Page 3 of The Baby Dragon Cafe (The Baby Dragon #1)

Chapter 3

T he next morning, Saphira woke up a little before dawn to get ready for work. Gold bangles jingled on her arm as she changed into a yellow dress that reminded her of vanilla custard.

Her stomach rumbled on cue as she loosely braided her hair back. She wondered if there were any elaichi buns leftover from yesterday. Saphira had hardly slept last night, so maybe breakfast would revive her. She was hardly ever functional before her morning caffeine fix.

Just as Saphira contemplated exactly what to eat, the doorbell rang downstairs. She stepped out of her small apartment and headed for the stairs leading to the cafe, wondering who could be here at this hour. She didn’t have any deliveries scheduled for this early. The sun hadn’t even risen yet; the world was still dark.

As she opened the side door to find a tall and handsome figure standing in front of her, Saphira recalled precisely why she had barely been able to sleep last night.

“Aiden!” she said, voice high. “Hello!”

Images flitted through her mind: the dark cafe, a gorgeous man, a baby dragon. She’d thought the encounter had been a dream—it was surely something her overactive imagination would have scripted—but no, Aiden Sterling stood in front of her, his adorable pet in tow.

“Morning,” Aiden said, voice gravelly from disuse.

A shiver ran down her spine at the deep timbre of his voice, not at all helped by how good-looking he was, a fact impossible to ignore. Everyone in town had had a crush on him at some point, but he was a famous recluse, hardly ever spotted or seen. Even less so since Danny’s death.

He had a simple style, free of embellishments except for a signet ring on his left hand, which looked to be a family crest with a black stone in the center that matched his thick hair. Stubble covered his chiseled cheeks and sharp jawline. His inky eyes made it difficult for her to see what he was thinking or feeling, and she stared.

He was so mysterious, in an incredibly sexy way. Saphira had noticed as much last night, but she was noticing it all over again, even in the twilight.

In Aiden’s arms was a sleeping baby dragon, all snuggled against Aiden’s chest. Saphira practically melted at the sight. Before she could properly swoon, though, a gust of wind blew into Aiden from behind, pushing him forward. He bumped into her in the doorway, the light from inside casting over his face.

His eyes widened. “Sorry.”

She laughed. “That was my grandmother scolding me for not inviting you in sooner,” she said, stepping aside. “Come in, come in.”

Saphira closed the door behind him, keeping the morning chill out. The cafe was warm. It wasn’t quite yet time to turn the heating off at night, but soon spring would bring about the most perfect weather: sunshine and breezes and fluttering flower petals in the wind.

“Let me get you something for him,” Saphira said, stepping away from Aiden to grab a little bed for Sparky.

Sparky was a basalta dragon, a bigger breed, which meant Sparky was one of the bigger baby dragons, too. He had black scales and purple eyes. Basalta dragons were the most expensive of the dragon breeds because of how rare they were. They were also rumored to be the best breed for the illegal sport of dragon racing, but Saphira didn’t know much about dragon racing beyond the rumors she’d heard.

Saphira wasn’t part of one of the Drakkon families, so her exposure to dragons had been mostly through the cafe, and here she really only saw the babies. The closest she came to fully grown dragons was when they flew high above the valley, where she could watch them from afar.

After getting the bed, Saphira set it down on the floor by the bar, and Aiden carefully put Sparky into it, looking stressed. It wasn’t until Sparky was safely asleep in the little bed that Aiden exhaled a breath of relief.

“It’s early,” Saphira said. “No wonder the little guy is still sleepy.” She yawned. “Wish I could join him.”

“I like being up early,” Aiden replied. She gave him a funny look.

“By choice? If I didn’t have to wake up at this ungodly hour to get the cafe ready, I’d sleep in ten times out of ten.”

His lips twitched. He didn’t smile easily, she noticed, which would have been daunting, now that she was employed by him, but there was something about him that made her feel entirely at ease.

“It’s nice being up before everyone else,” he said. “Everything is quiet and peaceful. It’s even better in the spring, when the birds are in full voice.”

