Page 36 of The Baby Dragon Bakery (The Baby Dragon #2)

L avinia was on edge.

She buried herself in preparing for her final midterm for the next few days.

The pharmacology midterm was Thursday afternoon and, as such, Wednesday was her last chance to study before the exam.

She was currently at the Baby Dragon, where she had taken over an entire table for four for her, her laptop, her textbook, and her printed-out notes.

At home, Lavinia kept getting distracted by Biter, who was bigger now and slept less.

It was virtually impossible to get any studying done when there was an adorable baby dragon vying for her attention and affection, which was why she was studying at the cafe.

Although there were precious baby dragons at the cafe, too, they were all being looked after by other people.

The moment she got home, she would reward herself for all her hard work with an hour of cuddling the draggo.

For now, she needed to study. There were already two empty mugs on the table, and she nursed a third latte, which surely wasn’t helping with the nerves coursing through her body, but she needed an emotional support drink and the coffee was keeping her hands warm.

Lavinia was just about to reach for another sip of her maple latte when she heard someone behind her.

“Hey.”

Lavinia jolted, turning to see Theo. He gave her a funny look as she clutched her heart. He glanced at the table, at the empty mugs, then picked up her latte. “Maybe lighten up on the caffeine, yeah?”

Lavinia narrowed her eyes at him, and he took a sip of her latte, sitting down across from her. There was a streak of flour across his cheek, and he was wearing a maroon utility shirt with dark jeans, his brown hair mussed.

Seeing him sent a shiver down her spine as she recalled his lips brushing against her bare collarbone. Her eye twitched, and she mentally scolded herself. He closed her laptop screen.

“Give me my coffee back,” she said, reaching for it. He held it up, away from her. “What are you doing here, anyway? Don’t you have work?”

“It is in fact after four,” he said. He worked from seven to four at the Rolling Pin. “And since I put in my two weeks’ notice, I don’t stay a second later.”

“Love that for you,” she said, shifting her focus back to her notes. She put her glasses back on. “Now, sh.”

“Alright, alright.” Theo pulled his laptop out of his backpack, and she raised a brow. “Saph sent over some of the business files, so I’m going to look through them.” He pushed her notes out of the way, making room. She couldn’t help it; she smiled fondly at him.

“Look at us, doing work together,” she said. “I feel like we’re in high school again.”

He arched a brow. “That was just me writing all your English essays for you while you drank both our coffees.”

“Hey!” She made an outraged sound. “Don’t act like I didn’t do your chemistry homework! It was a mutually beneficial relationship.”

He laughed, and they got back to work, until five o’clock, when the cafe was closing. Theo got up and stretched his arms.

“Come on,” he said, closing his laptop. “Let’s go before they have to kick us out.”

“But I need to study.” She pouted. Theo began gathering her things together, putting them in her bag.

“You need a break, and I’m hungry,” he said, picking up her tote along with his backpack. “Come on, let’s get pizza.”

She acquiesced, standing. “Fine. But only because I love pizza.”

“Who doesn’t?” He put his hands on her shoulders, steering her toward the door. They headed out onto Main Street.

The sun hadn’t set yet, but it would soon.

She couldn’t believe how much quicker the sun was setting these days; the days were getting so short, winter arriving soon.

A pinprick of unease pierced her chest as she thought of her relationship deadline, though she had nothing to worry about, she told herself.

Things were good with Calahan, and they would stay that way as long . . . as Lavinia behaved herself.

They made it to the pizza place, entering the restaurant, where a few other patrons were seated at round wooden tables and dark red leather booths located along the walls.

The restaurant had warm lighting, and there were additional fairy lights hanging across the roof, wound around wreaths and greenery.

Places were already getting festive for the upcoming holiday season; she smiled at the sight.

They sat down across from each other in a booth, and when the server came around, Theo ordered for them while Lavinia took out the notes from her bag.

“Stop.” Theo grabbed the papers from her hand.

“Give me!” she cried.

“Give your eyes some rest for ten minutes!” he said, putting the papers down beside him. “You can have them back after you eat.”

