Page 62 of Savannah Royals
“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 threemen—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 ofhappy birthdaybefore 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.
