"I couldn't put it down" Sophie Kinsella

Sometimes it's the people you miss who matter most.

Tess and Gus are meant to be. They just haven't met properly yet. And perhaps they never will...

'Today is the first day of the rest of your life.'

That's what the plate in Tess's mum's kitchen says. And for a while, it seems like it might be true: Tess has just finished her A levels and is holidaying in Florence before going on to university and then Great Things. But that's before tragedy strikes.

For Gus, the tragedy has already happened. He and his parents have come to Florence to pretend they're a normal family, but they all know that's not true, and Gus can't wait to escape.

The first time Tess and Gus meet, they don't speak. The second time, they exchange nine words. The third time, three sentences.

Then they return to England and their separate worlds and that, as they say, is that. Or it would be -- except that the universe seems to have other ideas, even if neither Tess nor Gus realise it.