“I see,” Crow muttered when Penelope told him that she was still friends with Gavin. Lowering his gaze again, he felt a pang of jealousy that she was still giving the nobleman any of her time. Perhaps it was selfish, but he wanted to be the man she was closest to. It was hard for him to believe that he still held that position in her life when he was only able to see her once or twice a week, and her former suitor was able to be around her every day.

Part of him wondered if he was being hypocritical, since he had been hanging around Rikki too, and she obviously had feelings for him. [i]But it’s not the same,[/i] he reasoned. [i]We were never together like Penelope was with him.[/i] Besides that, he wasn’t sure if he was even going to continue pursuing a friendship with the thief after what she had done to him. If she was going to continue to be openly hostile about his relationship with the knight, he wanted nothing more to do with her.

He glanced up at her as she tried to reassure him that Gavin had moved on and was just being a good friend to her. Despite the confidence in her words, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that what she was saying was true. It didn’t make sense to him that this nobleman had truly moved on yet felt the need to continue spending time with her. Something was off.

“I’m sorry, love,” he shook his head. “I know you trust him, but I just can’t do that.” He moved slightly against her side, shifting into a more comfortable position. “As a man, I can tell you he’s not staying by your side because he’s content with being your friend. We’re not that selfless. He’s waiting for something to change—for some opportunity when he can show you just what a great companion he would be for you.” His lip twitched up in a knowing smirk. “You can argue with me if you’d like, but I know I’m right about this.”