You can’t always be a hero,” he whispered. “Sometimes just surviving is the best that you can do.

I buried my face against his neck, breathing him in – the smell of machine oil, summertime, a thousand memories.

Hey, you’ve got the girl, I’ve got the picture. That’s fair, right?

OK,” he said. “‘It’s a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses.’” I felt my mouth quirk at the Blues Brothers quote. And I thought – even if he’s never going to feel the same way that I do, it doesn’t matter. I still want to be with him. I never wanted to be without him. “Hit it,” I said.

Was he really willing to throw away what we had this easily? How could two people who loved each other so much be communicating so badly? When one of them was psychic, even?

Willow was very relaxed company, easy to talk to when either of them felt like talking or just as happy to stay quiet, lost in her own thoughts as they climbed. Glancing at her profile as they sat on a boulder looking out at the view, it suddenly struck Alex that he’d never felt so comfortable with anyone in his life. It felt as if he’d known Willow always. No. It felt like she was a part of him.

People here aren’t mean; they’re not unsociable – it just hurts to get close to someone and then lose them.

A teenage girl lay asleep on the sofa, curled up under a red-and-black knitted afghan. She was on her side, with one slender arm cradling a throw cushion nestled under her head. Long wavy blond hair spread across her back and her shoulders like a cape. Even though she was sleeping, Alex could see how pretty she was, with her delicate, almost elfin features. He stood in the doorway, watching the soft rise and fall of her chest.

His hands as he worked were deft and sure, but so gentle – he was being careful not to hurt me any more than he had to. I sat very still, hardly daring to move. I was in love with him. The knowledge swept through me, truer than anything I’d ever known. Oh, my God, I was in love with him.

The girl I’ve been looking for my entire life. Alex resisted the urge to throw Seb off the balcony and see if he could fly.