Chapter 10
The next day was Saturday, thank god; Emmeline needed a day off. In the morning, she took a long, hot bath, then headed straight for the Baby Dragon Cafe, taking Motu with her.
Luckily, the little menace helped distract her thoughts from constantly straying to Luke, though the sight of the baby dragon also reminded her of the situation in the office, how she had ended up in Luke’s arms. The memory made heat flush through her, and she scowled—but how could she be angry with such an adorable creature?
Especially when he gave such good cuddles.
With a sigh, Emmeline dismounted from Torch on Main Street. It had begun snowing, little flurries of snowflakes dancing in the air and sticking to her skin. Motu opened his mouth, trying to catch them, and she steered the baby dragon into the cafe, seeking shelter.
The place was packed. As she stood in line, her thoughts went to Luke again. She didn’t know what was worse, his probing questions or the feel of his fingers pressing into her hips as she’d sat on his lap.
She did not need to think about that.
But she couldn’t get his question about the baby dragon out of her head, either: “And you’re not busy?”
Of course she was! Who was he to question such a thing?
Emmeline rubbed her temples. She needed caffeine. Luckily, it was almost her turn to order, and she looked around for Saphira, who she was supposed to be meeting along with Aiden, probably, since the man was never farther than a three-foot radius from his wife, if that.
Emmeline didn’t spot her friend through the crowd. The establishment was busier than ever with the expansion and extended hours, which was good for business—both Saphira’s and Emmeline’s, as Emmeline sourced the cafe’s coffee.
The expansion had been executed wonderfully by Theo, and there was lots more space, which was ideal for these winter months when the outside garden wasn’t in use.
Motu hopped along as she went forward in line, until it was Emmeline’s turn to order.
“One large karak chai,” she said. “And a cake rusk please.”
She pointed to the hard biscuit in the display case.
It sat in a jar along with a sign that read ‘The Baby Dragon Bakery by Theo Noon’.
Beside that was the bakery’s emblem: a cupcake with wings.
She spotted other fusion desserts like gajar halwa cheesecake cups and chocolate milk barfi squares.
There were also basic bakery items, such as croissants, donuts, mini cakes, and scones.
Motu pawed at her leg, and she glanced down at his big purple eyes. “And some burned naan chips,” Emmeline added to the order.
The barista handed those to her first, and she set the bowl down in front of Motu.
The baby dragon munched happily as the barista gave her a piece of cake rusk on a plate.
Emmeline stood to the side to wait for her chai as Motu happily ate his chips, bouncing in place, his hyper-levels slowly increasing.
“Behave,” she said, careful not to be too stern or she’d elicit a tantrum. Luckily, Motu settled. Emmeline considered that the other baby dragons around him were probably having an effect.
In the early days of the cafe, all the baby dragons had been a bit chaotic, but now they knew how to behave, and the cafe ran harmoniously. Some baby dragons slept in little nooks, while others played together, mindful of the customers and definitely careful not to spit fire anywhere.
“Here you go,” the barista said, handing her a large mug of chai.
“Mm, thank you.” Emmeline stood by the wall, Motu at her feet as she took a sip and looked around.
There were a few really young baby dragons; at under six months, they were delicate and vulnerable and as such were dressed in little knit sweaters.
Some even had mittens on their tiny paws!
She even spotted a baby dragon with a cable-knit trapper hat, complete with a puffy pom-pom on top.
Too cute!
Emmeline looked down at Motu, wanting to wrangle him into such an adorable outfit. He followed her gaze, and, understanding, took a pause from munching to hiss at her.
She rolled her eyes. “Alright,” she conceded. “But you have to admit they’re adorable.”
Before she could attempt to convince Motu further, Saphira came floating down the stairs. Emmeline lifted a hand and Saphira came over, her braid swinging.
“You’re early!” Saphira said.
“I needed this,” Emmeline replied, holding up her mug.
“Hello, darling.” Saphira petted Motu, and he leaned into her touch. “He’s your brother’s, isn’t he?”
Emmeline nodded. “I’m stuck babysitting because Haris failed one of his classes.”
“You and your baji duties never finish,” Saphira said, letting out a breath. Emmeline took another sip of chai. “How’s Millie? And the baby?”
Pulling out her phone, Emmeline showed Saphira pictures, telling her about the trip as Saphira listened intently with a fond smile. Emmeline took a bite of the cake rusk, pausing her storytelling to compliment the bakery item.
“Mm, this is good,” Emmeline said. “Crispy but not too hard, and not too sweet, either.”
