“Sorry.” Morgana stepped back in. “A slight emergency. Nash, you ate all the cookies already.”

“All?” Disappointed, he closed the cupboard door.

“Every crumb.” She turned to Sebastian. “I imagine you’re wondering if the package came in.”

“Yes.”

She reached into her pocket and took out a small box of hammered silver. “I think you’ll find it quite suitable.”

He rose to take it from her. Their eyes met, held. “I trust your judgment.”

“And I yours.” She took his face in her hands and kissed him. “Blessed be, Cousin.” In a brisk change of mood, she reached for Nash. “Darling, come out in the shop with me. I want to move some things.”

“But Mel was just feeding my ego.”

“Heavy things,” she said, and gave his hand a tug. “We’ll see you soon I hope, Mel.”

“Yes. Thanks again.” The moment the door closed behind them, she looked at Sebastian. “What was that all about?”

“Morgana understood that I preferred to do this alone.” He rubbed his thumb over the box as he watched her.

Mel’s smile went a little nervous around the edges. “It’s not going to hurt, is it?”

“Painless,” he promised. At least for her. He opened the box, and offered it.

She peeked in, and would have taken a quick step away if she hadn’t been standing with her back to the counter. Inside the ornate little box was a ring. Like the necklace Morgana had given her, it was silver, thin glistening wires woven into an intricate pattern around a center stone of delicate pink with a green rind rim.

“What is it?”

“It’s also tourmaline,” he told her. “What’s called watermelon tourmaline, because of its colors.” He took it out. Held it to the light. “Some say it can transfer energy between two people who are important to each other. On a practical level, which I’m sure will interest you, they’re used in industry for electrical tuning circuits. They don’t shatter at high frequencies like other crystals.”

“That’s interesting.” Her throat was very dry. “But what’s it for?”

Though it was not quite the way he might have liked it, it would have to do for now. “A wedding ring,” he said, and put it into her hand.

“Excuse me?”

“We would hardly have been married five years without you having a ring.”

“Oh.” Surely she was just imagining that the ring was vibrating in her palm. “That makes sense. Sure. But why not a plain gold band?”

“Because I prefer this.” With his first show of impatience, he plucked the ring out of her hand and shoved it on her finger.

“Okay, okay, don’t get testy. It just seems like a lot of trouble when we could have gone by any department store and picked up—”

“Shut up.”

She’d been busy playing with the ring as she spoke, but now she looked up, narrow-eyed. “Look, Donovan—”