She may barely come to Lark’s waist, but Katja commands his attention with her hands on her hips. “What’s really going on?”
“Okay, okay.” He waits for quiet. “We’re not really getting married. I mean, obviously.”
Right. Yes.
“Obviously,” I agree, finding my voice.
I stand frozen with my fingers still in Lark’s warm grasp. I’m not sure he notices, and I’m not sure if I want to pull away or hold on tighter. For now I need the steadying calm he lends me. It feels far more real than the deception it is.
My heart races faster than Hugo’s tiny paws as he comes skittering into the room to investigate all the noise, his claws scrabbling on the wooden floor. I don’t know why Lark’s joke left me so shaken. We barely know each other, and this whole thing is a ruse. It’s a temporary disruption, but apparently my silly brain liked the idea of someone wanting me forever. Stupid.
Lark lets go of my hand to scoop up the hedgehog before he gets trampled by Helkki, who is still bouncing between her siblings.
With Hugo safely perched atop his hat, he smiles. “Here’s the deal…”
After explaining the engagement gambit to the kids, Lark accompanies me to the inn.
I have another night of dishwashing ahead of me, but now that I’ve calmed down, my thoughts linger on the conversation with his family. I didn't expect him to tell them all the plan, but he insisted they could keep secrets, even Aili. By the time we left,they were excited about their roles, chattering about their parts and scripting outings as if we’re staging a grand production.
Which, in a way, we are.
“It’s called method acting,” Lark explained for my benefit while the rest just nodded. Or rather, Johannes sneezed, but I took that as understanding. “We’ll be acting like we’re engaged all the time, because we need the locals to believe it. Sentry Niemi—”
“Muskrat-face?” Aili piped up.
“We should probably stop calling him that. But, yes. Niemi is assembling a board of sentries in the area to decide our case. So we need to act like we’re happily engaged at all times since we don’t know who will see us or who might end up deciding our fate.”
They sounded like actors preparing for opening night, as if this sort of thing were normal in their lives. Somewhere along the way, I found myself laughing with them as we ate the Karelian pies, which weren’t half bad. A few fell apart, but Katja imparted some wisdom to me.
“There’s a saying about Karelian pies, you know. They say they always look alike with their maker.” Then she winked at the pie crumbling to pieces in my hand.
Yep, that seems about right.
Leaving behind the scent of fresh-baked dough and the easy camaraderie in the cottage, I’m reminded of magical full moon nights with my father and Taynia, when we binged on pastries at dawn as the last notes of the revel wound down.
I pull my cloak tight in the cold air, letting reality sink its teeth into me. We cross the frozen courtyard in silence, and Lark opens the back door into the inn.
“Ready for this?”
“Probably not,” I admit.
We aren’t in the safety of the cottage anymore. This isn’t a dreamy play with kids giggling over their parts. It’s just me and Lark, and we have to sell this illusion.
His arm slips around my shoulders as the door closes on the cold, and the warmth of the tavern envelops us. Scents of stewed meats and freshly baked bread greet us, along with Daria’s voice calling out from her office doorway.
I stiffen.
“Don’t you two look cozy?” She watches us like a smirking hawk over her stack of invoices and booking forms. “I wondered why you went out to the cottages when it wasn’t your shift.”
I gulp. “I didn’t realize that wasn’t allowed. I’ll be ready for my shift tonight. I wasn’t bothering anyone.”
With a sigh, she slides her gaze to Lark. “Are you able to get her to relax and breathe?”
He chuckles, giving me a little squeeze against his side. “It’s a work in progress. My fiancée is tightly wound sometimes, but she’s well-meaning, we promise.”
Silver eyebrows shoot toward her hairline. “Fiancée? Did I miss an announcement? Because I recallyoushowing up alone in mismatched tatters, andyouarriving separately with seven orphans in tow. Unless I’m much mistaken, that was…” She checks a large calendar on the wall with an unnecessary sweep of her arm. “Less than a sennight ago.”
Lark glances at me. I give a small shrug. Daria has been good to me, given me more chances than I ever expected. I trust her.
