Page 81 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
“And is this theoretical situation actually not theoretical?”
He paused. Lavinia gave him a look. He gave her a winning smile, and she rose to her feet.
“You’re a lifesaver, Lav,” he said, looking eternally grateful.
“Oh, I know.” Lavinia went to follow him, then turned back to Saphira, who waved a hand, not wanting to get up yet.
“You go in,” Saphira said. “I’ll be there in a second.”
Lavinia went in, and Saphira sat outside for a few moments longer, admiring the garden, which was all cleaned up and organized, mostly finished. Soon, the playpen would be ready for the baby dragons, and patrons would be able to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine the same way she was now.
A little while later, Saphira got up, about to head in. As she reached the door, she overheard some girls talking as they left the cafe from the front. Her heart pounded, and she strayed closer to the garden door, listening.
“I can’t believe Aiden Sterling was making out withSaphira.”
“I know! Like,what?”
“Do you think they’re, like, together?”
“Absolutely not. There’s no way. They’re probably just hooking up.”
“In the middle of Main Street? That is so messy.”
“Tell me about it.”
Saphira felt as if she had been doused with a bucket of ice water. She recognized the voices; they were some girls who were around Saphira’s age. They were from Drakkon families and often came into the cafe with their baby dragons.
Saphira was shocked to hear the disdain in their voices. They had always been perfectly nice to her, but they were speaking now as if she had personally offended them.
They were so astonished that she and Aiden had been kissing, as if Saphira had reached for something that was not hers and could never be hers.
Insecurity rippled through her. She was devastated, actually.
This was just like how, at Mount Echo, Mireya had said Saphira was an outsider, that she didn’t belong.
Saphira shook her head, pushing the memories and voices from her mind. She would not spiral.
These girls were probably just jealous, Saphira convinced herself. Aiden was a highly eligible bachelor, after all. The Sterlings were an important family.
Was it truly so unbelievable that Aiden would be interested in Saphira?
Whatever.She was not going to think about it. Saphira went into the cafe, helping out with the last customers before sending Lavinia home. Saphira covered closing up the cafe with Calahan.
After everything was clean and in order, she grabbed her bag and went up to her apartment, where she changed into her pajamas, rummaging around for something to eat. She settled on a handful of strawberries with chocolate spread, munching while she prepared for the vet appointment tomorrow.
The appointment was midday, and she would be leaving work for an hour to head over to the Animal Hospital for it. She had missed the cafe while she was at Mount Echo, which was why she didn’t want to take an entire day off for Sparky’s appointment.
Saphira thought about Aiden and, alone in her apartment, she giggled to herself, twirling around. She collapsed onto her couch, hugging a pillow to her chest. She was giddy all over again, and she wouldn’t let a stupid comment bring her down.
She recalled how it felt to kiss him, to be kissed by him, and she touched her fingers to her lips, the memory of his mouth making her toes tingle.
Saphira looked around for her phone and, when she found it, she saw she had a missed call from him from about twenty minutes ago. She called him back, and he picked up after the first bell.
“Hey, everything okay?” she asked.
“No,” he replied.
Concern shot through her. “What’s wrong?”
