Page 40 of The Baby Dragon Bakery (The Baby Dragon #2)

T he next day was Sunday, which was good, since they had time off from work and the whole day to spend together.

When Theo woke up beside Lavinia, in her bed, his first thought was that surely he was dreaming. But then Lavinia turned onto her side, hitting him in the chest with her flailing arm, and the contact was enough to let him know he was, in fact, awake.

Theo smiled, holding her cold hand, blowing air to warm it. The rest of her was huddled under the blanket, and he put a hand on her waist, gently shaking her awake.

It was still early, and she groaned, rousing. He was afraid she would regret what they had done last night, but when her eyes opened and saw him, she only giggled, pleased.

He smiled. “Should we get up before your parents?” he asked. “Finding us naked in your bedroom might not be the best way to break the news.”

“Right,” she said. “And what are we, exactly?”

Her tone was teasing, but her brown eyes were serious and worried. Fondness spread across his chest. He smiled.

“Hmm, let’s see,” he said, pretending to think. “We’re best friends, and now lovers.” Her face lit up. “In simpler terms, can I be your boyfriend?”

“Hm.” Now she pretended to think, trying not to smile. “You might have to convince me. What are some perks I can expect out of being your girlfriend?”

“Why don’t I show you?” he said, pushing her flat onto her back.

That distracted them for another half-hour, and after, she stretched like a cat in sunlight, content. “Alright,” she acquiesced. “You can be my boyfriend. So long as you keep that up.”

He smirked. “Oh, I intend to.” He kissed her cheek. “Now come on, we should get up.”

“You go shower first,” she said. “I need some time before I can stand.”

He laughed. “I’m obsessed with you,” he said, giving her another kiss.

“Oh, trust me, I know,” she said.

Thank god her bathroom was attached to her room and he didn’t have to worry about running into her little brother. Theo showered, then came out in a towel, picking his discarded clothes up off the floor, until he searched for his shirt, unable to find it.

“Hey, Lav, have you seen—” He looked up to find Lavinia holding his flannel shirt in her hands.

“I told you I was stealing this,” she said, slipping it on. She gave him a wicked smile.

“Mhm. And what, exactly, am I supposed to wear?” he asked. He picked up her cropped sweatshirt, holding it up. “Think this will do?” She burst out laughing.

“I love that look for you,” she said, getting out of bed. As she tried to sneak past him, he locked an arm around her waist, pulling her against him.

“Oh no you don’t,” he said. “I need this back.”

He kissed her neck as he unbuttoned the shirt. She snaked a hand into his wet hair, tilting her face to kiss him on the lips, humming.

“Fine,” she said, tugging his hair. “But I want it back later.”

“Alright, alright, promise,” he said.

She slid the flannel shirt off, and he stared at her bare body, his jaw going slack. She gave him a wicked grin, then ran to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

He heard the shower turn on and had half a mind to join her in there, but knew they needed to go before her parents woke up. Theo got dressed, and Lavinia came out a little while later, getting dressed as well.

After she had thrown on a sweater dress and tights, she brushed her hair then applied lotion.

He sat on her bed and watched her, relishing these little moments, still astounded that he was here at all.

When she was ready, she opened the drawer of her vanity and pulled something out, showing it to him.

A familiar bottle.

“Is that my cologne?” he asked, walking up to her as she sprayed her wrist. She rubbed her wrists together, pressing them against her neck.

“You left it here the day of the engagement party,” she said. “I know I should have given it back, but . . .” She trailed off, shrugging. He put his arms around her, hugging her from behind, and inhaled the scent. She smelled like him.

His chest tightened. “I love you,” he said, kissing her cheek.

He had never believed in things like fate or being written in the stars before, but now, there was no doubt in his mind that there were invisible strings at work. How else could he have gotten so lucky to have her in his life? It was nothing short of a miracle.

“I love you, too,” she said, tilting back to kiss him. “Now let’s go.”

Lavinia opened her bedroom door, pausing; the house was quiet. It was Sunday morning, so her parents were sleeping in, which was good. They tiptoed downstairs, careful not to make any noise.

When they got downstairs, Lavinia headed for the kitchen to get some water and he followed, both of them moving quietly. Until they stopped altogether at the entrance.

Alfie was at the counter, eating chocolatey cereal in his pajamas, which were decorated with footballs. Biter was on his shoulder, her little paws holding onto his head. They both looked over at Lavinia and Theo.

Alfie gave them a conspicuous look. “What’s Theo doing here?” he asked. Theo’s heartbeat quickened.

