Page 43 of The Baby Dragon Bakery (The Baby Dragon #2)

E verything was going so well. Theo had Lavinia, and he had started working for Saphira as her business manager. He spent his days at the cafe or at his apartment, going through the documents and running numbers, putting together a proposal.

He also baked for the cafe, trying out new recipes, like a mango lassi mousse, or sticking to Baby Dragon Bakery favorites, like elaichi buns. It was fun working at the cafe again—Lavinia had been right about Calahan; he was perfectly cordial—and he loved working with Saphira.

The first day of work, he had a purple bruise on his throat that Saphira pointed out, and he had replied, “Courtesy of Lavinia.”

Saphira had almost spat her chai out in his face. Her mouth fell open with shock. “Oh my god,” she said. “Are you two finally together?”

Theo’s cheeks felt warm. He ran a hand through his hair, nodding.

“FINALLY!” she cheered. She came over and gave him a smothering hug. “I love this.”

“Saph,” he choked, and she eased up, giggling as she went back to her seat.

“I need to beat up Lavinia for not telling me,” Saphira said, “but I love this.”

“I mean, it’s still new,” he said. “It’s only been a day.”

But Theo had practically told every person he knew, and random strangers, too. He wanted to tell the whole world about him and Lavinia, he was so jubilant, and that joy didn’t fade as the weeks went on. If anything, he only grew more attached to her.

Theo often adopted other personas when impressing girls. He acted differently, trying to be more cool and aloof; but it wasn’t like that with Lavinia. With her, he could be himself.

Growing up, Theo never knew who he was because his family never liked who he was, so he always tried on different hats, trying to gain their approval (not that it ever worked). But with Lavinia, he felt like his truest self. He liked himself best when he was with her.

Whenever they were apart, he thought of her, like he was doing now at the cafe. It was almost time for him to head out, and he pushed his laptop back, pulling out his phone. He gave Lavinia a call, and when she picked up, just the sound of her voice sent a bolt of joy through him.

“What are you doing later today?” he asked, leaning back in his seat.

“Hmm, studying, studying, and maybe if I’m free, some more studying,” she replied. “I’m going to my last class right now.”

“Think you have time in your busy schedule for me to come over?” he asked.

“You know, my mom was saying that you should come over for dinner sometime this week,” Lavinia said. “She was complaining that I was hogging you! And I was like, well, yes, Mama, he is in fact my boyfriend? And then I got yelled at. I think she misses you.”

Theo laughed. “I miss Beena, too,” he said.

“Wow, so now I have to compete with my mother for your affections?” she joked. He snorted.

“Dinner would be great,” he said. “I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, sounds good. Now I really do have to study,” she warned.

She wasn’t kidding. When he went over later, she was up in her room and only came down to give him a quick kiss hello before running back up the stairs. Theo walked over to the family room, where Beena and Garrett were on the couch, sharing a blanket as they did a crossword puzzle together.

Alfie was on the floor, playing with Biter, who was the size of a small dog now, no longer tiny. She spent most of her hours awake now, and he could see how mischievous she was getting, red eyes sparkly and alert.

“Hiya,” Theo said, entering the room.

“Hey, honey,” Beena said. Garrett gave Theo a smile, and Theo went to sit with Alfie on the carpet. Biter jumped over to him, crawling up his chest, and he hugged her. “Hi, angel.”

“Lavinia said that no one can bother her until at least seven,” Alfie informed Theo. “But that’s okay since I know you don’t want to hang out with her anyway.”

He hung out with Alfie and Lavinia’s parents until seven, when Lavinia came down for dinner. He was pretty much dying to see her by then, even though they had seen each other this morning at his apartment before they had both left for work.

He shot up, going to hug her, not even caring as her parents dramatically aww’d at the display of affection.

“You guys are too cute,” Beena said, getting up. She walked past them to the kitchen, squeezing both of their arms.

After dinner, Lavinia disappeared back to her room, but this time Theo followed, closing the door behind him.

When he entered, she was already wearing her glasses and sitting on her bed with her laptop in front of her, jotting something down onto a flashcard. Instrumental music played in the background, and he went over, sitting down next to her.

“What playlist are you listening to today?” he asked, looking over her shoulder. She opened the music tab to check.

“A moody year at your elite boarding school,” she said, switching the tab back to her class notes. He brushed her open hair aside, kissing her neck.

“And where’s the playlist titled ‘my best friend is about to kiss me senseless’?” he asked.

She laughed, turning to him with an arched brow. “Is he?”

“If you give him the chance,” he replied, pulling her in for a searing kiss. She kissed him back, smiling against his mouth before pulling back.

She glanced at the clock, then took off her glasses before turning back to him. “You can distract me for twenty minutes,” she said, “and then I really have to study.”

“Mhm, sure,” he said, pulling her onto his lap.

Theo was happy, and when he was happy, he got stupid.

Home alone that evening, as Lavinia studied at her own place, he called Amaya, wanting to tell his parents about all the big changes going on in his life. For some reason, he thought they would be happy for him. That—finally—they might be proud.

But when he told his mother the news about his latest job, she was only confused.

“You’re working where?” she asked.

“The Baby Dragon Cafe,” he repeated, joy already fading. “As a managerial assistant.”

“You’re an assistant at a cafe?” she said, tone disdainful. Theo’s heart sank. This was a bad idea, but it was too late, now. He got up off the couch, pacing around his apartment.

“I’m not, like, a barista,” he said, feeling embarrassed. “I’m helping the owner oversee a possible expansion project. I’m managing the business side of things. You know, making use of that business degree?”

As Theo said the words to his mother now, he wondered why he ever felt proud of himself for his new job. It was nothing to be proud of. He could see that, now.

“Oh,” Amaya said. “Well, that’s nice, dear.” Her voice was blank. He felt small. Awkward silence hung between them, before his mother cleared her throat. “What else is new?” she asked.

“Um.” He paused. “Lavinia and I are going out.”

Maybe Amaya would be pleased by that; his parents had always been impressed by Lavinia, at least, since she always did well at school.

“Lavinia?” Amaya repeated. There was something in her tone of voice that made Theo’s blood run cold. Why was she so surprised? “And you?”

“Yes, Lavinia and me,” Theo said. “Why?”

“Nothing,” Amaya replied. “I just wouldn’t have expected...” She trailed off, and the unspoken words hung over him.

He opened his mouth to ask his mother what she meant, but then stopped himself. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.

“Anyway, do come visit soon,” Amaya said. “It’s been so long since we’ve seen you. Your father was asking about you, as well.”

“Okay,” Theo replied, voice quiet. They chatted for a few minutes more, and then he hung up.

All in all, the conversation made him feel like absolute shit. He continued pacing around his apartment, wondering if he had tricked Lavinia into being with him somehow. He didn’t know what she saw in him.

He was trying to be positive, to be full of light, the way Lavinia was, but it was hard. It felt like he was playing a long con. He didn’t like it.

She was the easiest person in the world to love. Who wouldn’t love her? But just because he loved her, did he deserve her?

She deserved a fairy-tale love story, with a knight or a prince or a lord, because she was just like the heroines of the romance movies she loved, beautiful and funny and clever, with such a big heart, and so full of life.

But there was nothing special about him. His own parents couldn’t be bothered with him, which must have meant that, fundamentally, there was something wrong with him.

It was a stroke of pure luck that Lavinia had been his best friend for all these years and her family liked him, but being a friend was one thing and being a partner was another.

Guilt stabbed at him, and no matter how he tried to ignore it, the feeling wouldn’t go away.