Page 35 of The Baby Dragon Bakery (The Baby Dragon #2)

O n Monday, Lavinia went to Theo’s immediately after she finished her anatomy midterm.

She had seen him for about two seconds on Saturday, when he had come to drop off the fried kulfi falooda. She had taken time off from the Baby Dragon to study, and when Theo came by, she had only said hello, barring herself in her room after.

She told herself it was because she had too much studying to do, but she knew that the real reason she stayed away was because she still felt too raw from the heated moment they had shared in his bed. While they had talked on the phone, she didn’t trust herself to be around him.

But on Monday, her brain was pretty much mush after the anatomy exam, and she didn’t have it in her to fight with herself. The second the exam was over, she didn’t think; she texted Theo that she was coming and drove over, knowing he would be home from the Rolling Pin by then.

She still had to study for her pharmacology exam on Thursday, but she needed a break. And sweets. She desperately needed sweets.

Which was exactly what she said to Theo when he opened the door.

“You’d better bake me something, or else,” she threatened, entering his apartment. She tossed her tote bag on the ground and kicked off her shoes, going to collapse onto his couch before he had even shut the front door after her.

“It’s good to see you, too,” he said, talking to the air. “No, I’m doing fine, thanks for asking. Please, make yourself comfortable!”

“Oh shut up.” She lifted her head to look at him. He snorted. “I am dying ,” she said dramatically. “My blood sugar levels are dangerously low. This is not the time for sarcasm .”

“Your blood sugar levels are probably never low,” he replied. “You have a million stores of sugar in there.”

She furrowed her brows. “I don’t think that’s how that works.”

He thought about it for a second, then shrugged. “Hey, the last biology class I took was in high school. You should know more than me.”

“I would, but my brain is fried,” she said, sitting up. She rubbed her temples. “Now, please, sugar!”

He laughed, and she was glad to see the bruises from the football match from last week had mostly faded. He looked much better now, happy to see her.

“Alright, alright,” he said, heading to the kitchen. “How about I make you some hot chocolate?”

“Mmm, yes please!” He had a complicated homemade recipe that took forever to make but always came out perfect. She followed him to the kitchen. “Even though it is way too early for hot chocolate.”

“Is it?” he asked, grabbing a saucepan out of the drawer. “It’s the first week of November.”

“Which is too early,” she affirmed. She jumped up and sat on the counter perpendicular to where he was working at the stove, and he looked over his shoulder at her. “Hot chocolate is for December through February, duh. There is a system for these things, you know.”

“Right, right, of course.” He grabbed some things out of the fridge and set them onto the counter.

“However, because today was really cold, we are making an exception,” she said. “As long as you have marshmallows.”

“Of course I have marshmallows, what do you take me for? An amateur?” He pulled out the bag from a cabinet and threw it at her. She caught it, taking a mini marshmallow out and popping it into her mouth.

“Perfect.”

Theo got started on pouring milk, water, and heavy cream into the saucepan, and Lavinia pulled her sweatshirt off, feeling warm in the small kitchen. She was wearing a tank top underneath, her hair pulled up in a ponytail, and felt much better once she had discarded the thicker layer.

“Are you going to share your top-secret recipe with me?” she asked, watching as he broke chocolate bars into the simmering milk. He continued to break the chocolate as he glanced at her over his shoulder, wrinkling his nose at her.

“I told you it’s not top secret,” he said, “you just never remember it.”

“So it’s top secret,” she said, eating another marshmallow.

“No, it’s water, milk, heavy cream, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, cocoa powder, and sugar,” he said. “Nothing complicated.”

“That sounds a little complicated.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I don’t need to know how to make it since you’ll always make it for me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, waving a hand. After adding in all the ingredients, he turned the heat to low and stirred the pot with a spatula. “How was your exam, by the way? Or should I not ask?”

“It was good, I think?” She made a face. “I kind of blacked out by the end.”

“That’s always a good sign,” Theo deadpanned. She snorted.

“How was your second-to-last Monday at the Rolling Pin?” she asked. “Your last day is next Friday, right?”

“Mhm,” he replied, stirring the pot with the spatula. She inhaled the sweet scent of melting chocolate. “It was good. Suki’s been interviewing candidates to take over for me, and I think she’ll have someone finalized by Thursday? Then I’ll be training them for a week.”

“Ooh.” She listened until her phone beeped next to her. She checked the notification; it was her email.

Oh god . Results for her anatomy midterm were already in. With multiple choice exams, the results were always in on the same day, but it usually took longer than this. There must not have been a curve to account for. Consternation prickled through her.

Eye twitching, she opened up her school’s portal, wanting to rip the bandage off. If she had failed, she’d drown her sorrows in hot chocolate.

Heart beating fast, Lavinia checked her score and . . . she had passed!

Lavinia squealed, her heartbeat racing.

Theo came over, concerned. “What is it?”

“I passed!” Lavinia said, eyes wide. “Ohmygod, I passed!”

“Great!” Theo grinned. “That’s amazing!”