“That’s lovely,” she said. “I’ve never thought about it that way before, but you’re right—there is a certain level of solace opening up the cafe in the morning before everyone is in and the rush of the day takes over.”

“Speaking of rush, that’s why I came by so early,” he told her, pulling out his phone from his trouser pocket. “I wanted to get your bank information so I can send over the first payment, and I wanted to catch you before anyone else got in.”

She gave him a curious glance. “You don’t like people much, do you?” she asked. Saphira hardly ever saw him around.

Aiden was quiet. Saphira wondered if perhaps she shouldn’t have said that. She couldn’t get a good read on him. He was a bit … grumpy, but she didn’t feel it was in an antagonistic way, as if he was angry with her or the world. Again, there was something about him that made her feel unperturbed.

Unfortunately, Saphira had a bad habit of thinking the best of people, as Nani-Ma always told her. “My silly girl, falling in love with strangers left and right,” Nani-Ma would say with a fond laugh, shaking her head.

It wasn’t always in a romantic way; Saphira simply craved human connection. She interacted with so many people on a daily basis that it was easy to feed that addiction. The downside was at the end of the day, after everyone had gone, she was left alone.

“Can I have your bank information please?” Aiden asked, shuffling on his feet. He talked as if he had practiced the lines in his head.

“Sure,” she said, reeling off her cell number quickly. “You can transfer the money there,” she said. “And then you also have it if you ever need to text me.”

Saphira cringed internally at that last bit. Was that necessary? Fortunately, Aiden’s expression softened.

“Good to know,” he replied. She watched as he typed on his phone and, a moment later, her phone dinged with a notification.

Surprise lit through her at the sum. He had said last night he would give her an advance of two thousand dollars, but to see it in her bank now was still a shock.

She hadn’t even started training Sparky yet, but she desperately needed the money. This would immediately go to buying a new espresso machine, the prospect of which left her both pleased and relieved.

Guilt riddled through her at exactly how much he was paying her, but he must have been desperate, something she didn’t understand at all. He was a Sterling, from an ancient Drakkon family. His ancestors had been riding dragons since dragons were first domesticated. Why would he need her help?

Her gaze strayed to where Sparky was still asleep in his little bed, and warmth spread through her at the sight, silencing the questions in her head.

She wanted a dragon of her own just as badly as she needed the money. And though Sparky wasn’t hers, and never would be, this was perhaps as close as she could get.

“Is it there?” Aiden asked. Saphira blinked, shifting her focus back to him. He was looking at her closely, and her heart hammered at having been caught with her thoughts wandering.

“Y-Yes, thank you,” Saphira said, putting her phone aside and giving him a bright smile. He nodded.

“Alright, then, I’ll get going,” he said. Turning on his heels, he headed for the door. She felt as if she was missing something. Alarm ran through her at the sight of his retreating back.

“Wait!” She chased after him. “What do you mean?”

He was already at the door by then, his long legs moving quite fast.

“You received the money, yes?” he asked bluntly.

“Yes, I got it, but I don’t—”

“You’re going to train Sparky, correct? That was the agreement?”

She blinked, confused. Her eyes flitted to where Sparky was asleep, then back to Aiden, who was fidgeting. Had she offended him? He looked uncomfortable.

He stared at her awkwardly, and she felt awkward in turn.

“You mean train him right now?” she asked, astounded. Saphira blinked. “But I have to work!”

“Oh.” His cheeks turned pink. For a moment, it looked as if he was silently admonishing himself. A wave of discomfort passed through her; she had felt so in sync with him earlier, but now they seemed at cross-purposes, and she didn’t enjoy the feeling at all.

“Yes.” Saphira nibbled on her lower lip. “I guess we should probably figure out the logistics of how this will all work?” she said, trying to regain their previous ease. He nodded. “Cool. But first, coffee.”

She headed back into the cafe, going straight to the bar. After a beat, Aiden followed her. Saphira pulled cold brew out of the fridge. She preferred lattes, but had been making do with other drinks while the espresso machine was down. Her menu also had fusion drinks, such as chai lattes and falooda shakes and rooh-afza refreshers.

