Page 13 of Ace of Hearts

“That, and he’ll think I’m partying at all hours. Which will lull him into a false sense of security ...”

Like the whole thing about us being engaged, I guess.

“Meanwhile, you’re actually spending your evenings practicing like a maniac,” I add, nodding. Ingenious, though a bit dodgy from someone who claims he’s above cheating to win.

“It’s not cheating,” he says as if reading my mind. “Just a bit of manipulation. Besides, I have no pity for dirty thieves like him.”

Dirty thieves? I want to ask what he means, but I can see by his look that he won’t be disclosing anything tonight. I say instead, “You’d better get changed.”

“Why?”

“There was a note stuck to our door. Apparently, Li Mei’s having a party in her suite, and we’re invited.”

He makes a face and mumbles something in Russian as he looks back down at his cards.

“Excuse me?” I say.

“I said, I’d rather die . The party will have to go on without me.”

“No excuses! I need to get out, and there’s no way I’m turning up without my fiancé.”

I leave his room, closing the door behind me. I’m not giving him a choice. I came to Las Vegas to have fun, not to spend my evenings alone in my room.

When he walks into the suite’s living room an hour later, Levi’s wearing black trousers and a white shirt with the sleeves casually rolled up over his forearms. His hair is still damp from the shower, which adds to his charm.

Despite his reservations about going to the party, I see he’s listened to me.

When Thomas asks where we’re going, Levi tells him to get changed and join us later at Li Mei’s room. He doesn’t give Thomas time to object, which elicits a wicked laugh from me.

“We still haven’t agreed on our head-over-heels love story,” I remind Levi as we walk down the corridor.

“I prefer to improvise.”

“At least tell me what Russian women are like,” I insist. “I know people’s ideas about marriage are different in other cultures. Should I nod and smile at everything you say, or am I allowed to have a personality?”

He doesn’t say anything for a while. We get into the lift, and he leans back against the mirrored wall, looking at me with his piercing eyes.

“Marriage is a very important thing in Russia. Women tend to marry young so they can start a family. Things are changing gradually, but it’s still a very patriarchal society. Women do the cooking, the housework, and the childcare while the men work and bring home the money.”

I raise a teasing eyebrow, eyeing him from the other side of the lift. “Very 1950s.”

“I guess you’re right ... but that’s not how we see it,” he adds calmly. “You can’t judge my culture without knowing it or understanding it.”

He’s right about that. So I ask him to explain.

He seems to be searching for the right words, then says, “You women don’t want us men to provide for you because you refuse to be seen as weak. You see this dynamic as yet another way of dominating you.”

“And isn’t it?”

“I can’t speak for others, but in my case, no, it isn’t. I was brought up to be a gentleman, that’s all. A ‘head of the family.’”

I smile mockingly.

He seems amused. “It’s just a turn of phrase.”

“Words are important, Levi. They’re what gets passed down through the decades and make history and shape society.”

He looks at me for a moment, then nods. “You’re right. My mistake.”

“Did your father hold the same view?”

“Not really,” he replies, looking away, seeming lost in his memories, “It was my mother who always taught me to respect women. The things I do that you see as bad are well meant. Men like me pay in restaurants because we like it, because we want to take care of the women we’re with.

We carry heavy things, not because we don’t think you can but because we want to save you the trouble.

I know my way of seeing things can seem old-fashioned, but I still don’t really see what’s wrong with it. ”

I want to tell him there’s nothing wrong with wanting to take care of the person he loves, as long as it doesn’t mean she has to play a role she’s not comfortable with, but I stay silent.

He continues. “In Russia, men have a certain attitude toward women. We pay their bills in restaurants; we hold the door for them; we buy them flowers on a first date; we open the car door for them ... But we don’t see that gallantry as an attack on their independence.

It doesn’t mean we think you’re weaker or less competent.

On the contrary, we do it because we love you and respect you. ”

I think I get what he’s saying. Times have changed. Criticism of what was wrong in the past has altered people’s mindsets, but unfortunately, some people have tried to go too far, too fast, and have got everything mixed up.

Personally, I like men to be gentlemen. I don’t see it as an insult to my strength as a woman or my ability to earn my own money. It’s as if he and I really were made for one another!