“Um . . .” Lavinia blinked, glancing at Theo before looking back at her little brother. “Theo and I just had a little sleepover.”

“WHAT?” Alfie was outraged. Theo froze, panic rising. At Alfie’s tone, Biter growled, narrowing her red eyes at Theo.

“Sh!” Lavinia hissed, not that her brother cared. He was too busy being utterly betrayed.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked. Oh. That was what he was upset about. “I would have joined you.”

Theo pressed his lips together, trying very hard not to laugh at the serious expression on Alfie’s face. Ah, the innocence of an eleven-year-old.

“It was a PG-13 sleepover,” Lavinia muttered.

“More like R,” Theo whispered into her neck, and she elbowed him.

Alfie stared at them, waiting for a response. Even Biter seemed to be waiting; the little draggo was mimicking Alfie’s emotions.

“It was a secret sleepover,” Lavinia said. Alfie crossed his arms, pouting. Biter rested her face on top of Alfie’s messy hair, also pouting. Theo’s heart melted.

“We’ll invite you next time,” Theo said, trying to be nice.

“We absolutely will not,” Lavinia mouthed at him, and he pinched her side. She squealed.

Alfie gave them a look. “You guys are being weird.”

Lavinia walked over to him, holding his face in her hands. “Alf, promise you won’t tell Mama and Daddy,” she said. “Please? Pretty please?” She scratched Biter’s chin, and the baby dragon flapped her wings happily.

Alfie thought about it. “Fine. But only if Theo plays football with me.” Lavinia pinched his cheeks, then dropped her hands from his face.

“You got it,” Theo said, giving Alfie a thumbs-up.

A shrewd expression crossed the kid’s face. “ Today ,” Alfie added.

“Done.”

“ And —”

“Oh for god’s sake, Alfie,” Lavinia said.

“ And ,” he repeated, giving Lavinia an arch look. “I get to choose the movie.”

“Fine.” Lavinia snorted. “Now, remember, shhh.” She put a finger to her lip, and Alfie mimicked the act.

Biter watched them, confused, bringing a paw up to her mouth, as well. Lavinia chuckled. She smushed Biter’s cheeks, kissing her, then gave Alfie a kiss goodbye, as well.

They put their shoes on and left, and the minute they made it outside, they both started giggling. It was such a silly, unserious situation, but it was so exactly them .

As they walked to Theo’s car, Theo held Lavinia’s hand, and she swung their arms like they were teenagers. It was so sweet being with her that it made his teeth ache, but he didn’t mind at all. He’d always loved sugar, and so did she.

They made it to his car, getting in, and he couldn’t stop smiling. They had been up late last night, and it was early now, but he didn’t feel tired; he had never been more awake. He wouldn’t want to miss even a second of this.

This past week had been so confusing because Lavinia had been avoiding him. It had made him miserable because he’d missed her—and then, last night, there had been the shock of that angry confession.

He had never even considered Lavinia loving him as a possibility, because he wasn’t like her—he couldn’t just go after things with confidence.

He had grown up with parents who wanted him not to cause a fuss, and he had thought saying anything to Lavinia while she was dating someone else would be very fussy indeed, so he had stayed quiet and wasted all this time.

But they were together now, and he wouldn’t waste a moment more of it.

As he drove, he kept one hand on the wheel and the other on her lap, where her hand was entwined with his. She was holding his hand with both of hers, her cold fingers dancing on his.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, heading for town.

“Ohmygod, yes,” she said. “Starving. I didn’t even eat dinner last night.”

Theo nodded, driving to Main Street. It was still pretty early, so they got a parking spot easily, then walked over to the Baby Dragon Cafe, which had just opened and was still empty and quiet at this time.

It reminded him of those mornings he used to drop off bakery deliveries really early, before the cafe even opened.

They ordered, then sat down at one of the tables by the exposed stone wall. Lavinia leaned her chin on her hands, and he leaned forward across the table, wanting to be close to her. Under the table, their feet tapped against each other.

A little while later, a server came with their food: lattes and bagel breakfast sandwiches, as well as slices of a pumpkin olive oil loaf. They dug in, the food particularly hitting the spot since they were so famished.

“I’ll be back here tomorrow,” Theo said, looking around. A middle-aged man had entered with his opala baby dragon, who was jumping around, happily taking advantage of the mostly empty cafe as his owner ordered coffee at the counter.

“Oh my god, yes, your first day!” Lavinia said, eyes wide. She scooted her chair closer, expression hyper-focused. “How was your last day at the Rolling Pin on Friday? Were there tears?”