Page 64 of Must Love Lavender and Little Lies
I kissed Juniper on the forehead, then headed off into the night.
“Don’t forget to pen up those goats,” Juniper called as I passed through the garden gate.
“I will. I promise,” I replied, giving her one last wave and soaking in the sight of her standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the cottage light. My wife. Juniper was going to be my wife.
I was the luckiest man in all of Moonshine Hollow.
CHAPTER 23
JUNIPER
Iwoke sometime before sunrise to a knock on the door and the sound of voices outside. Pip, excited by the prospect of visitors, leaped off the bed and hurried off like a bundle of leaves blown in the breeze. My hair a mess, I pulled on my robe and made my way to the front door, opening it to find Rosalyn, Emmalyn, Tansy, Portia, Zarina, and Zelda outside.
“Oh, no,” Rosalyn said, looking me over. “We have work to do,” she said, then took my arm and turned me back inside. “Primrose and Winifred went directly to the farm to finish there, but both sent their love.”
“And these,” Emmalyn said, gesturing to a box she was carrying. “Wini sent these.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
The girls led me inside, Emmalyn setting the box down on a table. When she lifted the lid, it was like a warm breeze had blown across a sundrenched field of flowers. Within was a perfect flower crown made of woven wheat shafts, wildflowers, and lavender. Along with it was a bundle of multicolored flowers, including lavender, tied simply with a straw bow. Both had a soft golden glow, nothing gaudy, just enough to enhance the natural beauty of the flowers.
I gasped. “How beautiful.”
“Wini was up all night working on them,” Rosalyn told me. “She kept popping by for tea while Zarina and I finished the cake.”
“Oh, dear. It was such late notice and so much work and?—”
“No, you don’t,” Rosalyn said. “I’m a pixie. I don’t need sleep, and Zarina?—”
“She caffeinated me so much I may never sleep again,” Zarina finished for her.
They both laughed.
“The cake is on its way with Bjorn and a gaggle of helpers,” Rosalyn said.
“And your dress is ready,” Zelda said, gesturing to the garment bag she was carrying. “I just need to lay it out and give it a good zap of…sparkle. Bedroom?”
I pointed her in the right direction.
“Now, you just need a bath. I’ll go run the water,” Tansy said.
“And we will see about some breakfast,” Rosalyn said, taking Zarina and Emmalyn along with her.
“And I will stand here with you and help you recover from the shock of all of us arriving before sunrise,” Portia told me in a soft voice.
I giggled. “I’m glad you’re here,” I told her.
“I’m glad to be here.”
My house turned into a hubbub of noise and activity. Before I could protest, Tansy had me plunked into a tub, although she thankfully left me alone to bathe, while the others made breakfast. The sounds of talk and laughter filled the house alongside the sweet scents of brewing coffee, baked goods, and sizzling bacon. By the time I emerged from the bathroom in my robe, my hair pulled up in coils, Rosalyn and Zarina directed me to the table and set a heaping plate in front of me.
Portia sat across from me, a cup of tea before her, a book in her hands. The title on the cover readWedding Traditions Around the Realms. “I was reading last night,” she told me. “Did you know in orcish custom that your marriage will be cursed if you don’t carry a hagstone, the crust from day-old bread, a cutting of witch’s butter fungus, and a lock of your betrothed’s hair?”
“I did not.”
“Perhaps not, but most certainly Gree-Gree will expect you to know,” she said, then set a small velvet bag before me.
“Did you… That’s all of it?”
