Page 16 of The Baby Dragon Bakery (The Baby Dragon #2)

L avinia was at the Animal Hospital, preparing for an appointment. It had been a hectic week between work and school and spending time with Calahan, and she felt like there weren’t enough hours in the day for everything.

She followed Dr. Quan to the patient’s room. She would be seeing Luke Hayward, who was here with a chimera. She hadn’t seen many baby chimeras in her time interning here, so she was excited to see this one today.

Lavinia recognized Luke’s name and vaguely knew of him because he was on Genevieve’s cousin Emmeline’s hit list for trying to poach Saphira’s business from her. Luke owned a coffee-roasting company called Tempest, which rivaled Emmeline’s own coffee-roasting company, Inferno.

While Emmeline’s company had dragon-roasted coffee, Luke’s had chimera-roasted coffee.

A chimera had the body of a lion with the head of a goat and the tail of a snake; they had wings and breathed fire, just like dragons, though they weren’t as coveted as dragons.

Dragons were rarer, a status symbol of power and privilege, but Lavinia liked all animals equally.

Luke was in today with a year-old chimera, who must have been the baby of one of his fully grown chimeras that roasted Tempest’s coffee. When she entered the patient room behind Dr. Quan, he gave them both a charming smile, and she felt a little weak in the knees, if she was going to be honest.

Luke Hayward was supermodel gorgeous, clothed all in black. He had deep, rich brown skin and a clean-shaven face that showed off his sharp jawline and high cheekbones. The top buttons of his shirt were undone to reveal glittering chains against his chest.

“Good afternoon,” Dr. Quan said. “This is my intern, Lavinia. She’ll be conducting your visit today.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Luke said, standing with the baby chimera in his arms.

“Who is this little angel?” Lavinia asked, as Luke set the baby down onto the patient bed. The chimera bleated.

“This is Barnabus,” Luke replied, scratching behind the chimera’s ears, beneath Barnabus’s little horn stubs.

Lavinia smiled, inspecting Barnabus. She checked on the baby chimera’s vitals, and almost immediately, she deduced what the problem was.

“I believe Barnabus has selenium deficiency,” Lavinia said. “It can cause weak rear legs and also keep the baby from swallowing properly.”

She turned back to confirm with Dr. Quan, and he nodded, gesturing for her to continue. “See how he’s holding his legs; that’s the telltale sign.” She pointed for Luke to see. He nodded, understanding.

“We’ll give him an injection now, and then you can bring him back in a week from now for another checkup and possible further injections,” Lavinia told Luke. She turned back to Dr. Quan. “Anything to add?”

“Nope, that’s perfect,” he replied, giving her a proud smile. “I think you’ve got it from here.” Dr. Quan took his leave, and Lavinia left to retrieve the injections.

Satisfaction coursed through her. She loved her work, applying the things she had learned in school. It made her feel accomplished and competent that Dr. Quan trusted her to run appointments alone. Even though school was difficult and trying, she did love learning.

That was something she and Calahan shared, she reminded herself. They were definitely fated to be together.

Lavinia returned to the patient room and administered the shots, while Luke held the baby chimera in his arms. The baby made a bleat of displeasure, and Luke stroked his little goat-head with his ringed fingers, soothing.

“All done,” Lavinia said. She petted the baby chimera’s furry head, then brought him a bunch of thin crunchy carrots, which he happily ate. “You can make the follow-up appointment in the front.”

“Perfect.” Luke stood, giving her that winning smile again as he held onto the baby chimera with one muscled arm. He made as if to leave, then paused by the door, turning around. “You work at the Baby Dragon Cafe, don’t you?” Luke asked, cocking his head. “I think I’ve seen you there before.”

“Yes, I do,” Lavinia replied. His lips spread into a smile, eyes glittering with mischief.

“Tell Emmeline I said hi.” He looked pleased with himself.

“Sure,” Lavinia replied, and then he was off.

There was no way Lavinia would be telling Emmeline that, or Emmeline’s blood pressure would shoot through the roof.

Lavinia didn’t see Emmeline Sterling often, but she knew enough that Emmy was triggered every single time she heard Luke’s name.

Saphira had mentioned once that the two went to university together and there was some history between them, but Lavinia didn’t know the whole backstory.

