Page 5 of The Baby Dragon Bakery (The Baby Dragon #2)
Saphira smiled. “Well, Aiden did propose a few months ago, and the party was mostly just a formality for his family, but officially officially—it is as fun as it was yesterday, and every day before.” She giggled. She was so giddy it made Theo’s heart warm.
“What can I get you?” he asked. “And where’s Spark?”
She was hardly ever without Sparky, her baby dragon. Sparky was a basalta dragon. He had originally belonged to Aiden, who was hopeless with dragons, so Aiden had hired Saphira to train Sparky. The two had promptly fallen in love and now shared custody.
Saphira pouted. “My golu-molu is waiting outside,” she said. “He’s getting big, so I’m trying to train him not to come into the little shops with me anymore.”
The bakery was more of a grab-and-go place than somewhere to sit and linger—unlike the Baby Dragon Cafe—and as such was pretty small; not big enough for any pets larger than newborns under four months.
“Big?” Theo repeated, shocked. “I remember when he was tiny enough to fit in your lap!” Sparky had been a mischievous baby, but he was so cute, he could get away with anything.
“He’s turning two in October!”
“That is wild. Time flies.” It was the sort of thing adults said, and he’d never understood it as a kid, but more and more, he was realizing how true it was.
He’d been at the Rolling Pin for over two years now, but it didn’t feel as if he had accomplished much.
Twenty-four used to seem like such a grown age, but now that he was here, he felt the same as he always had, which scared him.
“I know! Anyway . I am here for some focaccia,” Saphira said, looking at the bread selection. “The one with the most vegetables, please. I’m supposed to be making dinner tonight. I’m going to pretend I made this, and Aiden is going to be so impressed with me he’ll fall in love all over again.”
Theo laughed as he pulled a pan-sized piece of focaccia off the shelf. “Do you really think Aiden will believe you made this?” he asked. He knew Saphira wasn’t much of a cook, and every time he had eaten with Aiden and Saphira, it was always Aiden who cooked.
“Hush you,” Saphira said, holding up a hand. “I’ll distract him if he asks any questions.” She wiggled her eyebrows, and Theo cringed.
“That’s TMI, thank you very much,” he said. He considered Saphira like an older sister. Actually, since she was here—perhaps he should ask Saphira for her opinion?
“Hey, I was wondering,” Theo said, as he put the focaccia into a bread bag. “Has Lavinia mentioned being interested in anyone to you?”
Saphira gave him a funny look, surprised. She considered his words carefully, and for a second he thought she would say yes. Anticipation pulsed through him. He paused in ringing her order up, giving her his full attention, not wanting to miss a word.
“You’re the first one she talks to about anything, Theo,” Saphira said. “I’m sure you would know before me.”
He felt disappointed by that—but then he wondered why, exactly. Saphira watched him closely as he cleared his throat and handed over her focaccia and change.
“I just saw her at the cafe,” Saphira said. “She did seem a little off, but she didn’t say anything to me, even when I asked.” She nibbled on her lower lip as she glanced at Theo. “She’s your best friend. If there’s something you want to ask her, just ask her.”
“You’re right,” Theo said. He was being silly. It was Lavinia! They talked about anything and everything, sometimes to the point of knowing too much about each other (she had explained the particulars of a decidual cast to him once and he was still low-key traumatized).
He could talk to her about this, of course he could.
He smiled. “Thanks, Saph.”
“No problem.” She blew him a kiss, then was on her way.
The door dinged as she exited, and he watched as she went over to where Sparky was tied to a lamp post, where the baby dragon had been waiting patiently while Saphira was in the Rolling Pin.
Sparky had grown up; he was the size of a small horse now, and he would keep maturing and growing until he reached age five, when he’d be bigger than even the biggest horse.
It was jarring to see Sparky so big—Theo felt as if he’d blinked and Sparky had doubled in size!
It seemed like only yesterday that Sparky had been small enough to fit in Saphira’s arms, his little paws pressed against Saphira’s cheeks.
While the dragon was still adorable now, he was less chaotic, which was perhaps a good thing.
Saphira gave Sparky a kiss, and he licked her hand, then they were on their way.
Theo genuinely loved seeing how happy Saphira was, the way she practically bounced and glowed.
They had gotten closer in the past year, now that she had more time off from the cafe to relax.
Theo and Lavinia had often hung out with Saphira and Aiden, and it was always fun.
Lavinia always got this wistful expression on her face when she looked at Saphira and Aiden. Theo knew it was because she yearned for a love like that, one that would make her shine as bright as the stars.
His stomach sank. He doubted he was the one who could give her that, but still—he wanted to at least talk to her.
He rarely ever had a thought without discussing it with Lavinia. No matter how small or inconsequential, or stupid or silly—he told her everything. It was how he lived his life; she was the air he breathed.
There was no way he couldn’t talk to her about last night. At the same time, he was scared. He didn’t want things to change between them.
Last night had gotten weird on the car ride back to her place, when he was dropping her home.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t sit without talking; they often spent time in comfortable silence together.
But yesterday felt different in a way that it had never been between them, and he hadn’t known what to do. He still didn’t know what to do.
Lavinia was the one constant in his life; he couldn’t ruin that. He wouldn’t.
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his tired eyes.
He would talk to her and see how she felt, then go from there.
This was all new to him, which meant that he didn’t know how he felt yet, either, though he suspected it was something obvious he just couldn’t put his finger on yet.
Either way, he wanted to know how Lavinia felt.
He wanted them to be in sync, the way they always were.