Kelsey and Lewis have been best friends for ten years. After her father died suddenly, it was Lewis—then a sweet, scruffy-haired schoolboy—who patiently patched Kelsey back together. A shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, someone to watch Family Guy with when nothing felt funny anymore: he became everything she needed him to be to bring her back to life and has been stitched onto her soul ever since. Nine years later, when Lewis finally kissed her for the first time, Kelsey was sure it was the beginning of their love story…

Until he left for a job in New York the next day.

Kelsey has been counting down the days until Lewis comes back to Liverpool, busying herself with a new job, a handful of forgettable dates and awkward, weekly catch-ups with her mum. The days might have turned into a year but that’s fine—Kelsey’s happy where she is and good at staying still. Besides, every bad date she goes on only confirms what she has always known to be true: Lewis is her soulmate. What’s one year, when Lewis stuck around for the nine when Kelsey was miserable? Don’t all great loves stories start something like this? Kelsey is sure: when he comes back, it’s going to be incredible.

Only Lewis isn’t in New York. He never has been. He’s in a house a few streets away from Kelsey’s home in Manchester, secluded, alone, and living a life that he can no longer let her be a part of. Something happened to Lewis on the night of their first kiss which changed everything and when Kelsey learns the devastating truth, she has to make a choice. Should she keep pushing for her happy ending? Or is their love story about to be thrown in a new direction?

They say that young love comes at a time before the heart has learned to protect itself. Is that why it’s the most unforgettable, defining kind of love?