Page 37 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
She turned her face up to look at him rather than at the stars, and he turned toward her, too, until they were both looking at each other. Half of his face was awash with starlight, the other half in shadow.
He was so beautiful. The thought was unbidden and made her pulse race. Tension hummed through her. She forced her heart to calm, blurting, “Do you think everything is okay with me and Calahan?”
Theo sighed, turning his face.
Insecurity pricked her, and she sat up. “What if he stood me up today because he didn’t want to come, and the tutoring thing was a made-up excuse?”
“Why would he do that?” Theo asked.
“What if he’s getting tired of me?” she asked, nibbling on her lower lip. “This always happens; boys always get tired of me. I’m easy to like, but hard to commit to.”
He dragged himself up into a sitting position. “Okay, let’s take a deep breath.” He inhaled, gesturing for her to mimichim, and she did, though that hardly helped. “I don’t think any of what you just said is true.”
“But what if it is?”
“Well, it’s not.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “When was the last time you guys hung out? Walk me through it.”
She told him about their study date at the bookshop a few nights ago, how everything had seemed fine. “Then, at the end, we kissed, and he said goodbye,” Lavinia finished. As she spoke those last words, Theo made a face, frowning, and something struck her.
“Oh my god. Do you think that’s it?” she asked. Theo furrowed his brows. “Do you think that he thinks that I’m a bad kisser?”
She had never had any complaints before, but it had been some time, so maybe she was rusty. They hadn’t made out that much, and maybe this was why!
“No, definitely not,” Theo replied, sensing she was spiraling.
“How would you know?” she asked.
“Well, we can test it, if you’re so worried,” he said.
Lavinia froze.
Chapter 14
The words were out before Theo even realized. Lavinia’s eyes widened.
“It doesn’t have to mean anything,” he quickly added, absolutely lying, but he didn’t want to back down now—not when the possibility of kissing her was in front of him. A desperate thrill shot through him like a lightning bolt, burning and bright.
“Okay,” she said, tone cavalier. She didn’t look at him, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her. She fiddled with her fingers, then took a deep breath. “But only because I need a second opinion.”
Theo’s heart pounded. “Okay.”
Finally, she looked at him. The breath lodged in his throat. Sitting in the grass, her face wasn’t so far away, and her features were awash with starlight. His chest tightened painfully. She moved closer, until she was right in front of him, close enough to touch.
She smelled like coffee and caramel, sweet and strong. He wanted to take a bite out of her, and any thought that thiswas a bad idea went out of his head because, having her so close, he wondered how could this be anything but the very best idea?
He brought a hand up and brushed her hair back, fingers grazing her neck. She stared at him with big, open eyes, waiting. Suddenly, he felt nervous—something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He’d had casual hookups here and there, and he’d always been confident in himself—but now? With Lavinia? His stomach was in knots.
“Is this okay?” he whispered, touching her face with his hand. She nodded slowly, eyelids fluttering. He stroked her cheekbone with the curve of his thumb, his pulse quickening. This might be his only chance to kiss her; he wanted it to be good.
So as much as he wanted to kiss her right then, he waited, moving his hand down from her cheek to run his thumb across her bottom lip, feeling the softness of it against the pad of his finger. He heard the sharp intake of her breath, and desire swept over him.
“Close your eyes,” he whispered, voice rough.
She did, and he took the moment to appreciate her face without her watching, to take in every detail. The fan of her dark eyelashes, the slope of her nose, her full cheeks. He cupped her face with both hands and brought her closer, then brushed his lips against her forehead.
She released a shuddering breath, her hands going to his waist. He kissed her left cheek, then her right, and her grip on him tightened. Heat scorched through him, white-hot. He could feel her pulse racing in her throat. It was agonizing being this close to her.
Finally, he brought his lips close to hers, though not quite kissing her yet. As torturous as it was to hold himself back, he was savoring this, unsure when he would get the chance again.
