Page 17 of Must Love Lavender and Little Lies
“We. I. Juniper and I are notreallyengaged. It’s a fake engagement. My family is coming, and if I don’t marry this year, they will arrange a marriage for me. Juniper offered to help. We’re not really engaged, we’re just… They’re coming for the Greening, and we’re going to, you know…”
“Pretend to be engaged?”
I nodded.
“Oh, shite,” Tansy said with a gasp, then momentarily covered her mouth in embarrassment. “Granik, I’m so sorry. What I said, I… It’s just wishful thinking on my part. We all love you and Juniper. You know, some of us just hope that you two will… Oh, please forgive me.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t explain well, and…”
“It’s my fault. Please forget I said anything. I’m so sorry. Please forget it.”
“Forgotten,” I said, but her words were far from forgotten. Did the others really think we belonged together? Did they see something that I didn’t?
“Okay, well, now that I have embarrassed myself worse than the time I got drunk and belly danced at a Hollowmoon festival, how can I help?”
“Idoneed a ring for Juniper… For when my parents come. We need to make sure the engagement looks real.”
“Right. Well, I have dozens of rings you can pick from. Take one on loan. Juniper can bring it back after your parents leave,” she said, opening her jewelry case and setting out trays of rings. But as I stood there looking over them, nothing felt right. None of them were Juniper. And while I knew the ring was only going to be for show, I didn’t want her to have just anything.
I paused a moment then asked, “Do you have any star amethyst? None of these are Juniper. Maybe we can make something special for her. She can keep it afterward, wear it on the other hand, maybe. Like…a present.”
Tansy studied me, a thoughtful expression on her face. “That’s a nice idea, Granik. So, star amethyst? I do have uncut stones.”
“Please, don’t get me wrong. You are an expert crafter, and all of these rings are beautiful, they’re just not…her.”
Tansy considered me for a long moment, her gaze softening, and then said, “Let me show you something.” She began digging through her things and pulled out a chest. “I just received a shipment of gems from Ironmist Mountain. And this… Well, tell me what you think,” she said, looking through the stones until she pulled out an uncut purple stone that shimmered unlike any stone I’d ever seen before. Sparkles of blue, pink, and gold moved inside the stone like waves of light. “I think a rough cut would show the sparkle the best. Not too smooth. I’ll listen to the stone for the shape. What do you think?”
I stared at the stone. “It’s beautiful. It’s her… And maybe leaves, emerald or another green stone, at the sides? Like a flower.”
Tansy smiled at me. “Now,thatsounds like Juniper. I’ll work on it this morning and will have it done later today. All right?”
“You know her ring size and everything?”
She nodded.
“Okay. That sounds good. Thank you, Tansy. Don’t say anything to her, if you don’t mind. She’s doing me a favor. The least I can do is buy her a beautiful ring.”
“I understand,” Tansy said gently. “It will be perfect. I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“And the others…” Tansy asked. “Do you know if Juniper has told our other friends about the fake engagement?”
“She intends to.”
Tansy nodded. “All right. Well, I guess I’d better get to work. The perfect engagement ring for Juniper… This is going to be fun.”
I smiled at the stone once more. It really was perfect. It was going to be beautiful. “Thank you, Tansy. See you soon.”
“See you soon,” Tansy said then began gathering her tools. I headed downstairs and out the back door of the apothecary. As I walked away, my heart felt happy. I could only imagine the smile on Juniper’s face when I presented her with the ring. I imagined the sparkle in her eyes and how she would laugh, her whole essence lighting up.
It was going to be perfect.
Even if it wasn’t real.
The thought sat sourly in my heart, so I turned my mind from it and headed off on my next task…crafting the perfect proposal.
CHAPTER 7