Aiden arrived at the bar, and she gestured for him to sit down. He sat on one of the stools, and finally, they were at eye level. Saphira took the moment to get a better look at his face. He had long eyelashes framing bottomless black eyes that she wanted to dive into. The rest of his face was crafted with harsh lines, as if he had been carved from stone, but there was a softness around his mouth as he watched her pour coffee.

“What would you like?” she asked.

“I’m good, thank you,” he responded, watching with alarm as she pumped an obscene amount of vanilla syrup into her cold brew.

“I’m making you something either way so might as well tell me,” she said, pouring oat milk into her coffee, then mixing. When it was the right color, she took a sip. The caffeine hit was immediate, and she savored the sweet and bitter taste in her mouth, humming to herself.

“I don’t like coffee,” he said, sounding fully and absolutely serious.

Saphira gasped, a bit dramatically, but he had said something quite horrifying. She clutched her heart as if she had been shot.

“No!” she cried. “I’m so sorry, but it’s over, I can’t work with you, how do you not like coffee?! I don’t trust people who don’t like coffee. Like, what are you trying to prove? Also, why deprive yourself of the deliciousness? It makes no sense!”

“I’m sorry, that was a joke.” His lips twitched, and he cleared his throat. “Clearly one you took personally.”

Oh, he was a joker! Saphira felt tickled by that, even if she hadn’t picked up on the joke when he’d made it.

“ Phew .” She caught her breath. “What a relief. Okay, back to our original arrangement.”

Aiden smiled then, which felt like a personal victory to her. She hadn’t seen him smile before, and it was a small smile, but even so. He had a lovely smile.

He thought about it for a moment, then said, “I can have whatever you’re having, just with a lot less sugar. I don’t know much about coffee.”

“Do not even worry! For I am an expert.” Saphira made his drink with only a reasonable amount of vanilla syrup, then finished it off with cold foam. She powdered cinnamon over a stencil of a heart, then passed it to him.

It was not until she had put the drink in front of him that she realized the heart design was probably a bit too much. She cringed inside.

“It’s my usual,” she explained, cheeks warm. “It’s the easiest, and I’ve done it the most, and everyone likes it, and—”

“It’s cute,” he said, putting an end to her misery. His gaze went from the heart up to her, and her heartbeat kicked up a notch. He didn’t look as if he thought she was weird. She really didn’t want him to think she was weird, or too much. She could be a bit overenthusiastic sometimes, and he had already shown himself to be more of the strong and silent type.

But he didn’t look as if he minded; he looked pleased.

She smiled.

“Okay, now try it,” she said, watching carefully as he took a sip. She watched the long line of his throat move as he swallowed, getting a little distracted.

“It’s really good.” He looked surprised. “I’ve never had this before, but I like it.”

Saphira clapped to herself. “Yay!”

She took a sip of her drink then, as well, the both of them quiet for a moment in her cafe, and she was startled by how comfortable it felt, even though she hardly knew Aiden at all, and he certainly did not know her.

“To business: what am I supposed to do with Sparky all day?” Aiden asked.

“The cafe runs from eight to five,” she said after a pause, “so I can train Sparky afterwards, wherever is convenient for you.”

Aiden thought about it. “I’d figured Sparky could hang out here during the day,” he said. “Since you have the beds and nooks and other baby dragons for Sparky to socialize with.”

“Well, if he was trained, yes, that wouldn’t have been too difficult,” Saphira replied, thinking about it. “But since he isn’t trained, from what I can tell, that might be hard. The big three things for training a baby dragon are learning to control fire, learning to socialize, and learning to fly.”

Saphira’s intense desire to have a dragon of her own had led her to acquire this knowledge, the better to furnish her daydreaming with concrete details.

A little shiver ran through her as she realized those very daydreams would be becoming a reality with Sparky, now.

