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Matthew looks me in the eyes. “Kat, I thought for a really long time about what to give you for your birthday. I know it seems like a lot, but the thing you talk about loving the most is your work here, your jewelry. So pick something and don’t feel guilty.

I chose earrings because, heaven knows, you seem to already have enough rings.

” He reaches for my hand, gently rubbing his thumb over my bedazzled fingers. “But you can have whatever you want.”

“Earrings are good,” I whisper.

“Yeah?” He gives me a small smile, and as I offer one back, his grin grows and grows. Soon, I have the full blast of Matthew DaMolin sunshine hitting me in the face. It warms me from head to toe.

“Which pair do you like?” He slides the black velvet tray toward me.

I pick up the French-cut studs Ray mentioned. They’re classic and beautiful and…familiar? I blink twice, recognizing them as the very same earrings I “borrowed” for the Jekyll Island Hallows’ Eve party. My eyes dart, there and gone, to Ray. The corner of his mouth is upturned in a knowing smirk.

“Are those the ones?” Matthew prods.

When I say yes, Ray preens.

“I knew it,” he crows. “I know ya like I know the back of my hand, kid.”

I turn to Matthew. “I don’t even know what to say. Thank you—they’re the nicest thing anyone has ever given me. And they’ll be the fanciest thing I’ve ever owned.” Aside from a few things I’ve stolen.

“You’re welcome. Happy one-day-early birthday, Kat. ”

“Kat?” Ray is writing down the sale in his little black book. “You’re done for the day. Why don’t you pack up and enjoy the evening with your young man?”

“Are you sure? I’m not quite done with the bases for those earrings—”

“I’m sure.” He waves me off. “Go out and celebrate.”

Gratified, I walk back through the swinging door and start cleaning my tools. Cleopatra’s cobra ring winks at me, emeralds twinkling to mirror my raised spirits. I’m almost done when Ray pops into the workroom.

“That fella out there”—he jerks his head conspiratorially—“he’s one of the good ones, Katarina. Where in tarnation did you find him? He’s a long step up from the gutters of the bayou, and he talks about you like you hung the moon and the stars in the sky.”

“You like him, huh? I’m not surprised.” I smile. “Everyone does.”

“Everyone except Paul, I bet.” His smile is knowing.

I nod slowly, chewing on my cheek.

“I’m going to tell you something, Katarina, and I’m only going to say it once because it’s not my place.

You know I love both you and Paul, very much.

You’re like the kids I never had. But very, very rarely is our first love our final love.

Or even our truest love. Maybe it will be for you, I don’t know.

But when you choose a partner, you’re choosing an entire life and family.

Take your time and don’t rush it. At the end of the day, I want you to make the choice that’s best for you.

I want you to be able to say you chose your life, you didn’t settle for it. ”

“Thank you, Ray,” I whisper.

I celebrate my birthday with the Royals over the weekend.

We have an ongoing birthday tradition amongst the four of us—stolen gifts only.

It started when we were broke and couldn’t afford much, and it’s evolved into who can present the most outrageous pilfered gift.

The current trump item was stolen by Paul for Tony’s last birthday.

He swiped a street sign from downtown Savannah that matches the name of Tony’s favorite jazz club, Abercorn Street.

The sign now hangs in a place of honor above Tony’s bed.

One by one, the boys emerge from their rooms, each concealing his pillage behind his back. Abe starts us off with a doozy. He hands me a tiny, crystal wolf. “It’s from—”

“I know exactly where it’s from,” I cut him off, aghast. My eyes are full of awe. “Astor Manor. When did you take it?”

“Immediately after you put it down. Swiped it.” He shrugs. “It’s small enough, I knew they’d never notice it’s missing.”

“Wow.” I examine the beautiful wolf for another moment before leaning in to hug him. “It’s perfect. I love it.”

Tony nudges Paul. “You go next.”

“No. I’m going last,” Paul says.

“I don’t wanna follow that.” Tony gestures to the wolf.

I laugh. “Just give it to me, Tony.”

Somewhat dejectedly, he presents me with a watch.

“Is this a signature Tony special?” I squeal. Lifting watches is Tony’s forte. He loves it. Every week, he has a new bauble on his wrist and two more in his pocket. There’s no less than twenty timepieces ticking away in his bedroom at any given time.

“It is,” he says happily. “I canvased the streets for two days, watching for exactly the right one.”

“Aw.” I ruffle his hair. “You’re such a thoughtful thief.”

“Okay, you’re up, Paul,” Abe announces.

“All right, so I don’t know if it technically counts as stolen…” Paul slowly pulls his hands out from behind his back to reveal a ratty old stuffed bear. “It was more like a search-and-rescue mission than theft, but here you go.”

“Is that…” I pucker my brows. “Mr . Wiggles?”

“Sure is.”

Something pulls, deep in my gut. Love and pain and hope and sadness, all swirling at once. “No way. Where did you find him?”

“I went down to our old hole in the Catacombs. We left a bunch of stuff there, remember? It doesn’t look like anyone has found or used the place since we’ve been gone.”

“And Mr. Wiggles was there?” I’d forgotten all about the little bear but holding him in my hand brings forth a huge resurgence of memories.

“He sure was, tucked away in your corner.”

When Paul smiles, everything inside me melts into a gooey puddle.

It’s an incredibly thoughtful gift, and I know what it must have cost him to go back to that place to find this.

My heart stutters at his vulnerability. Worlds collide inside of me in the blink of an eye.

The before and the after. The then and the now.

Very rarely is our first love our final love. Or even our truest, Ray said.

But what if it is, I wonder? Wouldn’t it feel exactly like this?

I was fifteen years old when I first told Paul I was in love with him.

It was so many things that made me fall, a kaleidoscope of moments.

A lifetime of running through moonlit streets, shared glimpses as thieving fingers darted in and out of pockets, stolen kisses behind limestone corners in the Catacombs, watching each other’s backs during the day, holding on tight during cold nights on stone floors…

But most of all, it was the moment our eyes locked during that first red night in Damien’s lair.

The first time we ever spilled blood to protect each other.

It was the look of pure, ravenous, insatiable hunger that overtook Paul’s face.

He was my mirror, reflecting the same hunger that had burned low and slow in my bones my entire life.

Kindred spirits, twin fires—that’s what we were.

Paul pulled the pin on the grenade to my heart that night, when my soul recognized the darkest, most voracious parts of myself in him. That is when I truly fell in love .

I think back to a handsome man with blue eyes and a sharp tongue, buying me diamonds; it’s every girl’s dream come true.

But then there’s the faces of the three boys—the three men —in front of me.

These men, who searched the city of Savannah with their hearts in their eyes, willing to beg, borrow, and steal the whole world for me.

It’s fathomless, the kind of love that can never be bought or measured.

I swallow. “These are the best gifts you three have ever given me.”

“Mission accomplished,” Tony cheers. And then they’re all wishing me another chorusing round of happy birthday before Tony announces he’s off to bed.

“I have one more gift for you,” Paul whispers in my ear. Abe crosses the floor to stand in front of me. His eyes snap, crackle, and pop when they meet mine.

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” The corners of my mouth lift in a secret smile.

“We both do.” He nods to Abe, who reaches out to brush my hair back from my face.

“I’m intrigued.”

Paul lifts me from behind, directly into Abe’s waiting arms. And together, the three of us disappear into the master bedroom.