They hugged, eye-level, with her sitting up on the counter. She wound her arms around his neck while his arms enveloped her torso.

She lifted her legs up in exhilaration and he stepped between her knees, coming closer.

Before she could stop herself, she wrapped her legs around his waist to hold onto him tighter, and everything shifted, the moment going from thrilled to tense as he buried his face in her neck.

Her tank top suddenly felt incredibly thin, a paltry barrier between them, and it did nothing to cover the bare skin of her arms, her shoulders, her neck.

She shuddered as his lips brushed against her bare skin, gliding over her collar. She wanted his mouth to go lower, for his body to press closer. He made a strangled sound low in his throat.

Desire hummed through her body, making her feel unsteady, which only made her hold him closer. He fell forward, losing his balance, and gripped the edge of the counter with one hand, while his other hand was on her back, his fingers pressing in, holding onto her as if she was his anchor.

She felt his heart pounding against hers, and she breathed in the scent of him, chocolate and sugar; sweet, so sweet she wanted to lick his skin.

Her body pulsed, and his lips parted against her collar, his teeth skimming across her skin. A shiver ran down her spine.

More, she wanted more .

Before she could see what else he might do with his mouth, the sound of sizzling filled the air: the hot chocolate boiling over.

Theo swore, pulling away from her. His face was flushed, but she only caught a glimpse of his pink cheeks as he ran to turn the stove off. She hopped off the counter, landing unsteadily on her feet. Her knees felt weak.

“I’m going to go call Mama,” she squeaked.

She grabbed her phone from the counter and ran out of his kitchen. She headed for his bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Lavinia caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and her mouth fell open. Her cheeks were red, and there was a dazed look in her eyes. “Good god, get it together,” she hissed at herself, fanning the air around her face.

She had been right to stay away; she really couldn’t be trusted around Theo.

She dialed Beena’s number, holding the phone with one hand while she used the other to slap her cheeks, which did nothing for the redness. She switched tactics and started fanning herself, hand waving aggressively in the air.

“Hello, gudiya, are you done with your exam?” Beena asked. “How was it?”

“Hi . . . Yes, and I passed!” she replied.

“Oh, good, I knew you would!” Beena said. “Have you been running? Why are you so out of breath?”

Lavinia’s cheeks heated. “No reason,” she squeaked.

“Okay,” Beena laughed. “Where are you, with Calahan?”

Her mother’s words were like a splash of ice water on her face.

“Um, no,” she said, swallowing. “I’m with Theo.”

“Okay, well, I’ll see you later,” Beena replied. “Have fun!”

After Beena hung up, Lavinia mentally scolded herself. Why did she keep forgetting about Calahan? That couldn’t have been a good thing. But it wasn’t her fault that Theo was right there when she got the news, though surely she was responsible for how desperately her body had pulled him closer.

“You do like Calahan,” Lavinia reminded herself, looking in the mirror. “And he likes you!” She scolded her reflection.

Why couldn’t that be enough? Why did she always want more, more, more?

This was certainly no time for her to be messy. It was the first week of November; she was at winter’s doorstep! Her deadline was fast approaching, and she couldn’t jeopardize what she had with Calahan now. She would rather be with him than be alone for the rest of her life.

This was how things were supposed to be, she reminded herself—her and Calahan. It might not have been a grand love story, spun out of dreams, but it was better because it was real . It was solid. It wasn’t heartbreaking and confusing, like the ground would give out under her feet any moment.

“Get it together,” she snapped at the mirror.

With a final slap to her cheek, she went back out, to where Theo was pouring a newly made batch of hot chocolate into mugs.

“Marshmallows?” he asked, though he avoided her gaze. Embarrassment pricked at her.

“Yes, please,” she replied, trying to sound normal. She grabbed her sweatshirt from the counter, putting it back on, like a layer of armor. Then, she walked over to his couch, sitting down and grabbing the remote. “Let’s watch a movie.”

“Sure,” he replied, coming over with their mugs. He sat down next to her, leaving about a foot gap between them, then handed her a mug of hot chocolate covered with mini marshmallows. There was a spoon in the mug since she liked eating the marshmallows like soup.

He knew her so well, and yet, he didn’t know the most obvious thing. Or he did, and he acted like he didn’t. Either way, the result was the same.

They weren’t together because he didn’t want them to be together.

Clenching her jaw, she put on a fantasy film, one they had already seen a dozen times and that was familiar.

What wasn’t familiar was how they each kept to opposite sides of the couch.

She felt the distance between them keenly, along with the lack of commentary, and it only furthered her mortification.

After the movie finished, she didn’t linger. She needed to get home, away from here.

As Theo walked her to the door, he hesitated. “Lavinia,” he said.

“Yes?” She turned back.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something. Emotion shone in his brown eyes, and her breath caught in her throat.

But then he looked pained, seeming to think better of it. He stopped. He dragged a hand through his wavy hair.

“Drive safe,” he said.

“Mhm.” Her eye twitched.

She left, feeling absolutely unhinged.

If he wanted to say something, he would say it! She was imagining things because she wanted to, and she needed to stop.