracked her brain and finally thought of an excuse that didn’t involve admittingthat she had a crush on him. “I didn’t want you to feel obliged. It was no problem at all showing you around and teaching you. You don’t owe me anything.”

Internally, she berated herself; she had just made it obvious that she wanted to go.

“I don’t feel obliged. I’ve enjoyed spending time with you, and it would be nice to take you to dinner. In actual clothes, not pyjamas, and no pub quiz team.” His expression was hopeful.

Clara could only stand there staring at Taylor, bewildered by the movie star, who seemed determined to take her to dinner.

Finally, she blurted, “Is the ferret on your face coming too?”

She couldn’t stop the laughter that escaped at the thought of the fake beard he had worn, and her hand shot up to her mask-covered mouth.

Taylor’s eyebrow rose as he informed her, “I’ve still got the ferret on.”

“What?” Clara snorted. “I am so sorry; that just keeps happening.”

“No problem. I’m glad my need to disguise and the facial ferret makes you laugh,” Taylor said seriously.

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