Page 4 of The Baby Dragon Bakery (The Baby Dragon #2)

T heo Noon was at the Rolling Pin Bakery, restocking the display shelves.

The Rolling Pin had been his place of employment for more than two years, ever since he had graduated university, and the task was one he had done thousands of times before.

Working mechanically, he listened to the familiar voice of his boss, Suki, in the background.

She was currently on the phone, managing an order.

As Theo added butterscotch blondies and dirty chai cupcakes to the shelves, inhaling the scent of brown sugar and cinnamon, his gaze strayed to the large windows at the front of the bakery. From there, he saw out onto Main Street, the heart of their slice of Starshine Valley.

People walked along the street in light jackets, a few with their pet baby dragons. Crinkled leaves crunched beneath the pedestrians’ feet as even more leaves fell from the sky, the trees along the wide sidewalks showcasing different shades of burgundy, rust, and mustard.

Ordinarily, it was a sight Theo would enjoy, but today, he hardly had the brain space to appreciate anything.

After finishing up with the display shelves, he went back to the kitchen, where his colleagues were all hard at work at their stations, some lathering frosting onto lemon loaves while others scored bread.

He went to his station and rolled up the sleeves of his flannel shirt, then washed his hands before he started working on making dough for more donuts. When the dough was ready, he floured his surface and began kneading.

Usually, kneading was calming for him—the smell of fresh dough, the pillowy feel of it in his hands, the bounce and stretch. But he had been fidgeting all day and, as he kneaded now, he lost himself in a train of thought.

Theo had been replaying what had happened last night in his head on a loop all day; now he revisited it again for what must have been at least the tenth time this hour.

The engagement party had been a beautiful event for Saphira and Aiden, both of whom he had gotten closer to in the last year. Theo had been overjoyed to see them so happy; he and Lavinia had been having fun all night—dancing, eating delicious food, and spending time in each other’s company.

He always had fun with Lavinia. She was his favorite person in the whole world by far, without a question.

Then something had happened later in the night, when they’d been sitting under the stars, in the quiet, just the two of them. That was nothing new; it was often just the two of them, in their own world.

But she’d said something about what she was wearing, and he’d noticed how stunning she was, though there was nothing new about that either; she always looked gorgeous to Theo.

However, last night, her in that dress, the two of them under the stars, he’d forgotten she was his best friend.

All he could think about was what a beautiful woman she had become.

He’d tried to distract himself by making shapes out of stars, but that had just made it worse.

As he’d held her hand to point out the shape of a bow and arrow, it was as if the bow from the stars had sent an arrow leaping from the sky and straight through his chest. He had leaned in, before he’d realized what he was doing.

When he’d opened his eyes, Lavinia had been leaning in, too, her eyes closed.

Was she really about to kiss him? Or had he imagined it?

Either way, there was no imagining how he’d reacted. He had freaked out.

Theo groaned inwardly now at the memory; it was as if he had short-circuited. But how else was he supposed to react? Lavinia was his best friend. Sure, she was a girl, and he knew that boy–girl friendships could be quite complicated sometimes . . . for others, though it never had been for them.

He had never allowed himself to think of Lavinia in that way.

For one thing, his romantic entanglements in the past had always ended badly; he had decided he wasn’t cut out for relationships.

All the times he had tried to form a connection—in high school, or in his early university years—he had failed spectacularly, so he had finally stopped trying.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be in a steady relationship, it was that he realized he was just not cut out for it.

Which was why he had never considered Lavinia romantically. Anytime a glimmer of romantic feelings for her rose up within him, he promptly buried it away. Nothing was more important to him than their friendship.

But if she, somehow, someway, could think of him that way—perhaps it was time he allowed himself to think of her in that way as well.

If he let himself, what could he feel?

Then came the second matter. She couldn’t think of him in that light; it wasn’t possible.

She was a hopeless romantic at heart, and yearned for a grand, sweeping love story.

She did not simply want to fall in love, she wanted a great love.

She thought about things like invisible strings and destiny being written in the stars and fateful encounters.

She deserved someone swoon-worthy who could make all those dreams come true. Someone much better than him, for sure—a prince from a fairy tale, or a knight in shining armor, or one of those fancy titled lords from the period dramas her mom liked watching.