“Yes, he doesn’t know any of those things, and he really is terribly behaved,” Aiden said, voice turning to a grumble. He rolled up his sleeve, showing Saphira a bite mark on his forearm as evidence for his claim.

Saphira frowned. It was a small wound, nothing nasty at all, but even so, the sight made her unhappy. She resisted the urge to reach out, touch a finger to his skin.

She cleared her throat. “Because he isn’t trained, I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave him at the cafe,” she said, refocusing. “I’d need to keep a constant eye on him so he doesn’t get hurt or lost—he’s a baby!”

Dragons needed to be looked after as closely as babies by humans because they were so vulnerable to predators, such as fully grown other magical animals like chimeras or griffins, or even other dragons. Mature dragons could handle themselves, which was why they were allowed to roam freely in the protection of the mountains and hills surrounding the valley.

The cafe was safe, but outside, riders needed to be careful of poachers—there were those who kidnapped dragons and sold them on the black market for the highest price. Because basalta dragons were so rare, Sparky would be even more of a target.

Saphira had heard that those dragons then got used for dragon racing. She wasn’t sure if the rumor was true, but when it came to safety, one could never be too cautious.

“You’re right,” Aiden said, releasing a sigh. “I should have considered that. I don’t know what I was thinking …” He seemed upset with himself.

“What have you been doing with Sparky all this time?” Saphira asked, drawing his attention. “Can’t you just keep doing that?” She stopped, realizing something. “What do you do, by the way?”

She didn’t know a lot about him, no one did. He was a very private person, and she was dying to know everything, now. She wanted to know who he was.

Saphira told herself it was simply because she was a curious person who liked getting to know people, but she couldn’t deny that there was something about Aiden in particular that made her more interested than usual.

They would be working together, after all; that was probably it.

“I have my own landscaping business,” he said, looking a bit reluctant to talk about himself. “I design gardens.”

“Oh, cool! Like The Bloomsmiths?” she asked. “I always see their sign around town.”

He scratched the back of his neck, looking away. “Uh, yeah … actually, that’s me.”

“Oh my god!” she exclaimed, thoroughly impressed. “That’s you ? I LOVE your work! Spring is my favorite season in town because of all the flowers.”

He displayed things so gorgeously: the colors, the shapes, the varying heights, and purposeful empty space.

“It’s nothing,” he said, sheepish now.

“No, it’s not nothing!” she said. There was a symphony to his work which relayed the careful calculation and thought behind the arrangements, a true artistry. It made walking through town a treat, as lovely as walking through the streets in the middle of winter with snowfall descending. Except this wasn’t a natural phenomenon; this was him. “You make the whole town beautiful. It’s amazing.”

While he couldn’t quite meet her eyes, she could see he was pleased by her gushing.

“Since it’s spring, I’m going to be really busy,” Aiden said a moment later. “The winter was slow, anyway. I didn’t have much to do, so watching Sparky wasn’t an issue. But I’m already booked for private clients and public ones, like the town. I can’t exactly bring Sparky around.”

“Why not?” she asked, looking to the peaceful little angel.

“Because he’s a demon,” Aiden said flatly. “He’ll ruin everything. Hence why he needs to be trained.”

“Why don’t you ask your family to take him in or something?” she asked. He hesitated.

“Danny left him to me,” Aiden said, voice quiet. Losing his brother two years ago must have been unimaginably difficult; Saphira could see what a loss it was to Aiden still. “I can’t bring myself to give Sparky up, even if he is a menace.”

Saphira felt there was something else, some other reason Aiden wasn’t saying, but she didn’t want to pry.

“Is there anyone you trust who can look after Sparky during the day?” she asked. “Don’t you have a sister?”

“Genevieve,” Aiden said, nodding. “She’s too young—she’s nineteen, in college, and can’t handle the responsibility.”

Saphira had seen her around; Genevieve was friends with Saphira’s coworker/assistant/work-bestie, Lavinia.

