Page 22 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
Then he left, and Emmeline stalked to the counter, her heels clicking angrily on the floor. When she made it to Saphira, she was out of breath, her left eye twitching behind all the smoked-out kajal.
“Everything okay?” Saphira asked, intrigued to see the always calm and collected Emmeline so frazzled.
With shiny, sleek clothes, massive heels, and perfect lipstick, Emmeline was supermodel gorgeous. Saphira had been working with her since the cafe opened, and knew Emmeline from before a bit, as well, from around town.
“Ugh, thatasshole,” Emmeline huffed. Along with her killer looks was a striking personality that could be intimidating, but Emmeline was always friendly and kind with Saphira. She was social with just about everyone, but Saphira could tell Emmeline truly liked her, and they were friends.
“I told him I was loyal to you,” Saphira said, raising her hands in defense. “So I hope you aren’t worried about him poaching business from me.”
“Don’t worry, babe, I know you would never go behind my back like that,” Emmeline said. “And I also know you aren’t stupid enough to go into business with him—but it’s theprincipleof the thing.”
Emmeline scrunched her nose, where she had an elaborate nose ring pierced on one side. It was something only Emmeline could pull off. Saphira stuck to a simple nose pin for her piercing.
“The audacity of him to show up here! An intentional provocation!”
“So I gather you two know each other, then?” Saphira asked, slightly amused to see the usually so professional Emmeline so riled up.
Emmeline made a disgusted sound. “Knowis a bit of a stretch.Hatewould be more accurate.”
“Okay, let’s take a deep breath,” Saphira said, forcing Emmeline to breathe with her. They took a deep inhale, then released a long breath. Saphira then got to work making Emmeline’s usual—a strong karak chai—and gave her the drink with one of the ras malai tres leches shooters. That seemed to cool Emmeline off a bit.
“So, how’s training going?” Emmeline asked, back to her usual self. She even looked a bit … giggly. “Aiden told me about your little arrangement.” Something glinted in her eyes, but Saphira did not understand it, so she didn’t question it.
“It’s going well,” Saphira said, smiling to think of the baby dragon. “Sparky is such an adorable little munchkin, I love him so much.”
“Isn’t he? I love the little monster.”
“He’s not a monster!” Saphira protested. “He’s my angel!”
Emmeline laughed. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just what Aiden always calls him.”
Some of Saphira’s smile faded, and Emmeline raised a quizzical brow. Saphira sighed. “Your cousin refuses to show up to any training sessions. Doesn’t he want to bond with Sparky? It’s weird.”
Emmeline made a thoughtful noise, taking a sip of her chai, and Saphira continued, “Sparky is doing so well! I only want Aiden to see that, and I can’t understand why he doesn’t care.”
She nibbled on her lower lip. What if Aiden was staying away because he didn’t trust Saphira was doing a good job? And he didn’t want to see her being a disaster and embarrassing herself? It was a bit of a far-fetched thought, but that was the point she was at in trying to comprehend Aiden’s distance.
“A word to the wise about my cousin,” Emmeline said. “I love him to bits, but he can be impossible sometimes. Very closed off. And Danny’s death didn’t help matters at all. Even though it’s been two years, still, it’s like ever since then, he’s become even more closed off—a locked treasure chest, if you will.”
“I get that,” Saphira said. She truly did. After losing Nani-Ma, all Saphira wanted was to close herself away from the world, to just disappear. “But it isn’t healthy to be so isolated. I try to get him to stay but he doesn’t want to. Maybe he hates me.”
Emmeline’s lip twitched. “I don’t think he hates you—he would have never come up with the idea for you to train Sparky if he did. And I know he doesn’t show it, but he does really love Sparky. He wouldn’t entrust him to justanyone.”
“Oh.” Saphira’s cheeks felt warm.
“Yeah.” Something curious glinted in her eyes. “You know, I was actually surprised when I heard he had hired you to train Sparky. It was an uncharacteristic move on his part.”
“Well, he could clearly use the help,” Saphira said, voice high.
“I suppose.” Emmeline made a thoughtful sound. “But I have never known my cousin to be so easily accepting of help …”
“Well, maybe he saw that I needed help, as well,” Saphira argued. “My espresso machine was a complete disaster, and I can’t exactly run a cafe without one.”
Emmeline smiled. “I’ve never known my cousin to be so altruistic, either.”
Saphira didn’t know how to respond to that, but her heart was beating uncommonly fast for some strange reason. “He is a bit reserved …”
“He’s at the Starshine Public Gardens today, lost between shrubbery,” Emmeline said, taking a bite of her cake. An idea turned in Saphira’s mind.