“Shall we just do what feels right to us?” suggests Levi. The lift doors finally open, and he moves to let me out first. “Not overthink it?”

“Sounds good to me.”

His hand automatically moves to the base of my bare back as we walk side by side. I’d rather die than admit it, but ever since I’ve been in Las Vegas, I’ve been feeling ... well, less alone.

Traveling all the time means managing for myself, not making lasting friendships, waking up alone, and going to sleep alone.

But for the first time in ages, I’ve been spending my days with the same people.

We see each other first thing in the morning; we eat together; we come back to the same place in the evening .

.. and it all makes me nostalgic, somehow.

Suddenly aware that being part of something, of a group—even a strange one—has been missing from my life.

“I should warn you,” Levi says as he knocks at the door, “Li Mei is quite ... special. But I think the two of you will hit it off.”

The woman in question doesn’t keep us waiting. She quickly opens the door, dressed in a tiny apple-green dress and transparent high heels. Seeing Levi greet her, I realize that he genuinely likes her. His face immediately relaxes, as though the mask were coming off. Strange.

“Here you are at last! I’ve been waiting for you. Come in.”

Her suite is similar to ours, so I’m not at all disoriented. I’d been expecting an intimate gathering, but it looks as though she’s invited the whole floor. She focuses all her attention on us, though.

Leading us into the kitchen, she offers us drinks and raises her voice above the music. “I’m finally meeting the future Mrs. Ivanovich! Pleased to meet you. I’m Li Mei Qian. With a man like that, you’ve won the jackpot.”

I smile as sincerely as I can and joke, “I’d say he’s the lucky one, but I guess that depends on whom you ask.”

She bursts out laughing and says I’m probably right. Levi wasn’t wrong: I already like her. She has a calming aura. My fake fiancé is just opening his mouth to say something when someone taps him gently on the shoulder.

He turns around and faces a man standing right behind him. The stranger is much shorter—he can’t be more than five foot nine, like me.

“Er ... good evening ...,” stammers the man, looking like a deer in the headlights.

“Wow, I’m super impressed. Can I have an autograph?

No, even better, a photo! The guys at my fishing club won’t believe this.

” He drops the name of a well-known female porn star and says he once got his photo taken with her, but proclaims this will be even cooler.

The man giggles like a groupie and pulls a gigantic camera out of his backpack. We watch him in silence. Levi seems rather annoyed by his appearance, or maybe by the familiar way the man is speaking to him. I find it hilarious.

“Let me introduce myself. My name’s Lucky. I’m Aquarius and Leo rising, and my perfect evening would be spent watching Bridget Jones .”

“Thanks, but we didn’t need your Tinder profile,” says Li Mei.

I look at him, amused, from his Hawaiian shirt open over a white vest to his fine gold chain. If you ignore his dodgy fashion sense and his manner of speaking, he’s a good-looking guy. His flawless dark skin is glowing, and his curly hair is cut very short. His eyes, especially, sparkle with life.

“Hi, Li Mei,” he adds with a little wave, giving her a dazzling smile. “Will you dance the next one with me?”

She frowns. “This isn’t a high school prom, you know.”

Just then, Thomas appears and whispers something in Levi’s ear. My fake fiancé nods and looks at Lucky coldly. “I don’t do photos.”

“Oh. OK. Thanks anyway.” He smiles sheepishly.

“But this guy does,” I say, seizing Thomas’s shoulders enthusiastically. “Ta da! He’s the official Swedish double of Chris Hemsworth!”

I ignore Levi, who’s struggling not to smile, and Thomas, who looks as though he’d like to stick a fork in my eye. Lucky opens his mouth wide and covers it with his hand, as though to keep himself from shouting.

“Oh my God . . . Really?”

I nod, and tears appear in his eyes.

Li Mei looks at him in disbelief. “Wait. Are you actually crying?”

“I’m so emotional,” he says, touching Thomas’s arm. “Oh, you’re much less muscly in real life. Shorter too.” He’s talking as if Thomas were the real Chris Hemsworth.

This is too much—Levi snorts with laughter.

“I have to tell you, I sometimes fall asleep thinking of you and Kristen Stewart,” says Lucky, squeezing Thomas’s hand. “Sometimes, Natalie Portman is with you. Other times I’m there too. It depends.”

