Page 19 of The Day After Christmas
‘Thanks. I do too.’
They sat for a moment or two with their own thoughts. James reached up and wiped her tears with a gentle hand.
It was a kind gesture, but Felicity felt suddenly overwhelmed.
‘I don’t want to talk about him anymore. Not yet anyway. Is that okay?’
‘Okay. Whatever you say.’
‘Thank you.’
She smiled into his face and wondered – not for the first time or even the three hundredth time, come to that – what it would be like to actually marry this man.
Cut that out.
He smiled back and ran a hand through his forever unruly blond hair.
Look at that smile. Honestly.
He always seemed to have a knack for reading her mind. She blushed automatically and he lifted an eyebrow.
‘Surely you’re not thinking what I’m thinking,’ said James in a low voice.
Her face grew hot. ‘I guarantee we’re thinking completely different things right now.’
‘I wouldn’t bank on that,’ said James, pulling her closer against him.
‘Breakfast of champions,’ she muttered, half to herself, a little smile on her face as she snuggled against him, eyes growing heavy. Though the spirit was willing, the flesh was most certainly not. She was completely wrung out.
‘What?’ whispered James into her ear.
‘Never mind,’ said Felicity, waving a hand, and seconds later she fell into a fitful sleep.
The next day was a Saturday and, mercifully, they both had a day off. After a leisurely breakfast of the ordinary variety in the ridiculously large kitchen in what she still thought of as James’s house, Felicity made a coffee and took it up to the office, where even though he was meant to be resting she knew she would find him. Sure enough, there was James tapping away on the keyboard in front of his equally ridiculous Jack Bauer-type screen set-up.
Felicity felt a thrill run down her spine. No matter how much he claimed his job at GCHQ was boring, she never quite bought it. James Bond or not, it was still pretty sexy.
After a few seconds, the printer buzzed into life and coughed out a single sheet of paper. James handed it to Felicity and sat back down in the chair, looking triumphant.
Felicity stared down at the page, not comprehending.
‘What is this, J?’
‘That, my lady, is the phone number and address for your father.’
‘What?’
‘You heard me. Harry Brooks has a mobile phone and everything. Now you can call him whenever you’re ready.’
‘How did you…? How on earth…?’
‘I had a name. That was enough.’
Felicity stared at the number on the page before her. She looked up at James who was still looking very pleased with himself.
‘I can’t believe you did that.’
‘It was nothing. It’s publicly listed so I didn’t even have to break any laws.’ This with a grin that showed off The Dimple to full effect.
