Page 27 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
Why did she feel so . . . she didn’t even know what she felt. But it was making her stomach hurt.
She took the things out of her purse, putting them on top of her vanity. Taking the lipsticks, she put them away in her drawer, and as she did, she saw Theo’s cologne.
Her hand itched. She was tempted to spray it—but no, she shouldn’t.
Lavinia shut the drawer, but her hand lingered on the handle. Biting her lower lip, she pulled it open, taking out the cologne and spraying it in the air. Theo’s scent immediately comforted her, calming her nerves.
She grabbed her phone, calling Theo. She wanted to discuss the date with him, the way she did everything. The phone rang and she waited. Her gaze strayed to the clock, but it wasn’t so late that he would be asleep already.
Finally, he picked up.
“Hey,” he said, clearing his throat. He sounded a bit off, but she heard sheets rustling and figured he was probably in bed, about to sleep.
“Hi! I just got back from my date! It went so well!!”
“Oh. That’s good. I’m glad.” He cleared his throat. “Was it cold?”
“A little, but Calahan brought a blanket, so we shared that. He also brought pizza so we didn’t end up going for dinner, but it was really fun at the movie! After the movie, we sat and talked a bit, and mostly everyone had gone by then. When we went back to the parking lot, he walked me to my car, and then he kissed me and—”
“I’m tired,” Theo said abruptly, cutting her off. “Can we talk later?” His voice sounded pained.
“Oh. Yeah. Are you . . . Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.
He was quiet. Then, finally, he said, “Mhm.”
He hung up before she could ask or say anything else. Lavinia’s heart pounded, unease spreading through her. She felt strange, as if she had upset him—but what about her having a successful date could be upsetting to her best friend?
It had to be something else. She’d ask him about it later.
Sometimes he needed time alone to collect himself; she knew when not to push. When they were kids and he was overstimulated or needed a break, he would pace around her backyard or sit under the apple tree, watching the branches rustling.
At first, Lavinia would follow him out there, but then he’d get irritable, and she’d stomp back inside, annoyed. Until finally Beena explained to her that he probably just needed to recharge, and she should let him.
“But why?” Lavinia would ask, pouting. Beena would hold her face in her hands, brushing back her hair.
“Patience, gudiya, patience,” her mother would respond. “Sometimes people get overwhelmed.”
The next time it happened, Lavinia let Theo be. She stayed inside, coloring at the kitchen table, and a half an hour later, Theo came back inside, right as rain.
Lavinia was sure that this now was one of those moments; he just needed to recharge.
Even as she told herself that, she felt unsettled. If she was Theo, this would be a moment she’d start pacing, like he did whenever he felt restless, but instead she turned off the lights and went to bed, curling into a ball. She grabbed a throw pillow and hugged it to her chest, trying to go to sleep.
A little while later, she still felt strange. With a groan, shegrabbed her phone and texted Genevieve that the date was a success.
Genevieve replied almost immediately with an abundance of exclamation points:Tell me EVERYTHING!
Lavinia smiled, giving Genevieve the entire debrief and rundown, replaying every moment. As she did, she grew happy and excited all over again, giggling to herself.
I love all of this, Genevieve texted back.This is FANTASTIC!
Yes,thiswasfantastic, Lavinia told herself.
She ignored the little voice in her head telling her something was wrong.
Chapter 11
Afew days later, Theo was at the Rolling Pin, aggressively kneading cookie dough. His thoughts returned to the memory of fixing Lavinia’s lipstick, how heat had swept over him at the contact of her skin against his.
