At the sound of footsteps in the far side of the alcove, Crow looked up and saw Penelope walking towards him in her new dress. His heart beat slightly quicker at the sight of her. [i]She looks stunning,[/i] he thought as his eyes wandered over her body. The navy dress was plain in design, but it accentuated the curves of her hips and chest even better than the last dress did. He couldn’t help but stare at her, entranced by her swaying hips as she approached him. He wondered what the rest of her figure looked like, hidden beneath that thin layer of fabric…

[i]Stop it,[/i] Crow averted his gaze, blushing furiously. [i]She’s your friend! Don’t imagine her naked.[/i] He took a steady breath, trying to calm his racing heart and focus on something else—the ground, the clouds in the sky, the distant voices of people on the main road—anything that would distract him from the beautiful woman standing in front of him.

Crow nodded absently when Penelope said they just needed to find an inn. He took one last calming breath and then forced himself to meet her gaze. Surprisingly, her face was slightly pink as well. He wondered why she was embarrassed. [i]Oh, gods,[/i] he paled. [i]Does she know what I was thinking about?[/i] He shook his head. No, that would have been ridiculous. There was no way she could possibly have known. [i]She doesn’t even know I think of her as more than a friend sometimes.[/i]

“Seems like it,” he answered her after an awkward period of silence. “We should get going.” He moved away from the wall, standing up straight, and headed back to the main road with Penelope. He glanced at her again as they walked, still not used to seeing her in such a provocative dress. It looked so good on her. He had to say something.

“Um,” Crow started smoothly. “You look beautiful in that dress. It’s… quite flattering on you.” He looked up to see that they had reached an inn. Eager to get away from the uncomfortable subject, he moved for the door. “Looks like we wound a place to stay. We should check in.”