Chapter 5 Austin #2
“You really helped me the other night. I can’t express how much it meant to me. This is how I say thank you, so will you let me do that?”
Sneaky fucker!
How could he push back against that? Austin didn’t think he’d done anything special, just been there when a friend was in need, because that was at least how he saw Liam now.
He’d been walking past the bakery and had caught movement, so he’d looked through the window, worried it might be a burglar.
Then he’d seen Liam on the floor. The place had been in darkness, but it was a clear night.
He’d looked broken, sitting on the floor by himself.
What was he supposed to do? Just walk past and leave him?
Austin wouldn’t have done that with anyone, but it being Liam had pulled at his instinct to protect and care.
“How are you feeling today?” asked Austin.
“Better, thank you. I enjoy being here. It helps.”
Liam had his hands clasped together, and Austin had an urge to take his hands and rub them until he relaxed, but he held back.
Liam needed Austin to be his friend now, and with Maisie sitting next to them, she’d ask questions.
He’d never mentioned his bisexuality to her because it hadn’t been necessary.
It was something he’d have told her when she was older.
When Ellie died, he didn’t think about being in a relationship again, but now he was clearly open to it, he would need to have the conversation with her at some point soon.
He glanced at Maisie, who was happily eating her first muffin. Austin took a bite of his and couldn’t help but close his eyes and moan. These were always heavenly. He would never say this aloud, but Liam was a better baker than Sylvie. Not that he was biased or anything.
He opened his eyes and saw Liam staring at him, his mouth slightly open, which caused Austin to have some very inappropriate thoughts.
Liam shook his head as if he was trying to reboot his brain.
It was adorable. He glanced at Austin again before turning his attention to Maisie with a beautiful blush on his face.
“Are you looking forward to the festival, Maisie?” asked Liam.
“What festival?”
“It’s the Festival of Love in February, which is on the weekend after Valentine’s Day. It’s the first festival of the year.”
“How many festivals are there?”
“A lot. Almost one every month.”
“Oh, wow. Can we go to the Festival of Love, Dad?”
“Of course.”
“Are you coming with us, Liam?” asked Maisie with childlike innocence, but Austin knew his daughter well enough to know she was up to something.
“I’ll be there,” he said. “We have a booth there.”
Austin couldn’t help but feel disappointed. He would have liked Liam to go with them rather than be working.
“Will it be a lot of extra work?” asked Austin.
“We always close the bakery and just have the stall for the day. I’ll bake some extra, but when we run out, that will be it.”
“Do you need any help?”
“No. Thank you, though. We’ll be fine. You should enjoy yourself with Maisie. It’ll be her first Heartwood festival.”
“Will you have unicorn cupcakes there?” she asked.
“For you, I will,” he smiled. “Are you enjoying the cupcake, then?”
“Yeah. You’re a much better baker than my dad.”
Liam snorted. “Is that so? Maybe your dad just needs some lessons.”
Was Liam flirting with him, or was he reading too much into it? Oh well, there was only one way to find out.
“I would really appreciate any help I could get,” he said with a smile.
That Liam went bright red had to be a good sign, right? It was on the tip of his tongue to ask Liam out for dinner when a large presence appeared at their table.
“And what do we have here?” asked Gerard, raising an eyebrow at Austin.
“Hi, Uncle Gerard. Look, Liam made me unicorn cupcakes.”
“Wow, don’t they look amazing? And doesn’t this look cosy,” he said, with a pointed look at Austin. “Chloe, I’ll have mine here, please.”
“No problem,” she shouted.
“Move up, Austin.”
He glared at his friend. The fucker was not being subtle and should mind his own business. They were just having coffee, and he didn’t like that Liam looked uncomfortable.
“I better get back to work. I’ll leave you to it,” he said.
“Thank you for the cupcakes, Liam. You didn’t have to do that, but thank you anyway. I know Maisie loves them.”
“I do,” she said, getting up and putting her arms up for Liam to hug her, which he did with a smile.
He went back to work, and Austin couldn’t help watching him go. His heart was beating so fast after seeing this beautiful man hug his daughter.
“You are so fucked,” whispered Gerard, reminding Austin that one of his supposed best friends had gatecrashed their . . . well, whatever it was they’d been doing.
“Is there a reason you’re here?” he snarked.
Gerard nodded at Maisie and signalled for them to go outside to talk.
“Will you be okay here for a minute?” he asked Maisie.
She nodded and was already onto her second cupcake. He closed the box to make it clear they were taking the rest home before following Gerard. Austin detoured to the counter to speak to Liam.
