Page 40 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
Genevieve made an offended sound. “I don’t know what you mean. I have never been insufferable a day in my life! How rude of you to say that. I’m telling Mum and Dad you’re bringing your girlfriend and you’re gettingmarried.”
That would be a nightmare scenario. Not the getting-married-to-Saphira bit—that would actually probably be quite nice—but the bit about his parents.
“Ginny, don’t be mean to me,” he said with a sigh. “When have I ever given you a tough time?”
She was outraged then. “You giveeverysingle boy I have ever dated anawfultime!”
“That is not true.” Again, absolutely true. It was his and Danny’s favorite pastime, another thing Aiden would sorely miss having his brother around for.
“It is one hundred percent true, and you know it.”
“Maybe you simply need better taste in boys,” Aiden said. He wasn’t even trying to be an asshole about it. Genevieve’s taste in boys was objectively abysmal, something everyone in the family agreed about.
“That is so not the point. And if you keep being rude …” She trailed off, not needing to complete the threat. Genevieve was the family princess, the youngest of all cousins, the most doted on and beloved. She was not someone whose bad side you wanted to be on if you wished to survive the Sterling family.
“I’ll convince the caretakers to let you go for a second ride tomorrow, okay?” Aiden appeased. Genevieve paused. She loved riding but was forced to focus on college and so was only allowed one ride per day.
“Unchaperoned?” She was technically still too young toride unchaperoned. Only bonded riders could do so because it wasn’t an issue of safety for them. Aiden pinched the bridge of his nose. She was a menace.
“Yes, unchaperoned.” Within a mile of the house—an extremely tiny range—but he didn’t mention that to her now or she would protest. He’d explain the stipulation to the dragon caretakers later.
“Perfect. Then I will be so nice to yourfriend, Saphira, and ensure Mummy and Daddy are, as well.”
“Thank you.”
“Love you, byeeeee.”
She hung up, and Aiden ran a hand over his face, shaking his head. He loved his little sister to bits, but she was a handful.
Aiden walked the rest of the way home with Sparky. Once he returned to his cottage, Aiden got Sparky cleaned up (luckily, Sparky did not mind baths, or that would be an entirely separate tribulation to deal with), then showered himself and dressed. He took out his car—a sleek little thing his parents insisted he should keep if he would not take a dragon—and drove to Saphira’s cafe, parking in front.
Once there, Aiden took Sparky out of his dragon car seat in the back—he wasn’t fond of sitting in the car longer than necessary—and walked to the garden with him.
Aiden checked his watch; there was still ten minutes before he had told Saphira he would pick her up. He paced back and forth, restless.
Taking a steadying breath, Aiden rolled up his sleeves, glad to have already left his jacket in the car. He picked up a pair of shears, even though gardening now would surely ruin his clothes, and his family was very particular about looking thepart. Aiden himself preferred his usual casual outfits, but family dinner was always dressy, so he was wearing a suitsanstie.
Aiden grabbed the shears and went to the overgrown shrubbery, cutting away at it. The act calmed him, along with the smell of the soil, the soft evening breeze. Sparky jumped up to catch the stray pieces, playing with them as they fell.
Then, he heard the door open. Aiden turned, and there she was.
The breath lodged in his throat. She was wearing a silk dress with her hair down in waves, half of it pulled back with a few strands framing her face. Like the first night they met, he had the impulse to trace his finger along the curls, but he was frozen in place, staring.
She was so, so beautiful.
He was so lost, in fact, that he did not notice the shears slipping from his fingers. They fell, the handle landing directly on his shoe. Aiden swore out loud as pain shot through his foot.
“God, are you okay?” Saphira asked, rushing over.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he gritted out. His dignity, however, was not, but he didn’t have enough brain cells to think about that when she was so …
“How do I look?” she asked, nibbling on her lower lip. “Am I too fancy?”
“No, you’re … perfect.” It was the only word adequate enough, and even then it was lacking. “You’re perfect.”
Her dress was held up by thin straps, but a shawl was wrapped around her shoulders to ward off the cool night. As they walked to his car, Aiden a step behind her, the shawldropped, revealing the curve of her shoulder. His pulse spiked violently at the sight of her bare skin, his mind going blank as a wave of desire hit him.
He clenched his jaw, hands tightening into fists at his side as tension hummed through him. He longed to touch her.
