Page 21 of All I Want for Christmas

Darcy set the Post-it on box nine as Viggo looked back at the red book again.

‘And 1922 ends...Stack T(iii), block eleven, level five, box two.’

She found the spot, following the same method, and placed a Post-it on box two.

‘There, that’s your preliminary search area,’ he smiled. ‘It looks so easy, doesn’t it?’

‘I wish,’ she grinned, knowing each box file might contain ten diaries, a hundred letters, a thousand photographs or slides. This could take weeks, if not months. Or she could get lucky and find something in the very first box. But somehow, she doubted it.

‘How friendly are the night guards?’ she asked archly, looking at him.

‘Not so friendly that you can stay here past seven,’ he laughed. ‘I’ll be at my desk if you need me. There’s a bell on each table to save you from shouting.’

A bell. She smiled, watching him go. Yes, this was definitely old school.

‘You unmatched me?’

Darcy looked up with a start. She’d been so engrossed in her work and become so accustomed to the soft shuffle of Viggo’s footsteps in the background – bringing over cups of coffee every few hours – that she hadn’t clocked this more strident approach to the table.

Max was leaning against the end of the next stack, watching her. He was wearing a navy suit but no tie, the top button of his pale blue shirt undone. Suddenly she felt vastly underdressed in her boyfriend jeans, yellow Sambas and navy jumper, her hair pulled back in a messy bun. Last night’s glamour was a distant memory. If she’d thought for one second she was going to see him again, today, here...She’d have put the damned dress back on. If she’d thought she wouldeversee him again, she’d have been a lot happier all day.

‘I didn’t think you’d even notice,’ she said, finding her voice and wishing he didn’t look so good. ‘You’re not exactly chatty online – and you left at some speed last night.’

She watched his reaction to her words. He betrayed nothing on a macro level but she caught the minute tightening of his lips and the slight narrowing of his eyes. ‘Third-wheeling isn’t my idea of a good time.’

She wondered what was.

‘Good date?’ he asked.

‘Yes, fine.’

‘Just fine?’

She shrugged. ‘Yours?’

She tried not to think about what he’d done with his date that she hadn’t done with hers. He made no pretence at romance on his Raya bio. Any woman in his contacts would know exactly what she was signing up for with him, and Darcy suspected there were many others only too happy to play along.

She saw another micro-narrowing of his eyes as he realized she had overheard him on the phone as he walked away, but he ignored the question by asking another of his own. ‘Boyfriend?’

‘Now why would I be on a dating app if he was my boyfriend?’ She held his gaze for several long moments, wondering what it was about him that drew out this side to her. He made her combative, spiky. Provocative. She sensed he operated within strictly controlled boundaries and for some reason, she wanted to push them. Test him.

She looked away, feeling the intensity colour up between them again and unable to hold his gaze. She felt sure he could read her every thought, that he could see just how much she wanted him. ‘What are you doing here, anyway?’

Had he come to ask her for another drink? The prospect of it made her entire body thrill. Erik had been texting all day, pushing for dinner again tonight before he left for Dubai, but she knew she’d have more fun standing in a puddle with Max than fine dining with him.

‘I work here, remember? I thought I’d look in and make sure you were finding everything to your satisfaction.’

Oh.

‘So far, so comprehensive,’ she replied, sitting back in the chair. She’d been here for six hours and only got through one and a half boxes. Fifty-six to go. ‘Viggo’s been fantastic.’

‘He’s the best there is. The National’s been trying to steal him from us for the past ten years. Luckily for us, he’s loyal.’

‘Right.’ Were they really talking shop? She locked eyes with him again, feeling that primal rush once more. Whatever this was between them, it was undeniable – wasn’t it? Did he feel it too? Had she been on his mind all day, the way he’d been on hers, or was she completely delusional? Every time she lifted her head, every time she came back from 1918 to 2024, she had replayed their meeting in her mind, remembered the feeling of his hand upon her back. She hadmissedhim, even though she barely knew him.

She saw something stir behind his eyes.

‘So look,’ he said, clearing his throat. ‘Seeing as we’re going to be...running into each other here for the foreseeable future, I don’t think it would be wise to take things any further between us. On a personal level, I mean.’

---