‘And if you ever want to go through your lines with someone.’ Sophia fluttered her eyelashes. ‘Remember I’m always available.’
‘Thank you, but I’m good.’ He had enough problems of the female variety at the moment with his stalker and his bodyguard. ‘Today was an anomaly.’
He’d make damn sure of it.
Kat was waiting for him outside his dressing room. Ignoring the way his pulse raced that little bit faster when she smiled, he went to open the door, but she shook her head.
‘Bodyguard’s first.’ After doing a quick sweep of the room – he guessed out of habit, because security within the studio was so tight she’d agreed she wasn’t needed while he was here – she nodded for him to come in. ‘Is it a wrap?’
‘For today, yes.’ He stepped inside and ran a hand over his face, his fingers sliding over make-up. Nice. God, he needed a shower. Usually he’d take one before he left. Then again, usually he didn’t have a woman waiting in his dressing room. A woman who wasn’t beautiful like the one he’d had to kiss this afternoon, on set, yet who he found far more interesting. ‘I could do with a shower. If that’s possible.’
As he met her eyes he saw a flicker of … was it amusement? Or something else? He wanted to believe she was imagining him in the shower – that’s certainly where his mind would have wandered had the boot been on the other foot. Yet he’d had no hint that she found him attractive. He knew her sister did, because her sister had dragged Kat to watch his film. So from current evidence, far from imagining him showering, it was more likely she was silently laughing at this weird shyness he’d developed.
‘No problem, I’ll wait outside.’ She was halfway towards the door when she stopped. ‘By the way, I’ve booked you into a hotel that we’ve used before. You’re on a private floor, with its own gym, that can’t be accessed without a special lift key.’
He grimaced. ‘My own personal, five-star prison cell.’
The look she gave him was heavy with sympathy. ‘It’s not forever. And you’re not under lock and key. If you want to go out, just let me know and I’ll make sure either I or Mark accompany you.’
‘Mark?’
‘Yes. He’s coming by the hotel so you can meet him. I’ll be your main point of contact, but Mark Evans will provide cover when I can’t.’ She shot him a grin. ‘He’s also the boss man, so feel free to big me up whenever you get the chance.’
She slipped out and Zac headed to the adjoining shower feeling … flat. An evening in a soulless hotel. If he wanted to go out, he couldn’t just open his front door. He had to phone and wait for a babysitter. Some people – Kat no doubt one of them – would call his apartment soulless, but at least it was his. His sofa, his bed.
His things.
He groaned as he stepped under the hot spray, his mind going back to this morning. A thousand questions had been in Kat’s eyes when he’d caught her looking at his mother’s teapots. He could only hope she kept the other nine hundred and ninety-nine to herself.
***
Zac’s eyes strayed towards the Aston Martin as he walked into the car park. Newer than his, but the sleek lines were similar enough to cause a pang in his chest.
‘Is my car still in the Vision Films car park?’
Kat ushered him into the Jeep before jumping into the driver’s side. ‘Yes, why? Worried she’ll get wet if it rains?’
He sighed, letting her have her fun. He was too fed up to argue.
‘I can arrange for her to be taken back to your place, if you like,’ Kat said quietly a moment later as she drove out of the studio gates.
‘Which place would that be? My home, or the place I’m going to be living?’ And yes, he knew he sounded testy.
‘Your home. Putting her in the hotel car park would be the equivalent of sticking a big sign outside the hotel saying Zac Edwards is staying here. As we’ve gone to all the trouble of booking you into a private floor, and ramming the whole Make sure none of your staff tell anyone he’s staying here speech down the manager’s throat, that seems a little counterproductive.’
‘The first two words were sufficient.’
Her lips curved. ‘I make it a rule never to use two words when twenty is so much more satisfying.’
‘Satisfying for whom?’
Her laughter filled the car. ‘Me, obviously.’
‘What happened to keeping the client happy?’
‘Technically the client is Vision Films.’
He guessed he deserved that. And heavens above, he was being a grumpy sod. What had he got to complain about, really? The inconvenience of having to live in a five-star hotel for a short while? Yeah, it was no wonder his cheery bodyguard was already fed up with him. He didn’t like himself right now, either. ‘Tell me how this works with you and Mark.’
She slid him a brief look. ‘What do you want to know?’
‘Do you have some sort of rota?’
‘Nothing so formal. I’ll take most of the shifts, but if you’re going out every night he’ll be there to pick up some evenings. We also try to alternate weekends.’
‘I won’t be out every night.’ With a sigh, he remembered the chat with Sophia. ‘But I am going for drinks with the crew on Friday.’
‘Okay, no problem.’
What about spontaneity, though? What about meeting a woman he fancied and asking her out for a drink? Like he’d been seconds away from doing with Kat. He wasn’t a womaniser, but he wasn’t a monk, either.
She indicated and turned into a side street before speaking again. ‘I can almost see your mind working.’
God, he hoped not. ‘Yes?’
‘We’re discreet. If you want to … date, we won’t cramp your style.’
He shook his head, amused despite himself. ‘You assume I have style.’
‘Are you kidding? A man can’t look like you and not have style.’
***
The moment the words were out of her mouth, Kat kicked herself. She really needed to employ that filter. The poor guy already had an overly keen fan on his hands. The last thing he needed was his bodyguard, the one hired to protect him from the fan, fangirling all over him.
At times it was hard not to be a fan, though. Like when he’d returned to the dressing room wearing the tightest of T-shirts, amply showcasing the famous Edwards physique. So yes, her mind had done a little wandering when he’d mentioned having a shower.
‘When I saw you again this morning,’ his quietly spoken words broke through her smutty thoughts, ‘it’s fair to say I’d harboured hopes that you’d let me show you my … style.’
‘Oh?’ she squawked, totally blindsided, which made him laugh.
‘Not so quick with the chat now, I see.’
‘I, umm, the hotel is just ahead.’ Out of the corner of her eye she saw the laughter on his face at her glaring change of subject, but she ignored it. Just like she’d have to ignore his comment. He’s a job, Parker. Get that into your damn head. ‘I took your bags up earlier when I checked you in.’ That was better. Nice and professional. ‘You should have everything you need.’