Aiden had tried his best to forget about Nova, juggling single-player games, upcoming exams, and spying for Aaron. But each time he checked on Keeley—his boss's obvious crush—a faint longing for the girl he'd been ignoring stirred within him.

He was sure she'd tried contacting him through game chats, switching to Facebook messages. Unable to face her, he hadn't responded, despite her apparent worry. He'd never been offline this long before; he always told her when he wouldn't be available.

Nova finally caught him one day while he was checking his email. A video call request from an unfamiliar address popped up, startling him into accidentally accepting it.

A beautiful blonde with stunning blue eyes immediately began cursing him in a foreign language. He assumed it was a cursing because he heard "Aiden Quinn" and her tone was furious.

"How did you find my email address?" Aiden asked curiously. He'd never given it to her.

"It's linked to your Facebook account, you idiot," Nova sniffed. "Why haven't you answered my messages? I've been worried sick."

Yes, it was linked to his Facebook, but his privacy settings should have hidden it. This meant one thing: Nova knew a thing or two about hacking.

His attraction intensified. She'd gone to great lengths to find him because she wanted to talk. But he brushed it off. He'd been avoiding her for a reason.

"I didn't know what to say," Aiden answered lamely.

Nova had always been easy to talk to, but he truly didn't know what to say after realizing the depth of his crush. He didn't want to like her; they'd never work out. New York City was in his blood. He had a job lined up after graduation and needed to help his family.

Aiden couldn't leave, and neither could she. She had more schooling than he did, and even if that weren't a problem, she was deeply attached to her family. They were worlds apart. It wasn't meant to be, so why continue talking when it would only hurt more later?

Nova clearly didn't believe him. Anger and annoyance were etched on her face.

"I find that hard to believe, considering how much you talk. You could have at least told me you wouldn't be online. I thought something terrible had happened to you!"

He was startled by the tears welling in her eyes, quickly brushed away. Was she really that worried about his disappearance?

Aiden considered her perspective. If she'd vanished without a word, he'd have been worried too, since they talked daily. He'd definitely felt her absence these past few weeks.

She deserved the truth. He couldn't beat around the bush forever. Telling her how he felt might make her even angrier, but it could help them make a clean break.

"I'm sorry, Nova," he sighed. "The truth is, I didn't know what to say because I realized I liked you. It's never going to work out, so I wanted to distance myself before I got more attached."

Nova stared at him for over a minute, seemingly experiencing a system crash. When she finally spoke, her tone was one of disbelief.

"You like me? Really? Why didn't you say anything sooner?! I've been agonizing over this ever since we got married in Final Fantasy!"

Now it was Aiden's turn for a system crash. Married in Final Fantasy? That was nearly a year ago! Although…that was when she'd started asking personal questions.

He poked his head out the door and called for Sophie. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"What?" she demanded. "I was doing homework."

"Soph, I need to know. Do girls take in-game marriage proposals seriously?" he whispered.

His sister rolled her eyes but answered quietly. "Aiden, you're so stupid. Of course they do. It's a marriage proposal! Don't tell me you proposed to a random girl without considering her feelings."

"I need to go. Thanks!"

"Aiden, you seriously—" Sophie yelled, but he'd already shut and locked his door, cutting her off.

Sophie, being a girl, would understand female perspectives. If Nova had wondered about his feelings since then…did that mean she liked him too?

Nova was scowling when he returned. "Where did you go?"

"I had to ask my sister something."

"It was important enough to interrupt our conversation?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

It was. If they both liked each other, it complicated things. They were both minors living in different countries. Visiting wouldn't even be feasible.

Even if his mother—who knew nothing of his online life—allowed it, the Quinns couldn't afford a trip to Sweden. He couldn't ask Aaron for help either; he was already deeply indebted to him after his father left.

She huffed. "So you were avoiding me because you like me. Now what? Are you going to go back to doing that as soon as this call ends?"

He doubted Nova would let him get away with that, even if he wanted to. He needed to ask her directly. At this point, he wasn't even sure what answer he wanted.

"Nova, do you like me too?"

Her glare intensified. "I would have thought that was obvious. Why else would I follow you to three other games and spend all my free time talking to you?"

Great. Just great. A beautiful, funny, skilled gamer liked him, and she was four thousand miles away. What was he supposed to do about that?

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