Page 33 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
“Good boy!” she said. “You’re so good!”
She looked at Aiden, giving him a prompting look.
“So good,” Aiden added, though with much less enthusiasmthan Saphira. Still, she could see he was trying, despite how ridiculous he found this.
Sparky perked up, pleased by the praise. With renewed vigor, the little draggo started pulling out more weeds. Aiden and Saphira got to work as well, the three of them working together under the sunshine, a soft breeze around them.
Birds chirped in the trees. Saphira smiled to herself, her heart warming.
It was such a cozy scene, and soon, she started having fun. Sparky was doing well, and Aiden looked so content when he was gardening. She could see why he found the practice so calming. There was something so grounding about touching the earth, feeling the grass and the leaves, elements of
nature.
Until one weed in particular gave her a tough time. No matter how she tugged, it wouldn’t budge. Aiden saw her struggling, and came up beside her.
“Here, let me,” he said, putting his hand over hers, intending to help.
Saphira’s pulse scattered at the feel of his large hand over hers, his calloused palm encompassing her knuckles. He was sitting so close to her, his arm practically around her. She felt the warmth of his body around her, the strength of his muscles as they flexed with movement.
She turned her head to look at him, and his gaze flicked down to her mouth. She watched his throat move as he swallowed. Tension hung in the air between them, a hazy mist.
Desire pooled in her stomach. Blood pounded in her ears, her heart beating fast. His eyes darkened, lids lowered. Saphira held her breath, anticipation coursing through her.
Until the moment was cut short as Aiden let out a surprised yelp. “Ow!”
They both looked down to find Sparky had bitten Aiden’s free hand. The baby dragon growled at both of them. Saphira cringed.Oops.Sparky really did not like her paying too much attention to Aiden.
Saphira reached for Aiden’s hand and found it was bleeding. She frowned.
“Bad Sparky,” Saphira scolded. The baby dragon looked betrayed, then quickly set about having a temper tantrum. He ran away from them and jumped onto some weeds, blowing little fire bursts into the sky.
She and Aiden exchanged a wary glance.
“There’s a first-aid kit inside,” Saphira said, looking back to the little bite mark on his finger.
“It’s fine,” Aiden said. “Really.”
“Just wait, I’ll be back in a second.”
Saphira returned a moment later with a wet washcloth and bandage. Holding his hand, she tended to him, cleaning the blood away before gently wrapping the bandage around his finger.
“Thanks,” Aiden said, voice rough as his dark eyes peered into hers. He closed his hand around hers, then squeezed, and she felt a tightness in her chest, longing making her knees weak.
“Of course.” She squeezed back, lingering for a moment before standing to give Sparky a treat, but the baby dragon appeared to be angry with her.
Sparky gave her a dirty look, and when she tried to approach him, he bit at the air, growling. She squealed, jumping back.
Maybe he would be better tomorrow …
*
Sparky wasn’t the only moody baby dragon she had to contend with. The next day at the cafe, Saphira had to clean up a broken vase of flowers one of the little draggos had knocked over. Baby dragons were curious and hyperactive to a fault—like the most mischievous human toddler on steroids.
Luckily, things had been running smoothly at the cafe these past few weeks, especially after the espresso machine had come in. The lack of space in the cafe was clearly a problem, though, and the cause of the regular damage. Dragons needed open space to freely jump and play around, and Saphira was beginning to realize a cafe was perhaps not the best place for that.
But with Aiden working on the garden out back, that could potentially be a huge help—a solution to her problem. When she got a free moment, Saphira went to check in on them, stopping by the mirror in the corridor leading to the back door first to reapply her lip gloss.
Unfortunately, Lavinia chose that exact moment to notice her. She looked as if she had been looking for Saphira.