Aiden sighed, frustrated, and Saphira got the sense that he was looking for any way to get rid of Sparky, which confused her. It didn’t make sense, because clearly he didn’t want to fully get rid of the baby dragon by giving him to the Sterling family to take care of—people who could take care of Sparky quite well—but, at the same time, Aiden didn’t seem enthused about spending time with Sparky himself. He seemed to be pushing the little draggo onto Saphira.

She shouldn’t think about it too much, she decided. She needed the money and wanted to spend time with the baby.

“I’ll figure something out for during the day,” Aiden said, finishing off his drink. “You can train Sparky during the evening, when you’re free from the cafe? I can drop him off here, if that’s alright.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” she said.

Aiden stood, and just then, they heard a bit of a commotion as Sparky woke up. He looked around, taking in his surroundings until his eyes landed on Saphira. The baby dragon perked up, excited.

“Sparky, no!” Aiden scolded, as Sparky jumped onto a chair, then the table. Unhappy at being reprimanded, Sparky hissed at Aiden, then puffed a little ring of smoke in his direction, which Aiden waved away.

“You know, with baby dragon training, the rider needs to be trained, as well,” Saphira said, coming out from behind the bar. She gave Sparky a little snack, which he ate happily. “It’s important for the rider–dragon bond, something you two need to work on.”

Aiden didn’t seem enthused by the prospect, which she found strange. Why wouldn’t he want to bond with his dragon?

“Don’t worry about that,” Aiden said, standing in front of her. “And thanks, for everything.”

“There’s no need to thank me,” she said. It was a mutually beneficial agreement, after all.

He blinked, and she was distracted by the flutter of his dark lashes. She wanted to touch the curve of them, feel the feather-light touch against the pad of her finger.

She looked up at him, gazing into his dark eyes, wondering what thoughts were running around in that handsome head of his as he watched her. His gaze was scorching, and heat traveled up her spine, spreading across her chest.

He was quiet, standing perfectly still, until his throat moved as he swallowed. He smelled like coffee; his lips were still wet. She had the strangest impulse to go onto her tiptoes and have a taste.

The thought sent her heart racing. She was frozen in place, in a trance—

“Um, hello?” A voice called, interrupting the moment. Saphira turned to see a girl at the side door.

Aiden stepped back as if scalded.

“Bye,” he blurted out, grabbing a hissing Sparky and leaving in a hurry. Saphira felt dizzy.

As soon as Aiden was gone, Saphira’s coworker marched over. “What is going on?” Lavinia Williams demanded to know, both her eyes and mouth wide.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Saphira said, not meeting Lavinia’s eyes as she started pulling chairs down from atop the tables. She looked at the clock—there was hardly twenty minutes before the cafe opened! There was so much to be done!

If only her heart could stop beating so fast …

“Excuse me?” Lavinia said, stepping in front of Saphira. Lavinia was short and curvy, with curly hair and big doe eyes, and at that moment, she looked to be on the verge of full-blown laughter.

“Can you quit your yapping and get to work, perhaps?” Saphira said, mouth twitching. She always felt like laughing when she was with Lavinia, which was perfect since they saw so much of each other.

Lavinia was twenty-two years old and had been working as Saphira’s assistant at the cafe since it opened, while she was on a gap year before starting veterinary school in the fall. She had big ambitions to take care of magical animals.

“I will quit yapping when you tell me who that gorgeous man was and why he was here at the crack of dawn when no one else is awake,” Lavinia said. “Did he stay the night? If you have a secret boy-toy you haven’t told me about, I am literally going to quit!”

“Oh my god, no,” Saphira said, cheeks burning. “He did not spend the night! Good lord!”

“Okay, so what was he doing here so early?” Lavinia asked, giving Saphira a suspicious glance.

“We were only talking!” Saphira said, voice high. Then she narrowed her eyes at Lavinia. “And what have I told you about interrupting when the adults are talking?”

It was a running joke between them, that Lavinia at age twenty-two was a small child, while Saphira at age twenty-five was a fully grown adult.

“Yes, yes, the children must not interrupt,” Lavinia said, bowing her head. “Apologies.”

