Page 49 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
The answer was always the same:Lavinia. She was always the first thought that popped into his mind. If he had her, he didn’t need anything else.
It had always been platonic between them, but now, after that kiss, it felt like much, much more, in a way that utterly devastated him. He was miserable with the way things were between them, and it hurt just like it had that day he split his knee open. At least then, he’d had Lavinia. Now, it felt like he was utterly alone in what he felt.
But . . . what if he wasn’t alone? A little voice dared to hope, and he clung to it, fanning the flames.
Lavinia was much too good for him, but shehadkissed him back. She had pulled him closer—he hadn’t imagined that, had he?
What if she also felt for him even a fraction of what he felt for her?
“She’s seeing someone,” Theo reminded himself. He aggressively scrubbed at a dish.
But what if she didn’t like Calahan that much? She hadn’t brought him up at all this evening.
She didn’t have to fall in love with Theo yet—butcouldshe? Did he dare to hope?
She deserved a prince from a fairy tale, or a knight in shining armor, or one of those fancy titled lords from the period dramas her mom liked watching, and he was just a guy, but maybe, for her, he could be something more.
As Theo finished cleaning up, the front door opened, and in came Alfie, along with his parents behind him. Alfie bounced into the kitchen, still in his football uniform, the red jersey and shorts dirty with streaks of grass.
“Oh, Theo! Leave it!” Beena fussed, setting down her purse on the counter. Garrett took her coat, disappearing to hang it. “I want to say that I can’t believe Lavinia made you clean up all on your own, but I reallycanbelieve it.”
“No, it’s alright,” Theo replied, setting down the last dish. “I don’t mind. It helps clear my head.” He turned to Alfie, drying his hands with a towel. “How was the game?”
“Amazing!” Alfie exclaimed. “I scored!” Garrett returned in time to hear that and raised a brow. Alfie looked at his dad,then back at Theo. “Well, I passed it to the guy who scored, but that’s basically the same thing!”
“That’s great!” Theo held up a hand and Alfie shot over to give him a high-five, cheering for himself.
“And we got pizza after! And ice-cream!” Alfie bounced.
“In case you couldn’t tell we had sugar,” Garrett added, lips twitching.
“We saved you some apple crisp, too,” Theo said. Alfie gasped, running to the fridge.
“Excuse me!” Beena said, giving Alfie a warning glance. He froze with one hand on the fridge door. “You’ve had enough sweets, thank you.”
“You’re going to rot all your teeth out,” Garrett added. “Then how will you eat anything?”
“We’ll have to feed you banana mush and milk like when you were a baby!” Beena added.
Alfie looked harassed. “Please!” he begged. “I don’t even need all my teeth! Please, please, please!”
“You definitely need all your teeth, kid.” Theo snorted. He and Garrett exchanged an amused glance at Alfie’s theatrics.
“Why don’t you have a shower and get your things ready for school? And we’ll let you have a little bit.”
“Yesssss.” Alfie pumped his fists in the air, then shot out of the kitchen. Theo heard his feet running up the stairs, and Garrett followed after him, kissing Beena’s cheek as he exited. Beena remained in the kitchen, coming over to the sink to pour herself a glass of water.
“So what do you need to clear your head about?” she asked, taking a long sip.
“Hm?”
“Earlier,” she said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You said cleaning helps clear your head, but what’s going on in that head of yours?” She set the glass down, touching his cheek, and even though her fingers were cold, he still felt their warmth. “Is everything okay?”
Beena looked at him with such motherly fondness and concern that Theo felt tears prick his eyes. He could lie to his own mother, but he couldn’t lie to her.
He gave her a sad smile, swallowing the lump in his throat. “You know, I can’t remember the last time my own mother asked me that,” he said. “If she ever did, really.”
Beena frowned. “Your parents are blind. Is that what’s bothering you?”
