Crow glanced back at Penelope as she spoke up after a moment, and his heart fluttered at her words. Smiling a bit wider, he turned away again and continued looking over the house. He hadn’t brought her there to seek her approval of it, but the fact that she thought it would make a good home brought a surge of joy to the thief. He was happy that he had chosen to bring her to the place where he had grown up, but even more so, he was happy that she seemed to like it.

Sitting in his old home with her now, he was reminded of his plans two years ago to bring her to all the places in the outer villages that he was fondest of. The memory made his smile fade slightly. Back then he had been hoping she would be traveling around with him as his wife, not an acquaintance who he had drifted apart from. He felt a pang of longing for the future they had never attained. Because of the war, everything was different now. He was living with a band of thieves, trying to help the peasants of the outer villages survive; and she was a lieutenant for the king’s army, being courted by another man. It suddenly seemed like a cruel twist of fate for them to be together now in his childhood home when everything had changed.

[i]But, somehow, we’re still here,[/i] he glanced at Penelope again with a hint of affection in his gaze. Despite all of it—the war, their differing lives, the people they were with—they had still wound up here of all places, sitting alone together in the middle of a storm. Even though it didn’t happen the way he imagined, he was still glad that she was with him now. So, not wanting to spoil the moment, he pushed his wistful thoughts aside to focus on simply being present with her in the house of his youth.

As she went on to answer his question, Crow nodded. He was glad that her disappearance wouldn’t be noticed by too many knights, but it was a little disconcerting to know that her suitor might realize she was gone. He eyed her curiously as she explained that Gavin didn’t know she was still meeting with him, nor the fact that she had a fear of thunderstorms. He found it odd that she would keep so much from the man she claimed she intended to marry, but he chose not to dwell on the thought. Whatever her reasons may have been, she was still with the knight, and she seemed happy enough, so he had no reason to question her.

At her following words, Crow found himself unable to keep from laughing, “That’s very kind of you, darling, but do you really think I’m going to leave right now?” He smirked at her teasingly. “There’s no way in hell I’m walking all the way back to my camp in the middle of a storm this bad. This shelter was just as much for me as it was for you. And besides that,” his gaze softened slightly as he looked at her. “What sort of friend would I be if I left you alone when I know quite well how frightened you are of storms?”

His heart beat a little quicker as he referred to himself as her friend when they hadn’t discussed the nature of their relationship. He didn’t know how she viewed him, so it had been a bit of a bold move on his part to throw out such a term. However, he couldn’t deny that that was what he wanted. He wanted her to view him as someone she could still count on, because even though they weren’t lovers anymore, he still cared about her and wanted to be there for her.

Blushing slightly, he averted his gaze to look out the window, going on in a quiet voice, “I’m not going anywhere until this passes.”