“You mean, I’m not done praising you.”

We laugh as we get out of the car and make our way inside and up to my room. “Queenie is all yours,” I say as I throw my backpack somewhere in my room. “I’ll take Minnie. Hey, WillowBot.”

“Hello, Mia. And hello, Declan! I do not have emotions, but if I did, I’m certain I would be very excited to see you.”

He laughs. “I’m so excited to see you, too.” He turns to me. “You should take Queenie. I have something to show you in the game and it will look so much better with high graphics.”

“Okay.” After setting Declan up with the laptop, I sit down at my desk and hug my gaming mouse. “Hey, Mousy. Still working impeccably? Please last for many, many years so that I can enjoy my games for many years to come.”

“She needs Declan’s blessing.” He gets up from the table I set up for him and walks over to my desk, bending down and pressing a kiss on the mouse. “Now she’ll live for many, many, many years.”

I love how Declan just plays along with whatever random thing I do. He doesn’t think I’m weird or odd—he seems to really like that about me.

“What?” he asks.

Was I staring at him? I shake my head. “Just appreciating how amazing you are.”

With a smile, he kisses me, then says, “Thanks. And I appreciate every second how amazing you are.” He lowers himself back at the table.

Once we’re both logged in to the game, Declan says, “Meet me at my house. I think you’ll love what I have to show you.”

As soon as Valarina walks into his house, Gunthard, who stands near the door, bows and holds out his hand to her. I instruct Valarina to take his hand, but unfortunately, the characters only hold hands until one of them moves.

“Right this way, my sweet,” Declan says as Gunthard leads Valarina up the stairs. I notice there are more flowers around the area.

Then he stops before two wooden doors and faces Valarina. “Now that Valarina is living with Gunthard, he decided to make her feel more at home. So…tada!” He pushes the door open and leads Valarina inside.

My jaw drops as I examine the large redecorated bedroom. Along the walls are bookcases, each one filled to the max with books. There are a few sofas placed around the area, all of them near a sconce so Valarina can have an easier time reading.

“Oh my gosh, this is incredible,” I tell him. “Gunthard did all this for Valarina?”

“Yeah. He knows how much she loves to read.”

“But you got rid of all your monster trophies…”

Declan waves his hand. “That’s okay. I created a trophy room and put all the trophies there. I’m not done with the books. I have an empty room downstairs I used to dump all my extra house stuff. Gunthard wants to turn it into a library for Valarina. Because she can never have enough books, right?”

Why does this bring tears to my eyes? I mean, I know it’s just a game and is fake and just pretend, but he put so much effort into it. All for me and Valarina.

“Thanks,” I tell him. “This is so cool of you.”

“And that’s not all. Walk further into the bedroom and tell me what you see.”

As I do that, I notice two items sitting on Valarina’s side of the bed. One looks like a brown rabbit and the other…is that a crab?

“Lady Bunny and Lobsty?” I ask.

“Yep! But I couldn’t find a pink and orange rabbit. And the game only has crabs, not lobsters.”

“Aw, this is so sweet of you! Valarina will feel right at home—” My voice cuts off when I notice something sitting on the end table near Valarina’s side of the bed. “Wait, what?” I move her closer to get a better look. It’s a small automaton sitting there, with the words WB written on her torso. “Is that WillowBot?” I ask.

“Yes! You have no idea what I had to do to get that reward. I had to beg my friends to help me do an extremely hard dungeon—”

I leap off my chair and nearly throw him off his as I smash my lips to his. He envelops me in his arms and gently grabs hold of my hair as his lips desperately move over mine.

“Excuse me for the interruption,” WillowBot says. “But I am in the game?”

Declan sweeps his lips across my cheek before getting up and smiling at WillowBot. “You are. Want to see?”