“Fiiine.” She blew out her cheeks, taking off her glasses. She folded them and set them aside. “How were the cafe files? Do you think the expansion project will work out?”

“I do,” he replied, as a waiter brought over their sodas. “It’ll take some finessing to ensure we’re optimizing the funds to execute the project while still generating profit and minimizing our costs.”

“I have no idea what any of that means, but love that for you,” Lavinia said with a laugh. Theo laughed, too.

He began to describe to her what he was thinking about for the project’s proposal, and in that time, their food came: garlic knots, and a gooey pizza, half of the pie covered with onions and spinach, while the other half was covered with jalapenos and pineapple.

She had long since stopped being disgusted by Theo’s pizza order.

They ate, and the break—along with the delicious food—helped clear her mind. Theo wiped his hands on a napkin. “Come on,” he said, pulling up her notes. “I’ll quiz you.”

“Wait, I have flashcards,” she said, fishing them out of her tote bag. She passed the stack over to him. “The different colors are different sections.”

“Alright,” Theo said, sliding the plate of garlic knots his way. There were still eight left. “You get a garlic knot for every ten questions you answer correctly.”

She snorted. “You can’t bribe me with garlic knots!”

“Absolutely can. Now tell me, which of the following processes are . . .”

Turns out, garlic knots were a great incentive.

They stayed there for a while, even after the garlic knots were finished off between the two of them, and their sodas went lukewarm.

At the table next to them, there was a group of six old ladies there for a post book-club meeting dinner.

Lavinia smiled as the ladies all chatted and laughed, clearly getting tipsy after their many glasses of wine.

One of the old ladies got up, grabbing another’s hand, and they started dancing between their table and Lavinia’s. The other ladies joined in, and then one of the old ladies grabbed the server, who did not look a day older than sixteen. He was all gangly limbs and wide eyes.

“Hey, kid, can you play a song with a beat?” the lady asked.

“Uh . . .” The kid nodded, running off to the front counter.

A few seconds later, the speakers blasted with a quick song, and the old ladies cheered. They started dancing, turning the little pizza place into their personal club. Lavinia met Theo’s eyes. They burst out laughing.

“Come on,” he said, getting up. He offered her his hand, and she took it. They got up, walking two steps over to the crowd of women dancing.

“Ladies, mind if we join in?” Theo asked. One of the old ladies lowered her massive reading glasses, checking Theo out.

“Oh, honey, we don’t mind at all,” she said, winking. Lavinia was trying very hard not to die of laughter as Theo’s cheeks flushed pink.

Then, Theo leaned in close to her, and she inhaled his scent. He always smelled like dough and sugar, sweet and warm. She wanted to take a bite out of him.

He whispered in her ear, “I’ve still got it.”

She threw her head back and laughed, hitting his chest with her hand. He gave her a crooked grin then started dancing, and she joined in, dancing with these people she didn’t know, but it didn’t matter, not if she had Theo with her.

More than a few of the old ladies were crowding Theo, vying for his attention, which made Lavinia laugh harder, but Theo had spent more than enough evenings dancing with Beena, so he was used to it.

He gave each of them particular interest, taking turns to spin them around, being the perfect gentleman until he ended up back with her.

“Is it finally my turn?” she asked.

“It’s always your turn,” he said. He took her hand and twirled her. She felt giddy. They both danced, bouncing up and down, hyper and obnoxious, but it was the most fun she’d had all week.

Theo picked her up off her feet and spun her around. She shrieked, laughing, the room spinning with lights.

Until Theo abruptly set her down. She looked over her shoulder, and Calahan was there. Embarrassment shot through her.

Calahan looked surprised but, more so, confused. She had told him earlier in the week that she would be studying for her last midterm so she wouldn’t be able to make any plans; he was probably wondering what the hell she was doing here with Theo.

Guilt pierced through her, along with apprehension.

“Cal, hi!” she said, going over. She swallowed, trying to smile. “I was just having a study break.”

“Hey,” he said, voice tight. “Just picking up.”

Calahan looked over her shoulder at Theo, then back at Lavinia, a muscle ticking in his jaw. Lavinia awkwardly shuffled on her feet, unsure what to say.

