Crow lapsed into silence again as they walked along the road. There was no going back anymore. He had already told her he had something to talk about, so he had to just square his shoulders and do it. He glanced at Penelope once more, but couldn’t bring himself to speak. Why was it so hard? He had resolved to tell her how he felt, but the thought of actually saying it out loud was mortifying. Even when Olivia and Hartley had accused him of being in love with Penelope, he had never said the words back to them or even to himself.

His breath caught in his throat as he felt Penelope suddenly take his hands in hers. He stared at her, wide eyed with shock. [i]What is she doing?[/i] His already quick heartbeat picked up even more as they stood, hand in hand, gazing into each other’s eyes.

[color=fff79a][b]“Crow…”[/b][/color] Penelope spoke at last. Her voice sounded tense, as if what she was about to say would be difficult for her. [i]She’s figured me out,[/i] his chest felt hollow. [i]This is it. She’s going to tell me she’s not interested.[/i] He wanted to close his eyes, afraid to meet her gaze yet unable to look away. He braced himself for the inevitable. [i]It’ll be fine. I knew this was coming all along. This is the closure I’ve been waiting for.[/i]

[color=fff79a][b]“Listen… I… uh… This is probably going to sound ridiculous to you but... I love you. And-And I get it if you don’t feel the same! I just, after talking to Kip, I needed to tell you.”[/b][/color]

[i]What did she just say?[/i] Crow felt lightheaded. He blinked, unsure if he had heard her correctly. Did she actually say she loved him, or was he so desperate for her affection that his imagination was playing tricks on him? He couldn’t believe his ears. [i]She said it. She loves me, and she said it,[/i] his mind reeled.

Before he knew what he was doing, Crow had dropped Penelope’s hands and was wrapping his arms around her, pressing one hand to her waist and another to her upper back. He pulled her close and met her lips in a passionate kiss, closing his eyes to the world around them. He still couldn’t believe it was real. His fingers ran through her long hair and down the length of her spine as he deepened the kiss, holding her slender body as tightly as he could to his own.

He didn’t want to stop, but eventually had to pull away to catch his breath. Panting slightly, he rested his forehead against hers, meeting her gaze once again. “I probably should have said this first, but I love you too, Penelope,” he laughed softly. Gently brushing a loose strand of hair from her face, he touched his lips to hers in one more fleeting kiss. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do that.”