“Oh, good!” Saphira said, relieved. “Theo’s been playing with his recipe for that very reason!” She glanced over Emmeline’s shoulder. “And speaking of—”
Emmeline turned to see the baker entering from the front door, his girlfriend tucked into his coat. Lavinia wore a huge scarf wrapped around her face with fluffy pink earmuffs and thick-soled boots, giving some height to her short frame, though her boyfriend still towered over her.
Saphira waved, and the couple came over.
“Ohmygoodness, who is this?” Lavinia asked, crouching down to Motu. He looked curiously at her earmuffs, and Lavinia took them off, sticking them on Motu’s head. The baby dragon was displeased, trying to get the earmuffs off.
“Babysitting for my brother,” Emmeline explained, as Lavinia took her earmuffs back.
“Aw, fun!” Lavinia said, standing up. “I miss babysitting.”
“I remember you watched your mom’s friend’s dragon for a bit!” Saphira said.
Lavinia nodded, tucking her straight hair behind her ear. “Biter. I miss that cutie-pie.”
“We just saw her last week,” Theo said, and Lavinia rolled her eyes.
Theo smiled, kissing Lavinia’s temple, eliciting a smile from her as well. Though they had only been dating for a year, they had been best friends since childhood, and Emmeline loved how comfortable they were with one another, as if they were made from the same clay. Her heart ached.
“You’re welcome to take this rascal off my hands,” Emmeline joked. Motu looked up at her with betrayal in his purple eyes. “I’m kidding!” she told him, reaching down to smush his face in her free hand. “You’re my little cutu.”
“Motu was Torch’s egg, wasn’t he?” Saphira asked, and Emmeline nodded.
Lavinia gasped. “That means you’re a grandma,” Lavinia said. “Because Torch is your baby, and Motu is Torch’s.”
Emmeline gave Lavinia a threatening look. “I’m going to pretend like I didn’t hear you just say that, Lavinia,” she said.
“Oops!” Lavinia hid in Theo’s side, and he wrapped his arms around her, hiding her in his coat. Saphira laughed, as another joined their group.
“Having fun without me?” Ginny asked, her baby dragon flying at her side.
“Hey!” Emmeline hugged her youngest cousin hello as Fang went down to knock heads with Motu.
“Motu, share with Fang,” Emmeline said, but the baby dragon gathered his naan chips into his arms, hiding them behind his wings. Fang snarled. Motu jumped, alarmed, then spread his wings open, pushing the chips forward. Fang munched on one.
“Looks like Fang is a little bully just like his mama,” Emmeline joked.
Ginny smiled, taking that as a compliment. “The whole gang is here?” she asked. “Here I was thinking I was special.”
“We’re just missing Aiden,” Saphira replied. She bit back a giggle, and Emmeline raised a brow, suspicious. Saphira was particularly glowing today, lit from within with some sort of happiness that seemed extraordinary.
Saphira caught Emmeline’s expression and, just as Emmeline opened her mouth to ask, Saphira blurted out the news.
“I’m pregnant!” As soon as the words were out, Saphira gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. The rest of them were silent with shock.
Then Aiden came in from the back, snowflakes in his dark hair and on his coat. Saphira’s eyes were wide. Aiden took one look at his wife and started laughing, shaking his head. “She told you, didn’t she?” he asked, brushing the snow off his coat before wrapping an arm around her.
“Oops.” Saphira canoodled into his side, sheepish, but Aiden only grinned. The rest of them erupted in congratulations, giving hugs and kisses. Fang and Motu were unsure what was happening, but they watched with pleased expressions.
“I had a whole set-up outside in the garden,” Aiden said, when the first round of congratulations was over.
“I know, I’m sorry!” Saphira said. “I couldn’t hold it in any longer.”
Aiden snorted, looking over at the group. “Mind you, we found out three days ago,” he told them.
“Three days is a long time to keep a secret!” Saphira argued.
“It’s very early, so we’ve only told my parents and now you guys,” Aiden said. “If you can be discreet. Particularly at family dinner later this week—don’t need the entire extended family to know just yet.”
“You only told Ginny now?” Emmeline asked, offended on her behalf, and Ginny smiled.
“No, they told me at the same time they told my parents. I just wanted to be here for the fun,” she said, scooping Fang up into her arms and giving him a happy kiss.
“Speaking of fun—tell me if there’s anything specific you guys want to eat and drink, otherwise I have little treats prepared for us,” Saphira said.
“And we can go sit outside,” Aiden added.
“Whatever you have prepared is good for us!” Lavinia said.