Li Mei looks as though she’s had enough. She seemingly swears in Mandarin and then tells him to go share his sexual fantasies elsewhere.

Lucky looks horrified. “What are you talking about? In my fantasies, we spend the night watching films and eating popcorn, while wearing matching pajamas. It’s wholesome!”

No one says a thing. Levi’s expression shifts from amusement to pity.

“To be honest, I don’t know which of those options is worse,” I say, making a face.

“Yeah, that escalated from disgusting to tragic quickly,” agrees Li Mei. She taps Lucky on the shoulder.

I tell him to take his photo quickly, and he doesn’t waste any time, posing next to Thomas, who’s still giving me a black look.

When it’s done, Lucky is delighted. I feel bad lying to him, but I can’t resist saying, “Don’t forget to put the photo on your socials with the hashtag #therealchris, and mention his next film! ”

Lucky smiles and looks as though he doesn’t want to leave, but Li Mei waves him away with an air of condescension and invites us to sit on the stools around the island in the middle of the kitchen.

Next to me, Levi whispers, “You’re a genius. But if I were you, I’d take care ...”

“You think I should lock my bedroom door tonight?”

“Probably.”

“And if I apologized? Would he take pity on me?”

“Not a chance.” He looks over at Thomas who still seems furious. “He really does detest you.”

I open my mouth in surprise. I can’t tell if he’s joking or not. I promise myself I won’t tease Thomas so much from now on, hard as it is to resist.

Li Mei sits down opposite us and starts bombarding us with questions.

“So, how did you two meet?”

Levi doesn’t reply. I look at him, appealing for help, but he just gives me a wicked smile.

“You tell it so much better than I do, lyubimaya. ”

The coward. Fine, if that’s how he wants to play it ...

I snuggle up to him and put my hand on his thigh in what’s meant to look like an intimate gesture. He doesn’t bat an eyelid, which only improves my estimation of him.

“Levi owns a nightclub in Russia,” I explain cheerfully. “I was one of his new strippers.”

Thomas snorts into his glass, and Li Mei’s smile evaporates. My talent for improvisation makes Levi look up from his phone at long last. He gives me an intrigued glance, but I ignore him and just keep going.

“That’s how I got the job, in fact! Of course, it was just sex at the beginning, but when his lordship got me knocked up, I told him it was time to face facts; hence our engagement.”

I relish their astonished faces. In the background, behind Li Mei, I glimpse Lucky listening reverently to everything we’re saying, his hands cupping a glass of Coca-Cola that he’s sipping calmly.

“Wow, a baby?” he exclaims. “Where’s the ring? And you’re still drinking alcohol? Have you already chosen a godfather? I’m available ...”

“Are you still here?” groans Li Mei.

Levi still doesn’t say anything. He lets me ramble on, as if he couldn’t care less about his reputation. When I tighten my grip on his thigh, he freezes and draws in a deep breath.

“It doesn’t show, I know,” I say, stroking my belly. “It’s a girl, and we’re going to call her Carlotta.”

This time Levi does laugh a little. He puts down his glass, glances down at my hand, and gives me an enigmatic smile. “What an incredible life we have.”

I shrug, fighting the urge to let my eyes wander to his indecently tempting mouth. “Don’t we, though? Sometimes I can hardly believe it myself.”

He looks at me with detached interest and lays his hand over mine. I smile contentedly, enjoying my little game. Who said I couldn’t have some fun? I promised to be his fake fiancée, not to be perfect.

Finally, he draws my hand away from his thigh very gently. Lucky asks me if I’m still doing stripteases now that I’m pregnant, and Li Mei gets mad at him. While she’s distracted, Levi leans over and whispers coldly in my ear, “What game are you playing?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, feigning innocence. I try to suppress the shivers that run up and down my spine when his warm breath touches my neck.

“ I’m talking about your hand on my thigh, for example.”

“What, don’t you like it?” I don’t know what’s gotten into me. The truth is, I’m bored, and I find Levi unbelievably attractive. We’re consenting adults, so what’s wrong with flirting a little?

My fake fiancé doesn’t move for several moments; then he leans back a little and smiles at me. At first I think he’s going to kiss me, right there in front of everyone, but my whole body stiffens with humiliation when he kisses my forehead and says, “Sorry, lyubimaya , but you’re not my type.”