Page 55 of Must Love Lavender and Little Lies
“So there isn’t…?”
Granik’s mother laughed. “Your da made up the name.”
“But why?” Granik asked.
“Because you needed a push,” Gree-Gree said. “The two of you have been glacial in figuring things out, and I’m not getting any younger. I wanted to see the two of you married before I’m six feet under.”
“Gree-Gree!” Granik declared. “So, you knew? You all knew? All along?”
“Well, not us kids,” Kika said. “But the wedding was still my idea. It was obvious to anyone looking that you were actually in love. You’re terrible liars, by the way.”
“And stubborn!” Gree-Gree added.
“Not anymore,” Granik said, looking down at me with a smile. “Let’s have a wedding!”
At that, the orcs cheered.
Granik stroked my cheek gently. “If that’s all right with you.”
“There’s nothing in this world I’d like better.”
CHAPTER 20
GRANIK
“Well, as long as everyone’s up, let’s start making breakfast,” Gree-Gree called, then waved to the others to get to work.
“Do you need to get to the shop?” I asked Juniper.
She nodded. “Yes, but I need coffee first. I hardly slept at all.”
“Same. Junie, I…I’m sorry about last night. Before Portia came, I…”
“You were expressing how you really felt. And so was I. Don’t be sorry. I wanted you too. I’m not sure when things started to change, but by First Frost, things began to feel different. I just couldn’t put a name to what I’ve been feeling. When this marriage thing happened… I just couldn’t let you be married to someone else. I couldn’t really put those feelings into words, but what I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to lose my friend. You’re my everything.”
Tears welled in my eyes. Juniper had said everything that I felt, but in terms I had struggled to find. “And you’re my Junie. Mine. Always and forever,” I said, then pulled her close. “I love you, Juniper.”
“I love you too.”
“Granik, why do you have so much tea?” my ma called from inside the house.
Juniper giggled. “Told you.”
“I’ll be thrown out of orc club,” I replied with a chuckle, then pulled back. “Should we go help?”
Juniper nodded.
Hand in hand, we turned and headed inside.
That morning,we celebrated our engagement, ourrealengagement, with love and joy. Everyone was smiling, singing, and complimenting Juniper on how she had managed to keep my bachelor’s house so…homey.
Juniper, knowing full well it was a mix of her friends’ help and Primrose’s magic, merely winked at me. At least we had managed to pull that one past them.
We settled into a large, orcish-style breakfast. Juniper had her cups of coffee and then made ready to head back into town.
“I regret I have to leave you all,” she told my family. “My assistant will be waiting for me. The Greening is so busy. I hope you know that no offense is meant.”
“You go on,” Gree-Gree told her. “We have preparations to attend to, and Zelda wanted us to come back to try on our dresses.”
