‘Are you okay, Brody?’

He turned to find Moji looking at him. The shop was empty, the memory of the bell over the door an echo in his ears. He was still breathing methodically and slowly, his unconscious brain counting beats of three even as his imagination had drifted elsewhere. ‘Yes,’ he said, a smile threatening to curve his lips. ‘Yes, I think I am.’

Moji looked at the Not Elf. Brody was holding it tightly in both hands. ‘Are you sure she’s supposed to be in the box?’ Moji asked. ‘I mean, I’ll take her. She’s lovely. But she’s not the usual sort of thing you bring me.’

‘No,’ he said, staring down at the determined chin, the faraway eyes. ‘You’re right. It was a mistake. She shouldn’t have been in there.’

Chapter Forty-Two

ANNA LEANED BACK in her office chair at Sundridge Plumbing and Heating and rubbed her temples with the tips of her fingers. She’d just got off the phone with a customer, irate because their hot and cold tap labels were on the wrong way around. Not ideal, obviously, but you’d have thought from the fuss they made that raw sewage was pumping through their otherwise perfectly installed new bathroom.

Her mobile buzzed on the desk, a message from Gabi. Meet me outside The Book Corner at noon.

Hmm. That was a bit cryptic. And not the sort of message she’d become used to receiving from her best friend since the split with Lee. They usually alternated between ranting about Lee or crying about Lee and who he might be seeing now (there were rumours about Miss Ponytail, apparently).

Ok, Anna had texted back, ready for anything to get her out of the office for a bit. Why?

I will tell you when you get here, had been Gabi’s mysterious reply.

Which is why Anna took an early lunch break and found herself standing outside a bookshop in Bromley High Street one drizzly October day.

‘Please don’t be angry with me,’ Gabi said when she arrived and opened the door so they could both go inside out of the rain.

‘Why would I be angry with you?’ Anna asked as she folded up her umbrella.

Gabi glanced around the shop, then motioned for Anna to join her behind one of the bookshelves further to the back of the shop. ‘I have been digging,’ she said, looking very serious.

‘Digging?’

Gabi nodded. ‘Concerning your mystery man.’

‘My mystery…?’ Anna stopped. She frowned. ‘Brody?’

‘Sorry,’ Gabi replied, looking torn. ‘I wasn’t going to, but once I got the idea, I couldn’t stop myself. I have too much free time now – especially early in the morning, when I can’t sleep.’

Anna looked back at Gabi and then she sighed and nodded. Gabi seemed to have two states of being since she’d split up with Lee – sad and floppy, or intense and hyper. ‘And?’

Gabi led Anna even further into the depths of the shop, where they were surrounded by the bright colours and illustrated characters of the children’s section and pulled a book from the shelf. ‘Here,’ she said, handing it to Anna. ‘This is him.’