Crow smiled against Penelope’s lips as she leaned up to kiss him. When they parted, he glanced at the other knights as they moved off to do other things and left him alone with her. He was glad that they had some time to themselves after spending most of the day apart. After they’d had the last two days to spend every moment with each other, he felt a bit spoiled and found that he longed to have her by his side when she was gone. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be long before they got back to the knights’ camp, and they would have to say goodbye for at least a day or two, if not longer, depending on when he could manage to get away from the other thieves again.

As Penelope went on to tell him about how her day with her comrades had gone better, he nodded. “I was hoping that would happen,” he said with a smirk and then lowered his voice. “The only reason I agreed to stay behind was so that ex suitor of yours would realize I’m not meddling in your search. Hopefully he’ll be a little more agreeable now.”

He noticed her eyes drift down to his mouth, so he began to lean in to meet her in another kiss. However, he before their lips met, he noticed her waver and look off to the side. Curious to see what had caught her attention, he followed her gaze to see Alice and Letha watching them from behind the dining table. He rolled his eyes and muttered, “They’re just as nosy as their mother.”

Shooting the two girls a warning look, he tipped his head slightly in a gesture for them to leave, “Go on, get out of here.”

To his annoyance, his response to their presence only seemed to encourage them more. “Thief’s got a wife!” Letha giggled, inching slightly closer.

Crow felt warmth creep into his cheeks at the child’s words. His eyes flicked toward Penelope for a brief moment before he shook his head, “We’re not married.”

“Oh yeah?” Alice snickered. “Then why were you kissing her?”

The thief groaned inwardly. It had been hard enough for him to explain his situation with Penelope to their mother. He couldn’t even imagine what he would say to make them understand. “Don’t worry about it, kid,” he said, hoping to brush off the subject. “You’ll get it when you’re older.”

Unfortunately, they didn’t give up so easily. Letha stepped closer, looking between them for a moment before her gaze landed on Crow. “She’s pretty,” the girl said innocently. “You should marry her.” Her eyes wandered to Penelope again. “Then you can have kids that can play with us, just like my mother!”

“[i]Okay,[/i] I think that’s enough out of you,” Crow cut in quickly, resting a hand on her head. The blush on his cheeks had deepened considerably. He spun the girl around and gave her a gentle push back towards Alice. “Go on and play with your sister.”

To his relief, Letha complied this time and ran off to chase Alice around the parlor. He silently thanked the gods for the girls’ short attention spans and turned back to Penelope again. “We should find somewhere to sit on the [i]other side[/i] of the house,” he said softly in an attempt to recover from the discomfort of what had just happened. Reaching to take her hand, he laced his fingers with hers and gave her a tug as he headed over to a blanket that was farther from the parlor.