Page 61 of Doc Hollywood

“Yeah. Since he got back from Antarctica, he’s phoned me every day.” Clara felt a blush rising up her cheeks as they spoke about Taylor.

“He likes you,” Sadie said bluntly.

Clara shook her head in denial. “How can he? This is absolute madness. He’s literally Superman, and I’m no one.”

“Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare say something like that. He’s an actor. A good one and a famous one, I’ll admit. But do not think for one second that you are no one. You are wonderful. Hewould be lucky to have someone like you.” Sadie leaned forward and gripped her hand.

“But Sadie, it’s just ridiculous. I mean, things like this don’t happen in real life. Not in my life.”

“Why not in your life?”

“Because I’m me,” Clara muttered, staring down at her hands.

Her friendship with Sadie only developed once she became a consultant and after she had split up with Jack. She had so desperately wanted to move on that she had only confirmed with Sadie what she had already known, that Jack was cheating on her and had, in fact, left her for the other woman. She had never told her about the abuse.

“Clara. Why is it so crazy that a man could actually like you?”

Raising her eyes, Clara looked at her friend and finally let it all out. The physical abuse, the mental abuse and the financial abuse that Jack had inflicted on her.

And when she had said everything she wanted to say about her ex-boyfriend, she finished by saying, “And how can I expect anyone new to like me, to love me, when the man who promised me the world broke that promise again and again? Showing me that I was nothing to him. That I was nothing.”

Reaching up, she wiped at the corner of her eyes, surprised to feel the wetness on her hand; she hadn’t realised that she had been crying.

“Everything you just told me. None of it was your fault,” Sadie reassured her.

“I should have left him. I didn’t. He left me. What does that say about me?”

“It says you’re human. You were alone and couldn’t see a way out. He systematically isolated you from all your support, and he fooled your family. He was the problem and not you.”

“I don’t deserve someone like Taylor to like me,” Clara whispered.

“That’s bullshit. Total bullshit. Have you taken a long, hard look in the mirror recently? A look that goes beyond the superficial? Have you seen the woman who bent and didn’t break? The woman who every day gets up and goes to work to help improve other people’s lives. The woman who has saved more lives than I have time to count. The highly trained and skilled professional who does her job with a smile on her face, however tired she is.

“The woman I’ve only known for three years, but during that time, she has never forgotten my birthday, my kids’ birthdays, or my husband’s birthday. The woman who got out of bed at three in the morning to come and anaesthetise me for my emergency c-section eighteen months ago, even though she wasn’t on call. The woman who held my hand and told me it was going to be okay when I was terrified.

“You are kind, you are caring. You are beautiful. And don’t let anyone tell you any different,” Sadie insisted and took a large gulp of her wine.

Clara stared at her friend in bewilderment. Was that what she really thought about her? Was she the person that Sadie saw when she looked at her? Because she would like to be.

“That’s you, Clara. Do not let someone’s job put you off. If you like him and he likes you, give it a chance. Maybe it’ll lead to heartbreak, but isn’t the heartbreak of never having tried at all going to be so much worse.”

“You should listen to my wife. She’s sometimes very wise,” George advised as he strolled back into the kitchen and, by the lack of sound ringing from upstairs, he had been successful in putting the kids to bed. “It does sound like he likes you. Give him a chance.”

“He’s Superman!” Clara exclaimed.

“And? He’s just a man.” George pulled up a chair to the table, pouring himself a glass of wine.

Clara huffed. She didn’t mind that Sadie had filled her husband in on the whole Taylor situation; in fact, she had expected her to. However, that didn’t mean she enjoyed being ganged up on by them.

“Yes, although—“ Clara tried again, but Sadie shook her head.

“Nope. No more putting yourself down. Give it a chance. Give this man a chance. What’s the worst that can happen?” Sadie took another sip of her wine. Her eyes slipped over to the man she had married, and they warmed in happiness when she caught his gaze.

“I get my heart broken?” Clara replied ruefully.

She observed her friend and her husband as they smiled at each other and, for a second, wondered what it would be like to be sitting in her kitchen with Taylor. She dismissed it; her kitchen was not grand enough for him. A little voice though, reminded her about how comfortable he had been in her small house.

Sighing loudly, she took a large gulp of wine.

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