Page 54 of Ace of Hearts

Epilogue

Rose

December

Venice, Italy

Levi Ivanovich is a dirty liar.

We’ll see each other soon . Yeah right. It’s been exactly six months since we left each other in the Las Vegas airport. Since then, I’ve had time to

grow my hair (it’s nearly down to my shoulders now, and my mother has promised to cut it this week);

start seeing my psychologist again (she thinks Levi is a dirty liar too ... or at least, in my head she does);

find a job in a little pottery shop;

decide to start studying again (but at an art school this time!).

A lot can happen in six months. As soon as I got back, my mother and I had the longest, most in-depth conversation we’d ever had. I don’t have one single secret from her now.

We focused on creating a healthy, happy environment for me, to help me conquer my addiction—for good this time! I’m proud to say I haven’t played poker or gambled at all in six months. I’ve kept the promise I made to Levi and our friends. My debts are paid, to my great relief, even the interest.

I’ve been drinking less, too, though that’s been harder to do than I expected. My mother always tells me, “You need to learn patience.” That’s still difficult for me. As for smoking ... I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to quit. Levi will just have to put up with it.

Besides, he’s in no position to criticize! He’s completely abandoned me, the traitor. Calling me every other day? No problem. But coming to Venice for the weekend ... not a chance. The guy’s a millionaire; he has no excuse.

“He needs time with his mother,” Li Mei always tells me when I call her to complain.

I know it’s true, and I do understand. I’m stupid and ungrateful to be jealous. He hasn’t seen his mother for ten years, so of course he wants to be with her. But I can’t help it ... I miss him terribly. Time seems to be passing in slow motion. I need to see him, touch him, kiss him.

Time and distance haven’t changed my feelings. Quite the opposite—I’m dying to see him again. When I told my mother that, she smiled and signed her advice.

“Hold on to that feeling. It’s rare.”

I know what she was thinking when she said that.

She’s never been able to feel anything like that because she was coerced into a marriage where there was no love.

But she’s free now, divorced and single, and I hope she’ll be able to relive her youth.

She still thinks about my father, more out of loyalty and habit than anything else, which is understandable. I think about him, too, sometimes.

I’ve only visited him once since he was arrested. Seeing him look so helpless made me feel guilty, and I had to remind myself that he was there because of his own crimes.

“I’m going to try to forgive you, if I can,” I told him. “But I think it’s going to take time.”

He didn’t reply. I think I saw regret in his eyes, but I can’t be sure. It’s time to let go of my fantasy of a perfect father. Mine will never be that, and I have to accept it and move on.

As for Levi ... well, unlike me, he has not kept his promise. That’s why, as I’m walking through Venice, I ignore his first call, and then his second. There aren’t many people in the streets. The tourists never come at this time of year, mainly because it’s always rainy and windy.

But today, the air is unusually warm. I’m wearing only a pair of trousers and a light jacket over a long-sleeved top. I sit on the steps of the Ponte del Parucheta—the Parucheta Bridge—and pull out my sketchbook.

I’ve been painting nonstop ever since I got the idea to apply to study at the New Academy of Fine Arts in Milan.

But this morning, all I need is a pencil to sketch the narrow canal and empty gondolas on the white page.

Over time, I’ve managed to start drawing all sorts of things, not just self-portraits. Something’s finally clicked.

I feel myself relaxing, until my mobile rings yet again. I groan and decide to answer.

“What do you want?”

“And good morning to you, too, amore mio .”

The bastard. He always uses Italian words when I’m angry. I’m sure he knows I can’t resist them. When he’s the one who’s angry, he calls me Bambina , because he knows I hate it.

“I’d love to spend the next hour trying to get you to tell me why you’re sulking, but I haven’t got time,” he says mockingly. “What are you up to?”

“I’m throwing darts at a photo of you.”

“No, you’re not. You haven’t got any photos of me. I, on the other hand ... have plenty of you, and very beautiful they are too.”

I scowl at the canal, and suddenly remember our wild, tender nights in our room in Caesar’s Palace.

It seems like an eternity ago. Since then, we’ve had Skype sex, as Li Mei and Lucky recommended—and it was good .

.. very good—but nothing like the real thing.

The truth is ... every day I worry that he’ll get bored and forget about me.

“There are plenty of photos of you online, you know,” I tell him. “All I have to do is search for them.”

“I see. You’re having fun, then. Fantastic.”

“Why are you calling, Levi?”

He doesn’t answer straightaway. When he does, his voice sounds reproachful.

“You lied to me.”

I’m immediately on my guard. “Me? When?”

“You told me the weather in Italy was always good. That’s not true.”

Honestly. Is that why he’s avoiding coming here? Really? I answer angrily, my cheeks burning.

“So don’t come, then, if it isn’t sunny enough for you!”

I hear him snicker. Then his voice suddenly seems to have an echo as he says, “Too late.”

Someone sits down next to me on the steps, and my eyes widen as I see Levi, still holding his phone to his ear, smiling at me. Oh God. I almost drop my phone in amazement. How did he manage this? How did he know where to find me?

“What are you doing here?” I splutter.

His eyes stray down to my mouth, and he leans over to kiss me tenderly. I’ve hardly had time to enjoy the taste of his lips before he pulls away again.

