Page 8 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
Images flitted through her mind: the dark cafe, a gorgeousman, a baby dragon. She’d thought the encounter had been a dream—it was surely something her overactive imagination would have scripted—but no, Aiden Sterling stood in front of her, his adorable pet in tow.
“Morning,” Aiden said, voice gravelly from disuse.
A shiver ran down her spine at the deep timbre of his voice, not at all helped by how good-looking he was, a fact impossible to ignore. Everyone in town had had a crush on him at some point, but he was a famous recluse, hardly ever spotted or seen. Even less so since Danny’s death.
He had a simple style, free of embellishments except for a signet ring on his left hand, which looked to be a family crest with a black stone in the center that matched his thick hair. Stubble covered his chiseled cheeks and sharp jawline. His inky eyes made it difficult for her to see what he was thinking or feeling, and she stared.
He was so mysterious, in an incredibly sexy way. Saphira had noticed as much last night, but she was noticing it all over again, even in the twilight.
In Aiden’s arms was a sleeping baby dragon, all snuggled against Aiden’s chest. Saphira practically melted at the sight. Before she could properly swoon, though, a gust of wind blew into Aiden from behind, pushing him forward. He bumped into her in the doorway, the light from inside casting over his face.
His eyes widened. “Sorry.”
She laughed. “That was my grandmother scolding me for not inviting you in sooner,” she said, stepping aside. “Come in, come in.”
Saphira closed the door behind him, keeping the morningchill out. The cafe was warm. It wasn’t quite yet time to turn the heating off at night, but soon spring would bring about the most perfect weather: sunshine and breezes and fluttering flower petals in the wind.
“Let me get you something for him,” Saphira said, stepping away from Aiden to grab a little bed for Sparky.
Sparky was a basalta dragon, a bigger breed, which meant Sparky was one of the bigger baby dragons, too. He had black scales and purple eyes. Basalta dragons were the most expensive of the dragon breeds because of how rare they were. They were also rumored to be the best breed for the illegal sport of dragon racing, but Saphira didn’t know much about dragon racing beyond the rumors she’d heard.
Saphira wasn’t part of one of the Drakkon families, so her exposure to dragons had been mostly through the cafe, and here she really only saw the babies. The closest she came to fully grown dragons was when they flew high above the valley, where she could watch them from afar.
After getting the bed, Saphira set it down on the floor by the bar, and Aiden carefully put Sparky into it, looking stressed. It wasn’t until Sparky was safely asleep in the little bed that Aiden exhaled a breath of relief.
“It’s early,” Saphira said. “No wonder the little guy is still sleepy.” She yawned. “Wish I could join him.”
“I like being up early,” Aiden replied. She gave him a funny look.
“By choice? If I didn’t have to wake up at this ungodly hour to get the cafe ready, I’d sleep in ten times out of ten.”
His lips twitched. He didn’t smile easily, she noticed, which would have been daunting, now that she was employed byhim, but there was something about him that made her feel entirely at ease.
“It’s nice being up before everyone else,” he said. “Everything is quiet and peaceful. It’s even better in the spring, when the birds are in full voice.”
“That’s lovely,” she said. “I’ve never thought about it that way before, but you’re right—there is a certain level of solace opening up the cafe in the morning before everyone is in and the rush of the day takes over.”
“Speaking of rush, that’s why I came by so early,” he told her, pulling out his phone from his trouser pocket. “I wanted to get your bank information so I can send over the first payment, and I wanted to catch you before anyone else got in.”
She gave him a curious glance. “You don’t like people much, do you?” she asked. Saphira hardly ever saw him around.
Aiden was quiet. Saphira wondered if perhaps she shouldn’t have said that. She couldn’t get a good read on him. He was a bit … grumpy, but she didn’t feel it was in an antagonistic way, as if he was angry with her or the world. Again, there was something about him that made her feel unperturbed.
Unfortunately, Saphira had a bad habit of thinking the best of people, as Nani-Ma always told her. “My silly girl, falling in love with strangers left and right,” Nani-Ma would say with a fond laugh, shaking her head.
It wasn’t always in a romantic way; Saphira simply craved human connection. She interacted with so many people on a daily basis that it was easy to feed that addiction. The downside was at the end of the day, after everyone had gone, she was left alone.
“Can I have your bank information please?” Aiden asked, shuffling on his feet. He talked as if he had practiced the lines in his head.
“Sure,” she said, reeling off her cell number quickly. “You can transfer the money there,” she said. “And then you also have it if you ever need to text me.”
Saphira cringed internally at that last bit.Wasthat necessary? Fortunately, Aiden’s expression softened.
“Good to know,” he replied. She watched as he typed on his phone and, a moment later, her phone dinged with a notification.
Surprise lit through her at the sum. He had said last night he would give her an advance of two thousand dollars, but to see it in her bank now was still a shock.
She hadn’t even started training Sparky yet, but she desperately needed the money. This would immediately go to buying a new espresso machine, the prospect of which left her both pleased and relieved.
