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And I smiled then because even as a teen I felt a kinship with those Lost Boys, all on their own, having to tend to themselves but never growing up.

“Honestly, given the odds, it’ll probably be something with the ocean.

I spend most of my time there— Iceland’s kind of a one-off trip that I convinced everyone else to go on.

All our other expeditions have been at sea, mostly around Florida and in the Caribbean. ”

“I think I’m going to go in my sleep when I’m extremely old. I’m a boring guy who eats a lot of vegetables.”

The thought of Huck Sullivan calling himself boring was laughable, but also so incredibly endearing. “That doesn’t sound half bad. What’s the next question?”

“I’ll give you two for balance,” Huck said, shifting our drinks so the waitress could set down our pizzas more easily. “Thank you so much,” he told her before continuing. “What’s your greatest accomplishment, and what’s your most embarrassing moment?”

“I don’t have a greatest accomplishment yet.

I’m working on it. For now, maybe my friendships?

They’re the most special part of my life, but I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them, so I guess, it’s not really my accomplishment…

I’m sort of theirs, and they have tons. I like to think I’m on the cusp of my greatest triumph. ”

“I believe that.” Huck flashed such a genuine smile at me that I stopped breathing for a second.

“I’ve got way more material in the embarrassing department,” I admitted, breaking the moment. “But I want to hear about your greatest accomplishment before I ruin myself for you.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.” He pulled a slice of pizza onto my plate and handed it to me before taking his own. “I have to confess, I’m skeptical about the jam, Stella.”

“I thought you had faith in me.” I took a bite and grinned at Huck while I groaned obnoxiously.

It was fabulous. Rich and salty and sweet—the amalgamation of the diverse flavors creating the perfect bite.

A little weird and utterly scrumptious. “It’s amazing.

” I held it out for Huck and he guided my hand closer.

An incandescent thrill ran down my spine as he took a bite of the slice.

“How is this good?” he asks. “My mind is blown.”

“I hope it’s not completely blown, because you still owe me an accomplishment,” I said.

“Good point. It’s probably an obvious choice, but I guess it would have to be publishing the Casablanca Chronicles.

I always wanted to write—I was super into it even when I was at Monadnock.

I got an agent with the first query letter I sent out my freshman year of college.

I know how it sounds, but I stupidly thought I had it made.

I was a dumb kid. I wrote six books that went nowhere before I thought to write a story with Clark as a main character, and I penned the first book in the Chronicles.

I clocked so many rejections and it was like the only word anyone had for me was no .

But I got better each time and kept pushing and didn’t give up.

It changed my whole life, but I worked for it.

I guess that’s what I’m proud of. Not the most exciting answer… ”

“I can relate, though. I imagine that there were plenty of people telling you that it wouldn’t happen, right?

I hear that all the time. And it’s brutal to keep trying to make something happen when the universe and everybody else keeps telling you no, or that you aren’t good enough.

It’s up to you to block all that out and keep going. ”

“Exactly.”

“That’s what hunting treasure is like for me.

We all have our own reasons for going out there and searching again and again when the odds are against us.

Gus trained in underwater archaeology, so it’s his passion and his fieldwork.

Zoe loves diving and interacting with sea life more than just about anything. ”

“Interesting.”

“Believe me, it’s a very useful proclivity when there are sharks in the waters we’re searching. She can redirect a shark away from us with the same mastery that she uses when she’s cross-examining in the courtroom.”

Huck swallowed. “You swim with sharks?”

“Zoe does. The rest of us just occupy the same vicinity and try not to pee in our wetsuits.”

The humor transformed the anxious expression on Huck’s face, and he joined me as I laughed at my own joke.

“What about you? What’s your reason to keep at it?” he asked.

I ran through my mental Rolodex of memories, trying to select how much to share with Huck.

It was so easy to talk to him. I could’ve told him about my father’s obsession with the Elephant’s Heart Diamond.

That my mom was convinced it was cursed…

And maybe it was in some sense since it had destroyed my family.

There were things I could barely admit to myself, though, like the reason why I couldn’t give up on searching for the diamond because somewhere deep inside I believed that if I discovered it eventually, maybe my parents would find out and realize what they’d lost by leaving me.

I’d show them how wrong they’d been, about the curse, about not believing, about leaving. I took a deep breath.

“I guess you could say that I feel like I have something to prove.”

“Same here. It makes perfect sense to me why you get what writing is like for me,” Huck said. “Both are acts of faith.”

“We’re motivated and persistent. True believers. At least they can give that to us.”

“I’ll toast to that.”