“I missed you.”

I can hardly believe my eyes. I lift my hand and poke his cheek with my finger to confirm he’s really there. That makes him smile, and he tries to nibble my finger, but I pull it away.

“You’re really here.”

“I heard my girlfriend was getting impatient,” he explains, resting his elbows on his knees. “So I wanted to apologize to your face. Do you forgive me?”

Of course I forgive everything. Because he’s here, in real life, finally ! I resist the temptation to jump on him, and instead look up at him as casually as I can.

“You took your time ... It’s been six months.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I was busy.”

I immediately feel awful for being selfish, so I ask how his mother’s doing. He rewards me with a smile.

“Really well. She’s making the most of her freedom. Soon, we’re going to set off and travel, for who knows how long, starting with Bali.”

I already knew they were planning to travel, but I didn’t know it would happen so soon. I ask him where they plan to go after Bali, and he reels off a list of countries, some I’ve been to, others I’d love to visit one day.

“But I thought I’d stop off here before we go,” he adds, looking at me with an intensity that immediately makes my heart beat faster. “Because you told me it would be warm. And now look at the sky. This is not what you promised, Rose.”

“It’s warm in the summer, you idiot! Not in the middle of December!”

He bursts out laughing, and I can’t resist any longer. I take his face in my hands and press my lips to his. He responds immediately, as though he’s been longing for this, too, and sighs with pleasure. His hands move over my back, possessively, and draw me to him.

We kiss for a long time, until he eventually draws back and murmurs, “I don’t want to freak you out ... but it was your mother who told me where you were.”

I blink.

“Wait, what? How?”

“She wrote down where I should go. I learned a few signs before coming here so I could talk to her properly, but it’s obvious I need to learn more ...”

He’s so adorable. I’m starting to panic, though. That means I’ll have to formally introduce them; things are getting serious. Levi must see the anxiety in my eyes, because he takes my hand and pulls me up gently, saying, “Relax. Nothing’s official, OK?”

“OK ... and how long will you stay?”

“A few days, if you’ll have me.”

I just smile in reply. We go home together, hand in hand, catching up on what’s been happening in each other’s lives. Even though we call all the time, we still have lots to talk about.

As we walk in the front door, I hear voices. Who could it be? My mother and I hardly ever have guests. Levi rests his hand on my back reassuringly as I open the door and head into the living room.

“I swear it’s true!” I hear laughter. “I was what, twenty? Worst Tinder hook-up ever. The guy arranged to meet me in a hotel room, and what do I see when I go in? Two other guys on the bed, holding cameras.”

Wait a minute ... I know that voice.

“Hang on there. Was this a hook-up or a job interview for a porn film?” asks another voice I’d recognize anywhere.

I walk faster, and when I open the door of the living room, the scene that meets me stops me in my tracks. Thomas, Li Mei, and Lucky are sitting around the table, laughing hysterically. They don’t notice me straightaway, but Levi kisses my forehead and whispers, “Surprise.”

It’s Thomas who looks up first and sees me. He nudges Li Mei, who leaps up and rushes over to hug me. I hold her tight, closing my eyes.

This is the last thing I expected. All my friends sitting at my table, in the middle of Venice! I laugh incredulously. Lucky hugs me, too, and Thomas gives me one of his rare smiles. Apparently, the hug he gave me at the airport was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But I’m not about to complain.

“What are you all doing here?”

“Haven’t you told her?” Li Mei asks Levi in surprise.

“Not yet.”

I turn to him, not knowing what to expect, but he just puts his arm around my shoulders. I insist he tell me, so he says with a sigh, “Let’s just say, we’re going to impose on you for at least a week. And then, if you’d like to ... you can come to Bali with me and my mother.”

What? I look at him, trying to hide my astonishment. The idea takes me aback, but there’s nothing keeping me here except my mother. My classes won’t start for another year, and in the meantime, I’m as free as a bird ...

“Why not?” I say, smiling enigmatically. “After all, you know how much I love traveling.”

Lucky sighs and says how romantic this is. Li Mei tells him to make a note of it for the erotic historical novel he’s planning to write. Only Thomas looks unconvinced as he grumbles at Levi, “You’ve changed, dude. What’s got into you?”

Levi isn’t annoyed by this observation. Far from it. He leans over to kiss me, whispering, “There’s a Russian saying, ‘If you live among roses, you take on their perfume.’”

I smile at the metaphor and the play on my name. I guess he’s right. Since we’ve been together, despite our far-from-perfect characters, we’ve achieved the impossible: we’ve healed our wounds and tamed our worst desires.

I’m still not convinced that some people are all bad or all good. I don’t know what the elements are that make up an honest life. I only know that I think life is like the world Levi sees every day.

A blend of both black and white.

Sometimes people are good; sometimes people are bad. Sometimes, two broken people meet and come to love one another. Levi saw the good in me when I’d lost sight of it; I was able to comfort the broken, guilt-ridden child who haunted his dreams.

Somehow, in the mirrors of each other’s eyes, we recognized one another. Falling in love began as a survival instinct. But it became far more than that.

It’s become a way of breathing.

Because Levi has seen the worst of me, and I’ve seen the worst of him.

Now it’s time for us to share the best.

Together.