“What now?” Enzo asked.
“We start again,” Rocco said. “And this time, we will be the ones who take everything from them. I found every single name of the cult and wrote it in the ledger. We know their names, their addresses, all of it.”
While they planned, Rio appeared at the top of the stairs. He spotted me instantly, and he shouted across the yard.
“Ace.”
His Ace of Hearts.
He ran down the stairs so fast it felt like the whole house shook with him. He pushed right past Oscar and Rocco and reached me without hesitation. His palms caught my cheeks,and he kissed me. The shock of it pulled the air straight out of my chest.
He remembered. But why does it feel like I want to forget now?
“Fuck, it feels good to have you back,” he whispered against my lips. His touch was so gentle I almost believed I was loved again.
My eyes shifted toward Oscar. He stood slowly, his jaw tight, and shoved both Rio and me apart. Without a word, he turned and walked away. He headed across the yard with his fists clenched, moving faster and faster until he reached the path toward the Ferris wheel. For a moment, I thought he would come back and hit Rio for kissing me, but he never looked back. He just kept going.
“What’s with him?” Rio laughed toward Enzo.
Enzo just shrugged. I did not look back at them. I took off running after Oscar, hearing Rio call my name behind me.
When I caught up to him, I grabbed his hand.
“Hey,” I whispered. “Please.”
He turned around fast. His height towered over me, his breathing becoming sharp and uneven.
“What do you want, huh?” he asked.
“Oscar,” I whispered, “I want you.”
He laughed and pointed back toward Rio.
“That is not what you showed just now.”
A tear slipped down my cheek. “He doesn’t know.”
“No, I guess he doesn’t,” Oscar said. He pushed me away, not violently but firm enough to make it hurt. “And if that is what you want, it is fine by me.”
“It is not,” I begged. “All this time I was searching for this crazy, stupid love, and I forgot I can’t force something that I can’t have.”
“You still have time.” He brushed my hand away again and tookanother step forward, his eyes refusing to meet mine.
“Am I that hard to love?” I cried out.
He spun back toward me, grabbed my shoulders, and shook me once.
“Don’t you get it?” he shouted. “I am.”
“That is not true.” I wiped the tears from my face.
“You deserve someone better. And if Rio is that,” he said, “fine.”
“You would give up so easily for me?” Another tear slid down my cheek.
“No,” he said. “I would never give up on you.” His hand lifted to my face, his thumb brushing my cheek. “But your happy ending is not with me.”
“But a happy ending is not what I want,” I whispered.
