Page 45 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
“Hi, angel,” Theo said, voice sweet. Lavinia’s heart melted, and his tone seemed to have the same effect on Biter. The baby dragon perked up.
Lavinia couldn’t help but watch as Theo took Biter onto one forearm, then moved his arm up and down like he was doing workout curls. Biter held onto his forearm, tail wagging as she made a sound of glee. When Theo stopped the movement, Biter climbed higher and bit his bicep, and honestly, Lavinia couldn’t even blame her.
Shaking her head, Lavinia focused on the pumpkins, arranging them on either side of the door and down the two steps with the pots of radiant red and yellow mums. Theo sat down on the step while she finished up, letting Biter down.
Biter quickly crawled over to the biggest pumpkin, which was double her size. She tried climbing up, but slipped down the round side. Biter hissed, trying again. She slid down once more, and Biter snarled, scratching at the pumpkin with her tiny claws, irritated.
“Alright, darling, let’s try this one,” Theo said, scooping her up with one hand and positioning her closer to a medium-sized pumpkin. Biter attempted climbing up, and she made itto the top. She bounced by the pumpkin’s stem, holding onto it with her paws, wings flapping.
Too cute! Lavinia held a hand to her heart. She looked up at Theo, who was watching and smiling as well, face fond. Then Biter began chewing the stem, aggressively gnawing at it.
“I think she might be hungry now,” Lavinia said with a laugh. She scooped Biter up and they headed inside, where Lavinia fed her with a bottle. Soon thereafter, Biter fell asleep, and Lavinia laid her down in the bassinet.
“Now I’m hungry, too,” Lavinia said, heading for the kitchen. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and pulled out a bag from the freezer. “Gnocchi?”
Theo nodded in agreement. “I’ll make dessert.”
While Lavinia threw together a brown butter sage gnocchi (one of the few things she knew how to make because it was so simple), Theo made apple crisp with apples from the farm.
They ate dinner, then had the apple crisp, which was gooey with a crumbly crust and perfect topped with salted caramel ice-cream. The sun set over the backyard, turning all the clouds pink and gold, and then it was nightfall. The temperature dropped, bringing a chill into the house, and they moved to the living room, huddling together on the couch, sharing a blanket.
They made popcorn and put on a movie, and as they watched, she looked over at him, thinking of all the times they had done this, year after year. So much had changed except for this—never this.
Lavinia couldn’t let anything jeopardize her and Theo’s friendship.
It was better if she forgot about their kiss entirely.
Chapter 17
Theo and Lavinia had become friends in the fall the year they were seven years old, and Lavinia thought back to that time now.
They were in the same class that year, just as they had been the year before. While they were friends, Lavinia had other friends as well, and so Theo wasn’t her very best friend just yet.
Until they were eleven and, one day, she was hanging out at his place. His parents weren’t home because they had to go somewhere, but she hardly ever saw his parents, anyway, no matter how often she and Theo hung out. They did not stick around the few times she came round to his place, unlike Beena, who was constantly watching the kids, making them snacks every little while, ensuring that Theo had eaten and was comfortable.
It used to annoy Lavinia how Beena wouldn’t leave them alone, so she didn’t mind when they hung out at Theo’s and his parents weren’t there. Lavinia’s parents could be too nosy sometimes, and she thought it was pretty cool that Theo’sparents trusted him on his own—she and he could be little grown-ups.
That day, it was October, and they were playing outside after having eaten a casserole his mom had left for them. Lavinia had a sweet tooth, and wanted something for dessert, and an idea popped into her mind when her gaze fell upon the apple tree in Theo’s backyard.
“Theo, get some apples,” she’d said, tugging on his sleeve. “We can have caramel apples!”
Back then, they were the same height, but he was half her size because he was so thin and wiry. He had a lot of hair, as if his parents had forgotten to take him to get a haircut, and his eyes were huge on his gaunt face. He looked a little lopsided, like a character from a cartoon, but in a good way, like he was her sidekick, and they were important enough to have a show about themselves.
At Lavinia’s words, a worried expression came over Theo’s face, even though she hadn’t asked anything too demanding. All she wanted were some apples!
“Come on!” she urged. He looked as if he was going to say something in response, but she pouted.
“I haven’t done it before,” he said, bouncing his leg.
“Don’t worry!” she reassured him. “I have an apple tree in my backyard, too, and I climb it all the time, you know I do! I can pick them, just come with me.”
“No!” he said in a panic. “No—I’ll do it.”
She shrugged. “Okay. I’ll dip them in the caramel, then.”
He looked scared but nodded. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the apple tree, and she skipped behind him, excited. “They’re going to be so yummy!”
Theo stood at the bottom of the tree. He tipped his head back, looking up, his throat moving as he swallowed.
