Crossing Time Zones

At twenty-three, Lacey Windsor has her life figured out. She lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, works in digital marketing, has a psychology degree she still finds excuses to use, and spends her free time watching Formula One, spoiling her cats, and convincing herself she doesn't need another online shopping order.

Then the Milan Winter Olympics happen.

One gold medal, one impossible free skate, and one awkward American figure skater later, she finds herself falling into the world of Ilia Malinin. At first, she's another fan liking posts, watching livestreams, and laughing at his dry sense of humor.

Everything changes when she leaves a comment he notices.

A single direct message turns into late-night conversations, voice notes, inside jokes, and daily calls across two continents. Seven hours separate Virginia and South Africa, yet somehow Ilia becomes the first person she wants to tell everything to.

The problem is they've never met.

As their friendship grows, so do the questions. How do you explain falling for someone you've never seen outside a screen? What happens when a global sports star starts depending on the one person who treats him like Ilia instead of an Olympic champion?

With competitions, media attention, thousands of miles, and lives moving in different directions, both of them begin to wonder whether some distances are too large to cross.

Or whether the right person makes the whole world feel smaller.