“That’s the one,” said Kara with a humourless smile. “Mr. All-American. Anyway, we sort of had a thing going for a while. And what can I say? I fell in love with him – totally, completely in love with him. I thought he felt the same way, but...”

Alex didn’t say anything – memories were starting to come back. David had ended up leaving the camp unexpectedly with a married AK named Susie; gossip had buzzed around the camp for days afterwards. “Did you know about Susie?” he asked after a pause.

Kara shook her head. “Nope. Didn’t have a clue. I found out later that she hadn’t even been the only one. I felt like such a...” Her voice faded, then she cleared her throat. “And you know what? The stupid thing is that part of me still loves him. I mean, I’d spit in his face if I saw him again, but I still love him. Almost as much as I hate him.”

“Yeah,” murmured Alex. That summed it up, pretty much. He’d die for Willow, even now, but he’d meant it when he said he never wanted to see her again.

Kara was sitting sideways on the sofa, her legs still curled under her. “Jake was so great, you know, after all that,” she said. “He let me cry on his shoulder so many times. That was when I started to think that maybe someday...” She looked down. “Your brother was a really good guy,” she said finally. “I miss him.”

“I know,” said Alex. “I miss him too.” He wondered what Jake would have said about Willow. After he’d finished kicking Alex’s ass for being involved with a half-angel in the first place, he had a feeling Jake would have taken him out to get drunk a few times. And brought lots of pretty girls over to their table, as if Willow could be replaced by anyone with two X chromosomes.

He became aware of the stillness of the house. He turned his head and looked at Kara. She was sitting very close, her brown eyes fixed on his; he could smell the gentle scent of body lotion.

She hesitated – and then in slow motion, she reached out and stroked her hand up his bare arm. When she came to his tattoo, she explored it as if she’d never seen it before, tracing its letters. The heat from her fingers was like little suns. “Remember the Christmas party that time?” she asked.

He knew immediately the party she meant – it had been just a few months after Kara had first come to the camp. She’d worn a Santa hat and carried around a sprig of mistletoe, giving everyone quick, laughing kisses. Including him – his first kiss ever. The other AKs had thought it was hilarious; he’d just wanted to grab the mistletoe from her and do it again.