Page 29 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
He had gotten a little bigger in the two weeks they had been training together—all minuscule changes, but she could notice it when she held him. Saphira didn’t want Sparky to grow up; that would only mean she wouldn’t be part of his life anymore.
Sparky looked up to find Saphira still upset. He sat up and rubbed his nose against her chest, putting pressure on herheart, as if letting her know he was there. Then, Sparky looked up at her, waiting for her reaction with wide purple eyes, which only made her own eyes well with tears again because Sparky was such an angel!
Worried, Sparky put his paws on her face to get her to stop crying, and she hugged him, holding on tight. Saphira desperately missed Nani-Ma, then. The old lady used to give legendary hugs. Her hugs could solve anything.
A noise sounded in the air. Saphira turned to see Aiden entering from the garden door, which was ajar.
“Sorry,” he said. “You left the door open.”
Saphira wiped her face, looking away from him. She had in fact left it open. She was embarrassed to be crying over something so small, even more embarrassed to be caught.
“I’m sorry, Saphira,” he said, standing in front of her. She was surprised to see him; she didn’t think he would have cared enough to apologize, but here he was. Saphira had to tilt her head back to look up at him. His head was surrounded with stars in the clear night, his face apologetic. “I shouldn’t have snapped at Sparky like that.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.”
“Can I sit?” he asked.
Saphira turned to Sparky, who was watching the exchange calmly, unbothered by Aiden’s presence. Well, if Sparky wasn’t holding a grudge …
“Okay,” she said, sighing. There was only a little bit of clear area where she was sitting, the rest was covered with weeds and branches. She moved over, making space, and he joined her, his shoulders bumping with hers as he sat down.
“Really, I am sorry,” he said, voice soft. He bumped hershoulder on purpose then, and she looked over at him. “I got scared and reacted badly, and I definitely shouldn’t have.”
Distantly, she knew that happened to people sometimes, that everyone dealt with their emotions differently.
“I’ll do better,” he added. “I promise.”
Saphira didn’t know if she should believe him, but she wanted to.
“I’ll stick around when you train him,” Aiden said. “I know that’s important.”
“Really?” she asked, pleased. He nodded. “Okay, you’re forgiven,” she told him.
Surprise lit his face. “I thought you’d be angrier for longer,” he said. “I deserve it, too. I’ve been awful.”
Saphira shrugged. “Life’s too short to be angry.”
His mouth hung agape at that, his face awed. She felt shy all of a sudden, and raised a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. As she did, the bangles on her arm jingled in the quiet evening. Aiden’s gaze dropped to her wrist.
“You always wear these,” Aiden said.
He had noticed. It was such a small thing, but she was pleased he was paying attention.
He touched the bangles, his fingers brushing against her forearm. A shiver ran through her, and the evening was too warm to convince herself it was from the weather.
“They used to be Nani-Ma’s,” she told him. “You know technically only married women are supposed to wear so much gold, but I don’t really care.” She ran a finger over the bangles, jingling them. “It used to be a set of six, but my mom sold two of them.”
Her mother didn’t always make the best decisions, butSaphira couldn’t hold a grudge against someone she had never met. She hoped to one day make it a set of six again—when she had the money for it, of course.
“They’re pretty,” he said, voice soft. “You’re pretty.”
His piercing gaze scorched through her, making her cheeks warm as devastating pleasure settled in her chest at his words. Before she could think of how to respond, a gust of wind blew through the garden, upending a mess of leaves into their faces.
After the wind settled, Saphira saw Aiden’s horrified expression as he took in the state of the garden, how overgrown and messy everything was, a stark contrast to the neat rose garden he had shown her earlier.
“I know, I know, don’t say it!” she pleaded.
“It’s just …” he trailed off, at a loss for words.