After Luke left, Lavinia went back to Dr. Quan’s office, sitting down at her desk. She typed up her notes and filled out paperwork. There were no more appointments for that day, so she did the work at a leisurely pace, preparing for tomorrow’s appointments.

When her phone lit up, she turned her attention to see a text from Calahan. She opened the notification, which was simply a photo. A smile spread across her face.

It was a photo from last night, of her sleeping on her books. They had gone to the Tales the bookstore was a bit rundown, but quiet and devoid of distractions.

It was a lovely place, and the study date had also been lovely, until they’d gotten to the actual “studying” part.

Then, Lavinia had in fact fallen asleep on top of her books while she listened to a playlist titled “you’re daydreaming while you’re lost in the palace gardens.

” In the picture, Calahan had taken her glasses off and set them aside, tucking her hair behind her ear, but she still looked ridiculous, mouth open, a dribble of drool spilling out.

So rude, delete that!! she texted him.

No thanks, you look too cute, he replied.

She giggled to herself. It had been ten days since their first date. She and Calahan had gone out two more times since then, once to the farmers’ market, and once to study. It was just as she had planned, just as she had imagined, sweet and easy. So easy! Mama always said love was easy.

She was moving on from Theo, no, really, she was. Calahan was so clever and mature. Being with him felt very grown-up. Like the right decision.

The wrong decision would be to pine over someone who wasn’t interested in her and jeopardize the most important relationship in her life in the process.

For a moment, Lavinia worried she was simply using Calahan to get over Theo, but no, that wasn’t true. She knew with absolute certainty it would not happen with her and Theo, and she really did like Calahan. Maybe this was what was always meant to be.

Besides, she didn’t have any time to waste, not with the winter just a few months away. She had wasted enough time already!

Beena and Lavinia both had birthdays in May, so it was easy to imagine the ghost of her mother’s past as Lavinia’s companion. She had met Garrett on a cold December day, and they had started dating immediately after, everything happening so seamlessly.

Lavinia wasn’t sure yet if she would want to spend forever with Calahan, but she still had some time to figure that out. Until December, at least.

Calahan was wonderful. He really liked Lavinia, and she knew they should be content, but she just felt . . . She didn’t know what she felt, what was making her hesitate.

Nothing was perfect, not even her feelings for Theo, if she was being fair, which she was really trying to be. There were too many fireworks, which could be beautiful, yes, but they could also blow up in her face. She didn’t ever want to imagine her life without him.

With Theo, there was too much risk—too much to lose.

With a sigh, she went home, where homework was waiting for her.

Graduate school was an endless cycle, and she hardly felt like she had a moment to breathe.

After saying hello to her family and giving Biter a quick kiss and cuddle, she went to her room and did her assignments while listening to a playlist called “writing poems to your forbidden lover at three a.m.” which was surely what she would have preferred to be doing instead of categorizing different infectious diseases.

Luckily, she lived at home, so in the evening she came downstairs to a prepared dinner and the company of her family members, as well as the adorable Biter, who was practicing flying on the carpet with Alfie.

“Come on, Biter, come on!” Alfie coaxed, rattling a toy. Biter’s red eyes widened. She took unsteady steps toward Alfie, her tiny wings flapping. She made it a few steps before falling forward onto her face.

She hissed, and Lavinia scooped her up into her arms. “Aw, Alfie is making you do so much work, isn’t he?

” Lavinia asked, scratching Biter’s scales.

Biter hummed, wagging her tail. Even though Lavinia had spent all day with various baby animals, then even more hours reading about animals, she still loved this time with the baby dragon.

“I’m making her practice!” Alfie protested, coming over. “Mama said I can’t bribe her with candy, so I used the chew toy.”

“She’s a baby, Alf,” Lavinia said. “She can’t eat solids yet, let alone candy!”

“Oh.” Alfie looked sheepish, and Lavinia laughed, mussing his hair.

“Dinner!” Beena called.

Lavinia set Biter down in her bassinet with a few toys, then went to the table with Alfie, which Garrett had already set. Beena brought over a dish of lentils and a dish of boiled rice. The yellow daal was topped with a butter, brown onion, and coriander tarka; it was the perfect fortifying food.

After dinner, she helped clean up, then went back to study for a bit, until Beena called her downstairs.

