Page 20 of The Baby Dragon Bakery (The Baby Dragon #2)

L avinia could not believe she and Theo had kissed. She and Theo!

She was in her car, driving, and still thinking about it two days later. Every time she did, her entire body hummed with desire, a tingle going down her spine. She pressed her fingers to her lips, recalling the feel of his mouth on hers, and the memory made her pulse quicken.

The way he had kissed her. She had dreamt about it the last two nights, but in her dreams, they hadn’t stopped there. At the thought of her salacious dreams, she opened the window, getting some cold air in and trying to catch her breath.

Lavinia had hardly remembered her own name after, let alone what had even transpired to bring about such a situation.

“He only kissed you to make you feel better,” Lavinia reminded herself. To assuage her qualms, to reassure her that she was in fact a good kisser, and that that wasn’t the issue with Calahan.

“He’s your best friend!” Lavinia scolded herself. “Why else would he volunteer to kiss you?”

Even so, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something between them, something undeniable and fierce. She had felt it, deep in her bones. She thought he might have felt it, too, with the desperate way he had pressed her body into the grass with his.

Until he had pulled away first.

He had bolted. He had run as if he couldn’t get away fast enough.

He hadn’t even said goodbye! Or walked her to her car! This was the first time she could recall in their entire seventeen-year friendship that he hadn’t said bye to her.

He had texted her the next morning to apologize for that, but he hadn’t given any explanation. She had just thumbs-up reacted to the message because she didn’t know what to say either.

Ugh! It was all so confusing!

There was no time to dwell on it any longer; Lavinia had arrived at her destination. She was at Aiden’s cottage, where Saphira had invited Lavinia over for Friday-night dinner along with Genevieve, Emmeline, and Theo.

Aiden’s cottage—now his and Saphira’s—was a cute little place not too far away from Main Street.

It was nestled in the hills, and the houses in this area were spread apart and private.

As Lavinia stepped out of her car, it was nice and secluded; she listened to the crickets chirping, the leaves rustling.

She knocked on the door, and it opened to reveal Aiden and Saphira, his hand on her waist. Saphira was wearing a pleated brown skirt with a pink sweater on top, while Aiden wore dark brown trousers and a beige top, his outfit complementing hers. They looked gorgeous together, picture-perfect.

“Welcome to our home,” Aiden said, giving her a warm smile.

Saphira hugged Lavinia, holding on tight. “I’m so happy to see you!”

“Thanks for inviting me!” Lavinia handed Saphira the small bag she was carrying, which Saphira peeked into to see a spiced pumpkin candle.

“I was going to bring flowers but figured that would be redundant,” she said.

Aiden smiled sheepishly, moving aside to let her enter their home.

When she did, she knew her previous statement was right.

Almost every surface was already covered with vases of beautiful bouquets of flowers, each one carefully crafted; she could easily see Aiden’s hand.

The perks of being engaged to a gardener!

“A candle is perfect,” Saphira said, going to grab a lighter. “I’m going to light this right now.”

“Come sit,” Aiden said, and she looked around. She had been here before, but not since Saphira fully moved in, and it was funny to see how his cottage had changed with Saphira’s touch.

Before, it was simple and tidy, but now it was full of life. The one story had a spacious living room and kitchen, as well as two bedrooms, and it seemed as if every inch was full of artwork, potted green plants, colorful throw pillows, and trinkets.

Lavinia turned into the living room, where two guests were already present.

Genevieve and her cousin, Emmeline, stood up to greet her.

Lavinia hugged Genevieve first, who was wearing a variation of her usual outfit, fuss-free but expensive black trousers and a simple top, this time a light sweater with the sleeves rolled up.

Then she hugged Emmeline, going on her tiptoes, for Emmeline was the fanciest in sharp heels, even though she was already pretty tall.

She wore a lace dress with dramatic sleeves.

While Genevieve was bare-faced, as usual, Emmeline’s makeup was stunning, smoked-out kajal eyes and blood-red lipstick.

She had an elaborate gold nose-piercing as well, adding to the striking look.

“How on earth do you ride in those outfits?” Lavinia asked, awed.

Emmeline laughed. “I don’t—I change when I arrive.”

“I respect the commitment to serving looks.”

“Lavinia! Look at who Emmy brought with her!” Saphira said, setting down the candle and joining them in the living room.

She was practically giddy. Lavinia watched as Emmeline brought over a wicker basket full of blankets.

