Page 22 of The Baby Dragon Bakery (The Baby Dragon #2)

T he next day, Lavinia went on her date with Calahan.

It went well, and at the end they kissed, and it was lovely, really, it was—but she couldn’t help making comparisons.

Kissing Theo had made her feel like she was a tree being struck by lightning, lit aflame for a long while afterward, while kissing Calahan was as sweet and comforting as eating a slice of warm pie.

She couldn’t decide which was better, but maybe love wasn’t supposed to feel like a calamity. Even so, as she got ready for bed that night, she found there had been nothing memorable about the day’s events. Surely that wasn’t a good thing?

Or was she overthinking it? Besides, this wasn’t exactly the time to be so picky. If she couldn’t make things work with Calahan—who was basically perfect—she wouldn’t be able to make them work with anyone.

Confusing feelings aside, Lavinia missed Theo. Before going to sleep, she sent him a text: Come over tomorrow for a fall day.

She waited to see if his response would come immediately, the way it usually did. It wasn’t even that late; she knew he wouldn’t be asleep. But no matter how intently she stared at her screen, his reply did not come.

Yet, somehow, she knew he would show up tomorrow, and so she put her phone to the side and got into bed, going to sleep. The next morning when she woke up, she had a text from him, a few hours after she had fallen asleep: Okay, i’ll come by around 1.

She was twitching, but she was sure everything would be fine.

A fall day was something they did every autumn without fail.

They went out to the farms, which were especially festive this time of year.

Weekends there were always packed in the months of September through November.

As such, they always got stuck in standstill traffic on the one-lane road, but it was always worth it.

The farms had apple picking and tractor rides for kids and a corn maze—they used to do all of that as kids with her parents, and then again when Alfie was a kid, but ever since Lavinia started university, she and Theo went just for the food: roasted corn bathed in sweet butter and doused with sharp salt; perfectly baked potatoes topped with butter and Cajun seasoning; and fresh apple-cider donuts, pillowy on the inside and crisp on the outside, covered in a pound of cinnamon and sugar.

There were also farm stands that Theo loved to buy fresh produce from, especially apples and butternut squash and figs; things he could use for baking.

After eating brunch with her family, Lavinia got ready.

She was so comfortable around Theo that she never put extra effort into her appearance when it was the two of them, and the same was true today, despite all that had transpired between them.

She was glad for that, at least. She would hate to feel hyper-aware of her appearance in front of him.

She dressed in chocolate brown corduroy pants with a cream-colored blouse that had embroidered flowers on the collar and little gold buttons down the front.

She tucked her hair behind her ears and put on some makeup, then grabbed her purse before heading downstairs, where she grabbed a light jacket and her new heeled booties.

It was nearly one, and a few minutes before, she had received a text from Theo. He was here. He was always on time. She replied that she was coming out, putting on her shoes. They clicked on the tiled floor as she went to the front door.

“I’m going!” she called back to the house. “Bye!”

“Make sure you’re back by five!” Beena called back from the living room. Lavinia was watching Biter in the evening while her parents took Alfie to a football match. “Have fun!”

As Lavinia stepped out of her front door, she felt a jitter run through her spine that had little to do with the brisk autumn weather and more to do with nerves when she spotted him in his car. Taking a deep breath of crisp air, Lavinia walked over, getting in.

“Hi,” she said, sitting down and looking at her best friend. Theo was wearing a soft flannel shirt that was navy blue and beige, the sleeves of which were rolled up, displaying the muscle of his forearm as he gripped the wheel with one hand.

“Hey,” he said, looking over. He gave her a smile, which was perfectly normal. This would be fine!

Lavinia smiled back, and his gaze flicked down to her mouth, snagging there. She bit her bottom lip, nervous, and his eyes jumped away. His grip on the wheel tightened. Heat swept through her, and she busied herself with putting her seatbelt on, feeling only slightly nauseous.

Memories of their kiss resurfaced in her mind: the feel of his mouth against hers, the taste of his tongue.

“Ready?” he asked, voice rough.

“Mhm!” she all but squeaked.