But then Calahan shook his head, giving her a smile. “Good luck with studying,” he said, stepping forward to kiss her cheek. He grabbed his order and headed out, not looking back.

Lavinia watched him go, feeling unsettled.

The next morning, while Lavinia was walking to the library, she received a text from Calahan, wishing her luck on her midterm that afternoon.

Thanks!! She sent back, glad that things were fine between them. She had been worried he was angry with her—and rightfully so, if she was being honest—but she was happy that he wasn’t.

Her screen lit up with another message: D o you want to meet after?

Sure! She replied. Maybe they could grab lunch or something.

At the library, Lavinia finished up a final review of her notes, then went to take her midterm. It was difficult. Once she had submitted it, she was exhausted but glad that it was over.

She texted Calahan to let him know she was done as she exited the classroom hall, and he texted back telling her he would meet her there. A few minutes later, he appeared in the lobby, though he wasn’t carrying his bag or coat or anything.

“Hey,” she said, trying to smile even as anxiety spiked through her. Something was off.

“Hey,” he said, walking over. He pulled her over to the side. “So, I’ve been thinking about this for some time now, and I wanted to say—it’s been really fun hanging out this past month, but I think we might be better off as friends, if that’s okay?”

Lavinia blinked, shock pouring over her.

“It’s been really fun,” he repeated, adjusting his glasses, “but I’m looking for something more serious.”

“Right,” she managed to say. “O-Of course.”

“I do really like you,” he said, a wrinkle appearing between his brows, “but I don’t know if you like me like that? In all this time, you’ve never come over or invited me over, and we’ve never met each other’s families or friends . . . you know what I mean?” He released a breath.

He was right, and she did understand his point. They hadn’t moved forward or developed their relationship. She had just been so preoccupied. They hadn’t even slept together; to be honest, sex hadn’t even crossed her mind, which she realized in itself was a red flag.

Guilt rippled through her. She felt awful to have wasted Calahan’s time.

“Friends?” Calahan asked.

“Friends,” she agreed, unable to form any coherent sentence. He gave her a small smile.

“I’ll see you at work on Saturday, then,” he said. She nodded. The air between them was awkward. Calahan went to leave, but then paused, turning back. “I don’t know if I should say this, but I think you and Theo should be together.”

Shock poured over her like a bucket of ice water. What could she say to that?

“I’ll see you later,” Calahan said, holding up a hand in a wave. Then, he was gone.

She stood there, feeling numb. They had only been together for a little over a month so—as far as break-ups went—it shouldn’t have been anything world-shattering, but it was the first week of November. Winter was a mere few weeks away, and she would never meet her deadline now.

Dismay swept through her as she walked to her car. Her eyes filled up with tears, her chest constricting with panic. “You’re fine,” she told herself, hysterically blinking the tears away. “You’re fine.”

She got back to her car, trying not to cry. But as she sat down in the driver’s seat, enveloped in silence, worry set in. If she hadn’t been able to make it work with Calahan, who was perfect, she wouldn’t be able to make it work with anyone. The fault was in her.

A long life alone stretched ahead of her; she wouldn’t have what her parents had. She wouldn’t have a partnership, a marriage, a family. She would be alone.

The feeling was only made worse by Calahan’s comment about her and Theo.

She wanted that! She wanted that more than anything, but Theo didn’t. If he did, he would have made it happen. He didn’t want her.

Lavinia started her car, driving home, feeling more and more unraveled as the minutes passed. She pressed a hand against her chest, trying to comfort her bruised and battered heart.

This whole time she had been heartbroken by Theo’s rejection, but she had been trying to convince herself that it was for the best. To move on with Calahan—but even he could see what a mess she was.

Her feelings for Theo were not going away. If anything, they were getting worse. After that kiss, after everything this past month. She had tried distracting herself from it with Calahan, but now there was nothing left to distract herself with.

She had to face the truth.

When she arrived home, she ran straight up to her room, closing the door. Heart hammering, she reached into the drawer of her vanity. She pulled out Theo’s cologne, spraying it in the air.

The scent hit her, and she started crying as the realization sank in.

She was in love with her best friend.

And everyone knew but him.