Crow closed his eyes as Penelope pulled him close to her and rested her head against him. Every time she wrapped her arms around him like this it sent his heart racing. He doubted he would ever grow tired of her touch, and he looked forward to the day when he would be able to wake up beside her like this every morning. [i]That will be the life,[/i] he thought with a sigh of longing, squeezing her close in a tight embrace as his mind wandered yet again to the future they looked forward to sharing.

“I slept great,” he said in response to her question, opening his eyes again to meet her gaze. “Much better than last night, that’s for sure.” He smiled as he thought about how much better this morning was than the last. Yesterday, he had been almost certain that they would be splitting up, and she would be going back to her life of nobility. Now, he was more confident than ever before about the strength of their relationship, and he couldn’t wait to see what the future was going to bring.

When she went on to apologize for her actions the day before, Crow shook his head. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, smirking at her amusedly. “I’m pretty sure you think you were a lot more bothersome than you actually were.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then met her gaze with a teasing glint in his eye. “You know, you’re kind of an airhead when you’re drunk… But you’re [i]my[/i] airhead, so I’m going to take care of you anyway.” Leaning in close, he nuzzled his cheek against hers in a playful manner and laughed, “Plus, I got to learn a new trick to use on you, so I’d say it was worth the inconvenience.”