diff --git a/src/pugixpath.cpp b/src/pugixpath.cpp
index e262d68..b6d089c 100644
--- a/src/pugixpath.cpp
+++ b/src/pugixpath.cpp
@@ -1086,7 +1086,7 @@ namespace pugi
 
 		const char* contents() const
 		{
-			return m_cur_lexeme_contents;
+			return m_cur_lexeme_contents ? m_cur_lexeme_contents : "";
 		}
 	};