Page 25 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
Sparky hesitated, but she nodded at him. Tentatively, Sparky released her ankle, then trotted forward to get to Aiden, who seemed to be bracing for something to go wrong. But Sparky went up to Aiden and rubbed his nose against Aiden’s leg.
“Yes, I noticed he’s much better behaved,” Aiden said, though he still sounded stressed.
“Pick him up,” Saphira told Aiden. Sparky was waiting.
“He’ll bite me,” Aiden replied automatically. Saphira frowned.
“He shouldn’t.” Saphira frowned. “We’ve been working on that. When was the last time he bit you?”
Aiden thought about it. “Actually, I can’t remember. I didn’t notice.”
Irritation flared through her at that. For one thing, she had been working diligently to train Sparky, and Aiden hadn’t even noticed, and for another, Aiden didn’t even care enough to try and be affectionate with Sparky, let alone bond with him.
How could he not want to pick Sparky up every moment he got? Saphira loved being around the little draggo, holding him in her arms, smushing his little face, keeping him always as close as possible.
Aiden must have sensed Saphira was peeved because he bent down and scooped Sparky up. Sparky got a bit hissy for a moment, but then he seemed to remember Saphira was watching and glanced over his shoulder at her. She gave him a stern glance, and Sparky begrudgingly remained calm.
“Impressive,” Aiden said, giving Saphira a small smile. His dark eyes were warm, the expression on his stoic face soft. “You’re doing such an amazing job.”
She was pleased by the praise. While she could get irritated easily, she also got over it quickly as well, something that would always make Nani-Ma shake her head. “Where are your nakhre, girl? You’re supposed to give people a hard time, especially boys!” But Saphira was too soft-hearted for it all.
Especially because she could tell Aiden meant it.
He set Sparky down, and Saphira said, “Okay, now watch this.” She turned to Sparky. “Sparky, sit.” Sparky obeyed, sitting down.
“Good boy!” Saphira scratched his chin.
“He’s not so hyperactive anymore, either,” Aiden said. “Well done.”
“I wanted to show you how we’re getting along,” she said, facing him. “Since you’re never there at training.” A bite entered her tone. For a second, it looked as though he wanted to say something—but then he thought better of it, and didn’t.
Instead, Aiden looked around. “Do you want to see what we’ve been working on?”
“Oh, yes! But is it alright? I mean, I know you’re currently at work …”
“It’s okay,” he replied, waving a hand. “I have another team working by the pond, but we’re pretty much done for the day in this section. I already sent everyone else home, and was just working a bit myself and lost track of time.”
“I can see why,” she said, looking around. “It’s gorgeous here.”
He looked happy that she liked this place he so clearly adored. “Shall we go?” Aiden asked.
She nodded. “Sparky, come on.”
Saphira stepped in line with Aiden, Sparky trailing behind them.
Chapter 8
It was jarring for Aiden to see Saphira in the gardens, jarring to
see her anywhere, really. He was so used to only seeing her at the cafe, or in his mind, late at night, and now here she was, plucked out of his dreams, and in one of his favorite places, no less.
At the same time, it felt as if this was exactly where she belonged: her brown skin illuminated golden by the sunlight, a soft breeze playing with her wavy hair, surrounded by flowers that matched her dress.
He wasn’t an artist by any means, but the image was one he felt the desire to paint, if only to capture her beauty, to immortalize her for the world to appreciate.
“So what have you been working on?” Saphira asked, pulling him from his thoughts, which had progressed to considering how difficult painting could really be. Aiden cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair.
“We’ve been cleaning up the parterres,” Aiden said, pointing to the clean shapes.