It wasn’t until Emmeline brought the basket closer that Lavinia spotted a black-scaled baby dragon, sleeping soundly.

Lavinia gasped. “Oh my god! Who is this?”

“My brother’s new baby dragon, Motu,” Emmeline replied. “He just hatched a month ago, and I’m babysitting.” Lavinia had never seen such a young basalta dragon. Even at this age, he was bigger than other baby dragon breeds.

“Isn’t he the cutest ?” Saphira asked. She crowded around the basket with Lavinia.

“Adorable,” Lavinia agreed before looking up at Emmeline. “I didn’t know you had siblings.”

Aiden snorted, entering the living room. “Being an older sister is Emmy’s full-time job,” he said, coming over to stand with Saphira. “The coffee-roasting business is her side gig.”

Emmeline laughed, though she looked a little irritated. “Yes, I have a little sister, then two younger brothers, all in their twenties. My sister got married and moved away, and neither one of my brothers drinks coffee, so you’ve never met them at the cafe.”

Emmeline set the basket and sleeping baby down on the side, then sat down with Saphira and Aiden. Lavinia sat with Genevieve on the other couch, and they chatted while Emmeline and Saphira had a conversation of their own.

“Oh my god, I forgot to tell you,” Lavinia said, grabbing Genevieve’s hand. She looked over to make sure Emmeline wasn’t listening, then lowered her voice. “I saw Luke Hayward at the Animal Hospital. He said to say hi to Emmy.”

Somehow, Emmeline heard, and she was immediately triggered. “Lavinia!” she cried. “What am I hearing!”

“Um, you shouldn’t be hearing anything because I was whispering,” Lavinia replied, laughing.

Emmeline glowered. “That heathen dared to tell you to say hi to me .”

Saphira tried not to laugh. “What heathen?” Aiden asked, looking confused.

“The owner of Tempest,” Emmeline replied. She couldn’t even bear to say his name.

“Oh, Luke?” Aiden said.

Emmeline made a disgusted face.

“I totally feel like they’ve hooked up or something,” Genevieve whispered to Lavinia. Again, Emmeline heard. She made a cry of absolute offense, face red.

“Ginny, he is literally evil,” Emmeline said, though she didn’t deny the theory. “Evil!”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Ginny replied. “He’s super hot. He’s old, otherwise I’d totally go for it.”

Aiden’s expression turned pained. “Please stop,” Aiden said, uncomfortable with the topic of conversation.

“Now I can’t even appreciate a gorgeous man without you being a big baby about it?” Ginny asked.

“No,” Aiden replied flatly.

Genevieve ignored him; she and Emmeline loved bothering him, which was amusing to watch. “Ginny, no ,” Emmeline said, voice hard. “He broke Millie’s heart, and Millie cried for a week.” To Lavinia, Saphira added as an aside, “Millie is her sister.”

“Yeah, but Millie cries over anything,” Ginny said. Emmeline scowled, and Lavinia sensed she was very protective of her younger siblings.

“ Anyway ,” Saphira said, changing the topic of conversation to something else. Lavinia listened as the others carried on talking, but her focus was frayed.

Her gaze kept straying to the door, waiting for Theo to arrive. She hadn’t seen his car out front, but he would probably be arriving any moment, and she braced herself.

Until Saphira said, “Pity Theo couldn’t join.”

“Hm?” Lavinia blinked, and Saphira looked confused.

“Theo,” she said. “He told me he couldn’t come. I thought you would know.”

“Oh! Um, we haven’t talked today,” Lavinia said. “He probably texted me, but I haven’t checked my phone.” She played it off, but Saphira gave her a strange look, brown eyes concerned.

Lavinia gave her a bright smile. “I’m going to grab some water.”

She went to the kitchen and ran the tap, waiting for it to get cold.

She listened to the water rushing, trying to stay calm.

She knew for a fact Theo had no plans today.

She was his main friend, so who else would he be hanging out with?

And he didn’t have football, either, because Saphira had asked before setting the date.

Which meant he didn’t come on purpose because he was avoiding Lavinia. Her eye twitched.

She mentally scolded herself; she shouldn’t have even been thinking about Theo, anyway. He was not part of her plans or her operations. She should have been thinking about Calahan, about her deadline.

She drank the glass of water, then joined the others, who were heading for the back door.

“We can all say hello to Sparky, or he’ll be upset,” Saphira said, and they followed her out to the yard, which was beautiful and spacious.