Theo put the gear shift to drive and they headed away from her neighborhood. Lavinia grabbed his phone, which was connected to the car, and hit play on his music. She scrolled through his playlists, putting songs up on queue; after a few songs, they both relaxed.

They drove out to the farms. Most of the trees had changed from green now, and the multicolored landscape was breathtaking as they drove.

Some of the roads were covered with yellow leaves that looked like shavings of sunlight.

As a breeze lifted the air, leaves twirled and fluttered as they fell, shimmering.

Lavinia started singing along to the music, and Theo looked over at her, a smile twitching his lips. Then she put on songs they used to listen to in high school, laughing as Theo groaned.

“Why are we listening to this?” he asked, wrinkling his nose. “This is painful. I can feel all the teenage angst seeping back into my pores.”

Lavinia only turned up the volume, belting out the words, and eventually Theo joined in.

She cackled and they sang together, the way they used to on the drive home from school when they were seniors and Theo would drive her home everyday.

A wave of nostalgia hit her at the memories.

That was so long ago now, yet, in the car with him at this moment, she felt like no time had passed at all.

They made it to the farms, and even though the traffic had been rough, she had hardly noticed. Theo parked, and they got out of the car. The sun was shining now, so she left her jacket in his car, tilting her face up to the sun’s heat, relishing the feeling.

When she turned back to Theo, she saw he had been watching her, a fond expression on his face. His gaze was warm, and she felt shy all of a sudden.

Lavinia looked around at the masses of cars in the parking lots, the tons of people walking around. “There’s so many here,” she said, and he came around the car to walk with her.

Most of the rush was for the farm activities, not the food, but still.

Theo smiled, throwing an arm over her shoulder as they walked towards the barn, where the food was sold from a window-counter.

They approached the food line, where there were at least a dozen people in front of them: parents with young children and old couples and groups of friends.

“The donuts’d better not be finished,” she said, peering at the line.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “If they are, I’ll steal some from the first person we see.”

She looked up at him, arching a brow. “Even if it’s a kid?”

He nodded. “Even if it’s a kid.”

“You’re awful,” she said, laughing.

“Just for you,” he winked.

They continued chatting until they made it to the front of the line, where they ordered baked potatoes and roasted corn. Luckily, the apple-cider donuts were still in stock. “Thank god,” Theo said, paying. “I really didn’t want to make any kids cry today.”

“As opposed to every other day? When you are okay with making kids cry?”

Theo laughed, bumping her shoulder with his, and they walked over to the benches with their food, sitting down with their feast. There was a band playing live country music in the background and kids running around with baskets of apples.

They ate, people-watching. When they were finished and about a pound heavier for it, Theo did his shopping at the farm stands and Lavinia bought an armful of pumpkins to decorate her front door.

Theo ran the groceries back to his car so they wouldn’t have to carry them around and, when he returned, they walked over to the area where games were set up, playing a round of cornhole, which Lavinia was abysmal at.

It was a fun day, but by the time they were walking back to his car around four in the evening, her feet were aching. The heeled booties were new, and she had not broken them in yet, and as such, she was losing feeling in her toes.

Lavinia winced, walking gingerly, and Theo’s gaze went to her shoes.

“Who said to wear heeled boots, huh?” he asked.

She pouted. “But they’re soooo cute.” She took another step, limping, and Theo stopped in his tracks.

“Come on.” He turned around and crouched down. She laughed when she saw what he intended.

“A piggyback ride?” she asked. Since he was a foot taller than her, he used to give her piggyback rides all the time. “You haven’t given me one in forever; not for years probably.”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t drop you. You’re bite-sized.”

“So not eating those vegetables when I was a kid did pay off!” She climbed onto his back, putting her arms around his neck, and his hands came up under her legs, lifting them around his waist. A jolt ran through her body.

He straightened, and she wrapped her arms around his collar, chest flush against his back. She inhaled the scent of his shampoo, the ends of his hair tickling her cheek as she leaned her chin on his shoulder. He was so warm.

His hands on her thighs were strong, his grip steady. He was holding her up so easily.

“You’re huffing and puffing a lot less than you used to,” Lavinia noted. He used to be so scrawny, but that was evidently not the case anymore.

“I’ve been training,” he said. “This is my Olympics.”