Page 24 of Must Love Lavender and Little Lies
She didn’t need to finish. I had already heard the same thing that day from Tansy, Primrose, Erasmus, and Bjorn. They’d allproclaimed “Finally!” before I was able to explain. It was getting to be unnerving.
“It seems to be a recurring theme,” I replied simply, not wanting to upset Juniper by telling her more.
“They’re going to be so confused when we call it off,” Juniper said with a nervous laugh, her tone higher and tighter than usual.
“Yeah,” I said, feeling my stomach knot.
Eventually, we reached Juniper’s house. I pulled the wagon to a stop and helped her out, walking her to the door.
“Want to come in for a bit, or do you need to get back?”
“I can stay a bit.”
“Tea and cake?”
“Sounds good,” I said with a nod, feeling weary and just wanting to be somewhere calming and away from prying eyes for a while.
She nodded, then we headed inside.
At once, I inhaled deeply, feeling at ease.
Pip barked excitedly in greeting.
“I’ll go put the tea on and get us some cake,” she told me.
“Can I light your fireplace for you?”
“That would be very gentlemanly of you, fiancé.”
I laughed lightly, playing with Pip, then went to her fireplace and set to work.
“Oh no, I just remembered…” Juniper called from the kitchen. “Rosalyn had made cake for the book club. I only got a bite before Bjorn summoned me by horn,” she said with a laugh. “But it was divine.”
“Sorry about that.”
“I suppose you’re forgiven, but you owe me.”
“I’ll have to go apologize to Portia. I know she’s serious about book club.”
“You’ll have to see if she’s as forgiving as me. That said, she said she had some books on orc traditions that she was going to dig out for us. We have to figure out what we’re getting into.”
“All I remember is a game calledtoss the bride. If I remember right, all the male relatives take turns seeing how far they can throw her.”
“You’re kidding, right? Please say you’re kidding.”
“I’m kidding.”
“Seriously? Because if that’s true, there is no way you are getting a piece of my chocolate raspberry cake.”
“I’m joking. I promise.”
Soon, the fire was burning brightly, and her cozy cottage took on a cheery glow. Pip crawled into his basket by the fire, turning in circles until he was settled, lying down with a relaxed huff.
Juniper soon returned with a tray carrying the tea and cake.
“Tomorrow is going to be…a lot,” she said tiredly as she poured us both a cup of tea.
“Try not to think about it,” I said, taking a bite of the cake. “Wow, that’s good.”