Theo wasn’t any of those things.

He was just a guy. Like, literally , just some guy.

With a sigh, Theo finished up the donut dough, then covered it with a tea towel to let it proof.

He washed his hands, listening to the rush of the water as Suki entered the kitchen.

While the rest of them wore simple beige aprons with their names embroidered over the left breast, Suki’s apron was sage-green with little white flowers embroidered around her name.

She was a petite woman, with black hair styled in a pixie cut.

“Theo, if you’re finished, can you man the front?” she asked.

“Of course.” He nodded, drying his hands.

“Thanks.” She walked up to the sink to wash her hands and, as she did, she looked at his face closely. “Everything okay? You look a little stressed.”

“Yeah, just a little tired,” he said, trying to give her a smile. “It was Saphira’s engagement party last night, so we got back late.”

“Oh, yes, you told me about that!” Suki looked excited. “Do you have any pictures? I want to see how handsome you look.”

Some of the tension left Theo’s shoulders, and he pulled out his phone from his back pocket.

Suki was his boss, but he was fond of her in the way literature lovers were fond of their English teachers: with respect and reverence.

Not only was she an exceptional baker, but she was an exceptional person.

Two years ago, she had given him a chance when she had no reason to.

He hadn’t trained at culinary school; he had a business degree and had only done a few culinary courses.

And not only that, but she had allowed him to bake his own fusion desserts for the Baby Dragon Cafe, trusting him not to sully her good name as everyone knew the Baby Dragon sourced their baked items from the Rolling Pin.

“Oh, you look wonderful!” Suki exclaimed, zooming in on the photos. She zoomed out; it was a picture of him and Lavinia, and the sight of her in that satin dress made heat flush through him once more. “Lavinia looks gorgeous, as well.”

“Thanks, Suki,” he said. She handed him back his phone, and he stuck it in his front pocket. She gave him a fond smile as he headed out of the kitchen toward the front of the bakery.

The day was almost over, but soon there would be a rush of people picking up things for the evening.

Theo’s eyes strayed to the shelves and shelves of croissants, buns, loaves of bread, pastries, donuts, and more sweets—the sight of which used to make him so excited, but lately made him feel so . . . uninterested.

He still came to work every day, but it wasn’t with the same enthusiasm he used to.

The only thing he really looked forward to was baking the desi-fusion desserts he made biweekly for Saphira’s Baby Dragon Cafe, which stood a few shops down on Main Street.

A needle of guilt pricked him then, and he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the kitchen, to Suki.

Theo rolled his shoulders, pushing away his thoughts. He was probably just in a funk; that’s what Lavinia had said when he’d spoken to her about it a few days ago.

He was sure he would feel passionate about the Rolling Pin again. He had to. He couldn’t disappoint Suki.

Since it was quiet out front, Theo reached into his front pocket to check his phone for the time. As he did, he felt something else. Theo pulled out the soft fabric and recognized it immediately: Lavinia’s scrunchie.

She was always leaving her stuff at his place or in his car or in his sweatshirts, and he was long used to it. Yesterday had been no different. She had left the scrunchie in his car, and he’d put it in his pocket this morning to give to her whenever he saw her.

He would pop over to the Baby Dragon once he was finished at the Rolling Pin; she was working there today.

Theo held the scrunchie in his hand; as he did, he caught the faint scent of her shampoo, which smelled like coffee.

She always smelled like coffee and caramel, from either working in the cafe or from drinking too much of it, strong and sweet.

It was a familiar, comforting scent for him, like the scent of dough.

The front door dinged, and Theo’s gaze snapped up as he quickly pocketed the scrunchie. And good thing, too, for the person who had entered the bakery was always so perceptive.

“Hiya, Saph,” Theo said, smiling at Saphira. She was wearing a dress with singe marks on the hem, and he knew the damage must surely have been caused by the mischievous baby dragons at her cafe.

“Hey, Theo, how’s it going?” Saphira asked, coming up to the counter. She was practically floating.

“Same old,” Theo replied with a shrug. “What’s it like being officially engaged?”