Page 56 of Must Love Lavender and Little Lies
Juniper smiled then turned to me. “I should probably stop and talk to Rosalyn and the others. I need to make sure Rosalyn is really making a cake.”
I laughed. “Something tells me she is, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.”
“Uncle Granik, your mini-mini Highland cows are in your garden,” Malika, who was perched at the window, told me. “Are they supposed to be there?”
“Oh, no,” I groaned. In all the excitement, I’d forgotten about the chaos Abraxis had caused. “I need to round them up. And those goats. And find that criminal of a snufflecorn.”
“Children, you heard Uncle Granik, get to work,” Gree-Gree told the kids, who were more than eager to help. “Granik needs to walk his fiancée to town.”
“Thank you, Gree-Gree,” I told her, kissing her on the cheek.
She merely patted my arm. “Stubborn boy. You have to do everything the hard way,” she said, then turned to Juniper. “But this one… This one you got right.”
“Thank you, Gree-Gree.”
Juniper smiled at Gree-Gree and then leaned in to hug her. “I’m so glad I’ll be joining your family. I adore you all.”
“And we adore you, Miss Juniper. Otherwise, nothing would have gotten me into a wagon and all the way here. Needed to make sure Granik got this one right.”
Juniper chuckled, then we headed out, passing the children who were already herding the mini-minis out of the garden and back toward their paddock. The little cows jogged quickly on their hairy legs, mooing in complaint, green bubbles floating everywhere.
“Well, at least we don’t have to tell the whole town our lie,” I said with a laugh, “but we do have some friends who are going to be?—”
“Not surprised. No one is going to be surprised. Remember what Portia said before she left? I understand now. The others had tried to stopherfrom stoppingus. They knew. They all knew.”
“Well, that’s embarrassing.”
Juniper laughed. “Yes, it is. So, we might as well face the music. Want to stop at The Sconery before we head to Thistle and Thyme?”
I groaned.
Juniper elbowed me.
“You know I’m an introvert, right?”
Juniper chuckled. “Takes one to know one.”
As we made our way to town, we spotted a pair of heart hares chasing one another around a field, zooming in and out of the rows of fence covered in pink and white sweet peas vines.
“A perfect couple,” Juniper said with a laugh.
“Like us. I mean…we’re like the messier orc/human version, but like us,” I said, then groaned at my own awkwardness. “And this is why I could never find a woman. I am terrible at being romantic.”
“Which makes you perfect for me,” she replied, squeezing my hand.
When we arrivedat The Sconery, we could see Rosalyn, Primrose, Zarina, and Emmalyn inside. Emmalyn was tucked away at her usual spot in a corner, hiding from whoever might be looking for her and having breakfast. Rosalyn and Zarina were hard at work piping a cake while Primrose waggled her fingers, sending waving trails of pink light toward the frosting.
Juniper gave me a knowing look, then we entered, the bell ringing to announce us.
They had all been talking in a flurry, but the moment we set foot in the teashop, everyone went quiet.
I grinned. “Everyone, we’re engaged!”
At that, they all looked at one another, and then at us, and then let out a cheer.
“For real, right? Please say for real,” Rosalyn said, her blue pixie wings fluttering as she flew over the counter and hurried toward us.
“For real,” Juniper replied.