As Lavinia made her way to the kitchen, she inhaled the warm scent of cinnamon and sugar. Her mother had baked pumpkin snickerdoodles, which were so yummy and cozy with a cold glass of milk.

She handed some to Alfie, who was sitting at the kitchen table doing his homework, then joined her mother in the living room with a second plate, having had enough of studying for the day.

They got cozy on the couch, and while Beena switched on the television, Lavinia spread a throw blanket over their legs. It was mid-October now and properly chilly, true autumn in full swing. She loved it.

Her mother put on the next episode of the show they were watching together, a period drama with an actress her mother loved.

Once or twice a week, Lavinia sat and watched television with her mother; it was a nice way to spend time together, especially as a weekly ritual in the midst of her hectic school/work schedule.

Lavinia wasn’t big on period dramas, but she enjoyed watching them with her mother and was fully invested in the storylines.

There was something so swoon-worthy and grand imbued in these stories, something so romantic.

Sighing, she watched as the hero wrote his heroine a beautifully worded love letter.

After the episode was done, Lavinia brought over a bowl of warm oil. It was a mixture of coconut oil, almond oil, and castor oil. She handed it to Beena, then sat down on the floor, by her mother’s feet.

“Tch, your hair is getting so thin,” Beena tsked, running her hands through Lavinia’s hair. “You’re taking too much stress from all your studying. And what have I told you about tying such a tight ponytail?”

“I know, I know,” Lavinia said, head rattling as her mother massaged oil into her scalp.

“We’ll have to do this twice a week now,” Beena said. Lavinia ordinarily got oil put in her hair once a week. “Then you’ll notice a difference.”

“Mmm.”

Beena continued to oil Lavinia’s hair, and Lavinia closed her eyes, enjoying it, though her mother could be a tad aggressive at moments. While it was heavenly to get her head massaged, she also loved sitting at her mother’s feet, feeling close to her.

When Beena finished, she brushed Lavinia’s hair, then pulled it back into a loose braid, so it wouldn’t move at night when she slept. Lavinia would wash it out the next morning.

“All done,” Beena said, smoothing a hand over Lavinia’s oiled braid.

“Thank you, Mama,” Lavinia replied. Even though she was done, she did not get up right away. She leaned against her mother’s knees, thinking.

Theo’s behavior had been different lately. Every time she tried to bring up Calahan, Theo seemed unhappy. It looked as though Theo didn’t like the fact that she was going out with Calahan, but there was no reason for him to be upset by that. Calahan was great, and Theo had always liked him.

A hesitant little voice rose in her mind: what if he’s jealous?

Was she reaching? Or was that a possibility?

“What’s up, gudiya?” Beena asked. Lavinia shook her head, clearing her thoughts.

“What do you mean?” Lavinia asked, twisting to look back at her mother.

“You’ve been sighing all day,” Beena replied. Lavinia felt her face fall. She couldn’t hide anything from her mother, and she couldn’t talk about this with anyone, so maybe Beena was the right person to talk to.

“I thought I had feelings for Theo,” she said.

Saying the words out loud made her feel humiliated by his rejection all over again.

She swallowed hard. “But he wasn’t interested in me—at least, that’s what I thought.

Now? I don’t know.” She threw her hands up.

“I just don’t know. What to do, or what’s right, or what will happen.

” If she knew how things would play out—how the story would end—she could act accordingly.

Beena was quiet, and Lavinia could feel her mother thinking. She got up off the floor and joined Beena on the couch, sitting with her legs up so she could face her. Beena played with the end of her braid, a pensive expression on her face.

“What you and Theo have is extraordinary,” Beena finally said. “It’s special and rare—you should protect that as much as you can.” She paused. “It seems like you’re a bit confused, and it’s best not to do anything you’re not certain about.”

“Right,” Lavinia said, disappointment spreading through her. “No, of course. Yes.”

She swallowed, and Beena released a long breath. “Aren’t you seeing someone right now? That boy from the cafe? Calahan, right? I thought that was going well.”

“No, it is.” She ignored the pit in her stomach. “It absolutely is.” She forced a smile, shaking her head. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

And she didn’t, truly. She wanted things to work out with Calahan—she needed them to, or there would be no hope at all—and for that to happen, she needed to stop being delusional and selfish, wanting things that couldn’t be.

She needed to be responsible.