“Exactly.” She fanned herself, and Lavinia smirked. “Don’t look at me like that!” Saphira ordered.

“I’m just waiting for you to tell me what’s going on!” Lavinia replied. “Who was that, anyway?”

“Aiden Sterling,” Saphira said. “He’s paying me an exorbitant sum to train his baby dragon, which means I can order us a new espresso machine.”

“Exorbitant enough to pay for one-day shipping?” Lavinia asked. Saphira nodded. “Oooooooh. So you were simply being an astute businesswoman.”

“Yes,” Saphira said. “Exactly. One hundred percent that.”

“Love it. I fully support this decision,” Lavinia said. “And he gets bonus points for being super hot.”

“You know, I didn’t notice,” Saphira said, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.

“Right … right … why would you notice? You were only gazing into his eyes like you wanted to crawl into them.”

Saphira made a cry of outrage while Lavinia giggled.

“I don’t have time for this! I have a cafe to run!”

“You can multitask!”

They both laughed. Sapphira and Lavinia had known each other for years; they had both worked at a tea shop up in the mountains together until Saphira had opened up this place of her own and Lavinia had jumped ship to join her. The tea shop was more high-end, while Saphira’s place on Main Street was much more homey. A big part of that hominess was Lavinia.

“Okay, now we seriously need to get to work,” Saphira said, a statement she often found herself making when she and Lavinia got distracted while chatting.

They got back to preparing the cafe, and Saphira ordered the espresso machine, choosing the fastest delivery so it would be delivered by tomorrow morning. They were still working on prep when a knock sounded on the side door.

“I’ll get it,” Lavinia said, going over.

“It’s probably Theo,” Saphira told her. Lavinia opened the door to reveal a scrawny boy with a mop of dark wavy hair and warm brown skin. He wore a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a streak of flour across one forearm.

“Morning, ladies,” Theo Noon said, carrying in boxes of heavenly smelling baked goods.

“Morning,” Lavinia said, going to her tiptoes to kiss Theo’s cheek. He was a full foot taller than her and was the baker’s assistant, here to make the delivery from the bakery.

Lavinia took some of the boxes from him, giving him a fond smile. Theo was also Lavinia’s childhood best friend— strictly her friend, as Lavinia always said whenever Saphira asked if perhaps there was something more between them.

“What do you have for me today?” Saphira asked, excited to see what Theo had brought. There were the usual items—croissants, muffins, scones, cookies—but she wasn’t interested in those. She wanted to see what Theo had made.

Theo was still a lowly apprentice and delivery boy at the bakery, not allowed to make things of his own for the menu yet. But Theo was really into South Asian fusion desserts. Saphira loved that, and it was perfect for her cafe. She wanted to keep desi touches in her cafe, to feel like Nani-Ma was still with her, and to hold tight to her heritage. So Saphira had struck a deal with the bakery to allow Theo to bring in one original recipe of his own every week as an exclusive for the Baby Dragon Cafe.

“Today’s special is a mini gulab jamun Bundt cake,” Theo said, opening the box to show them. The toffee-colored cakes smelled divine—cardamom and saffron—and were decorated with white icing and rose petals.

“Ooh, I love this,” Lavinia said, going to swipe one.

“Thanks, Theo,” Saphira said. “Can I get you a drink before you head out?”

“I’d kill for an iced latte,” Theo said. His gaze shifted to the espresso machine, which was largely covered with a massive “OUT OF ORDER” sign. “Oh.”

“The new one is coming in tomorrow!” Saphira told him. His face lit up.

“Nice! Go team!” He high-fived her, then stuck around the chat until the cafe officially opened, and customers began coming in, at which point Lavinia became too busy to entertain him, and so he waved goodbye.

The regular customers were equally relieved when Saphira told them the espresso drinks would be back tomorrow. They had missed their lattes and cappuccinos, but everything would be better, everything would be okay.

Saphira had come much too far to give up. As she ate a bite of the gulab jamun cake, she thought of Nani-Ma. I’ll make you proud, she promised.