Page 81 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
Theo pressed his lips together, trying very hard not to laughat the serious expression on Alfie’s face. Ah, the innocence of an eleven-year-old.
“It was a PG-13 sleepover,” Lavinia muttered.
“More like R,” Theo whispered into her neck, and she elbowed him.
Alfie stared at them, waiting for a response. Even Biter seemed to be waiting; the little draggo was mimicking Alfie’s emotions.
“It was asecretsleepover,” Lavinia said. Alfie crossed his arms, pouting. Biter rested her face on top of Alfie’s messy hair, also pouting. Theo’s heart melted.
“We’ll invite you next time,” Theo said, trying to be nice.
“We absolutely will not,” Lavinia mouthed at him, and he pinched her side. She squealed.
Alfie gave them a look. “You guys are being weird.”
Lavinia walked over to him, holding his face in her hands. “Alf, promise you won’t tell Mama and Daddy,” she said. “Please? Pretty please?” She scratched Biter’s chin, and the baby dragon flapped her wings happily.
Alfie thought about it. “Fine. But only if Theo plays football with me.” Lavinia pinched his cheeks, then dropped her hands from his face.
“You got it,” Theo said, giving Alfie a thumbs-up.
A shrewd expression crossed the kid’s face. “Today,” Alfie added.
“Done.”
“And—”
“Oh for god’s sake, Alfie,” Lavinia said.
“And,” he repeated, giving Lavinia an arch look. “I get to choose the movie.”
“Fine.” Lavinia snorted. “Now, remember, shhh.” She put a finger to her lip, and Alfie mimicked the act.
Biter watched them, confused, bringing a paw up to her mouth, as well. Lavinia chuckled. She smushed Biter’s cheeks, kissing her, then gave Alfie a kiss goodbye, as well.
They put their shoes on and left, and the minute they made it outside, they both started giggling. It was such a silly, unserious situation, but it was so exactlythem.
As they walked to Theo’s car, Theo held Lavinia’s hand, and she swung their arms like they were teenagers. It was so sweet being with her that it made his teeth ache, but he didn’t mind at all. He’d always loved sugar, and so did she.
They made it to his car, getting in, and he couldn’t stop smiling. They had been up late last night, and it was early now, but he didn’t feel tired; he had never been more awake. He wouldn’t want to miss even a second of this.
This past week had been so confusing because Lavinia had been avoiding him. It had made him miserable because he’d missed her—and then, last night, there had been the shock of that angry confession.
He had never even considered Lavinia loving him as a possibility, because he wasn’t like her—he couldn’t just go after things with confidence. He had grown up with parents who wanted him not to cause a fuss, and he had thought saying anything to Lavinia while she was dating someone else would beveryfussy indeed, so he had stayed quiet and wasted all this time.
But they were together now, and he wouldn’t waste a moment more of it.
As he drove, he kept one hand on the wheel and the otheron her lap, where her hand was entwined with his. She was holding his hand with both of hers, her cold fingers dancing on his.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, heading for town.
“Ohmygod, yes,” she said. “Starving. I didn’t even eat dinner last night.”
Theo nodded, driving to Main Street. It was still pretty early, so they got a parking spot easily, then walked over to the Baby Dragon Cafe, which had just opened and was still empty and quiet at this time. It reminded him of those mornings he used to drop off bakery deliveries really early, before the cafe even opened.
They ordered, then sat down at one of the tables by the exposed stone wall. Lavinia leaned her chin on her hands, and he leaned forward across the table, wanting to be close to her. Under the table, their feet tapped against each other.
A little while later, a server came with their food: lattes and bagel breakfast sandwiches, as well as slices of a pumpkin olive oil loaf. They dug in, the food particularly hitting the spot since they were so famished.
