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it should have, her lips murmuring against my cheek, and even though it was such a minor thing, it was better than any kiss I’d ever had. It was fresh. It was cool.
    It was different.
    I liked different.
    “Sorry.” She jerked away from me and pulled her arms back, retreating into a Carly bubble that I had no place entering.
    “It’s fine, it’s—”
    “No, it’s not okay.” She shook her head and ran her hand through her cropped, blonde hair. “I shouldn’t have—I’m sorry.”
    Her eyes turned a dark green, the light in them extinguished. She turned around and started walking away. I stood there, my arms still extended, as if at any moment she might morph back into my embrace.
    “Thanks for saving me,” she called over her shoulder. A smile had returned to her face.
    “No worries.” My voice was empty, hollow.
    I studied her as she darted around trees, walking back in the direction of the main road. Of life. Of the opposite to this alternate universe we’d just shared.
    “Oh, and Lee? It is Lee from Coal, right?” My mouth parted. How did she know my name? “Take the damn deal. You guys are an incredible band.”
    My eyes widened. She’d heard of us? We’d only played a few gigs, nothing major.
    “Trust yourself. I sure do.”
    She didn’t look back again.
    She was all I could look at.
    It was in that moment I knew. We had a connection. She’d made me laugh, made me smile, made me really think. She made me believe.
    Carly and I were meant to be together.
     
    Present day ...
     
    “A LL PACKED ?” I asked Kate. She pulled a large, grey suitcase through her narrow front doorway, and I smirked. Rookie error. Once she was on the road, she’d realise how cumbersome luggage of that size can be.
    “Yep.” She smiled back. Her hair was piled high on her head in a topknot, and she was wearing denim shorts and an oversized soccer T-shirt. I stared at the insignia, trying to work out what team she supported.
    “What?” She folded her arms across her chest and my eyes snapped back up to her face. Shit. What if she thought I was staring at her boobs? “I like to wear comfy clothes when I travel, okay?”
    “It’s cool.” I shrugged. Her golden eyes gleamed at me. There was something captivating about them, something that made me so utterly incapable of looking away. They made me feel naked. Isolated. “Was just … forget it.”
    “I’ll take that.” Benny stepped forward and grabbed her suitcase, turning and pulling it toward the car. Thank God someone was being a gentleman around here.
    Kate’s parents hovered in the doorway. How had I missed them before? I hoped they hadn’t seen me staring at their daughter’s rack. Way to instil confidence pre-overseas trip, dickhead.
    “My baby girl!” Deborah pressed her lips together. There was a glossy sheen of tears in her eyes.
    “Mum.” Kate wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist, resting her head on top of her shoulder. Deborah’s auburn hair splayed on top of Kate’s brown locks. It was sweet. Touching.
    I couldn’t think of the last time I hugged my own mother like that. It had been too long. And I wasn’t entirely sure which of us to blame.
    “You … take carrrrre of … my girl.” Paul, Kate’s father, staggered forward, extending an arm to me. I took his hand and shook it, a firm gesture. I wanted to impart as much solidity toward this man as I could.
    I always used to think that with my dad. If I could just be steady and still enough around him, it would help him somehow get a grip on his own shaky problem.
    Turned out, it often just made it worse.
    “I will.” I nodded, smiling. “I’ll bring her home to you safe.”
    He gave me a grin, then turned to Kate, arms outstretched. “C’mere,” he growled.
    Kate launched into his embrace and closed her eyes, her eyelashes resting on her cheeks, a hug so tight I could see his shirt puffing out around her fingers on his back. Once again it hit me. She was such an amazing