“Can you keep an eye on her for a second, please? I just need to go speak to my friend in private. I’ll be outside.”
“Of course.” He smiled.
“Chloe, can you give me Gerard’s coffee to take away? He’ll be leaving after we’ve spoken.”
She smirked and poured the coffee she’d just made into a takeaway cup and passed it to Gerard.
Liam had a confused look on his face, as if he wasn’t sure what was going on.
That made him even more adorable. Once he had the coffee, he passed it to Gerard and signalled for him to get out of the bakery.
His friend at least looked a bit embarrassed by his behaviour.
Once they were outside, they walked away from the front window of the bakery.
“What are you playing at, Gerard? Liam was getting to know Maisie, and you come in being a dick.”
“We discussed this, Austin. I’m just trying to stop you doing something that will get you both hurt.”
“I’m just trying to be his friend. He needs one right now. His friends are all in London, and he doesn’t have anyone here who’s just for him. It’s all his mum’s friends. He needs his own person.”
“And that’s all it is? I saw how you were looking at him, Austin? When he hugged Maisie, you wanted to drag him back to your cave and have another dozen kids with him.”
Austin snorted. To be fair, he wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t how he would have worded it. And what did it matter? He wouldn’t act on his feelings. He was self-aware enough to know it wasn’t a good time for Liam.
“Why does it matter to you whether I befriend someone? He’s Sylvie’s son, for fuck’s sake. Don’t you think he deserves to have a friend?”
“Austin. This isn’t about Liam, it’s about you and Maisie. I’ve known you for thirty-five years, remember? You’ve got a big heart, and you go all in. That’s always been who you are. I just don’t want you to get hurt. We don’t even know if he’s going to stick around.”
“He’s quit his job in the city because he wants to run this place. That was always his plan. It’s not some guilt thing about his mum. This was always his dream. It’s why he took a high-paying job, which he clearly hates, so he’d have the security to do this.”
“You two have spoken a lot, then?”
“We talked the night of Sylvie’s funeral. He was here, on his own, sitting on the floor.”
“Did anything happen between you?”
“Jesus, Gerard. Is that what you think of me? You said you’ve known me for thirty-five years. Would I ever take advantage of someone in any situation?”
“No, I’m sorry. Of course you wouldn’t. Look, I don’t know why I did that in there. I just saw you looking at him, and it was the same way you used to look at Ellie. Like there was no one else in the room. I was just trying to look out for you, and made a fucking mess of it as usual.”
“Look, I know your heart was in the right place, it always is, but I want to be his friend. Yes, of course I want more, but I would never push it. Come on, Gerard. You know me better than that.”
Gerard nodded, looking a bit upset, so Austin gave him a hug. Gerard squeezed him tight and almost made him groan. The guy was the definition of a bear hug.
“Am I going to expect any more shit from the rest of you on this?”
“No,” said Gerard, as they pulled apart. “I doubt Tony even knows what’s going on, and he’d probably just say something crass about breeding. And Nathan and Michael don’t interfere in things like this. That’s my job.”
“Well, it was Nathan who suggested I might want to visit the coffee shop.”
“Really? Nathan?”
“Yep.”
“You really are fucked, then. That guy picks up on things we all miss.”
“And Michael suggested I invite him to the Festival of Love.”
Gerard chuckled. “I think that might be a bit on the nose.”
“He’s working it anyway, and Maisie wants to be my date.”
“Aww. How cute!”
“Get fucked!”
They both laughed.
“Look, I’m sorry. I just don’t want to see someone I love go through what I did.”
Gerard choked up, so Austin hugged him again.
“None of that, please. You two found your way back to each other. And it’s been ten years now. You can stop imagining chaos and destruction now.”
“I know, I know. It’s just sometimes it comes back to me.”
“Well, why don’t you go back to the pub and drag him from the kitchen and take him upstairs?”
Gerard chuckled. “It’s a Saturday. We’re fully booked.”
They pulled apart. “I’m sure it won’t take long at your age,” said Austin.
Gerard glared at him, but there was nothing behind it. His eyes were still twinkling with amusement.
“Are we okay?” asked Gerard.
“Of course. We’ll always be okay.”
Gerard smiled. “I’d better get back to the pub and leave you to drag Maisie away from Liam.”
“What are you talking about?”
Gerard gestured towards the window of the bakery.
Austin looked through and there was Liam and Maisie in the booth.
He had his phone out, and they were watching something and both laughing.
Austin didn’t think he’d ever seen Liam laugh before.
It was beautiful, and made him want to make Liam laugh every day for the rest of his life.
“Just want to be friends, do you?” asked Gerard.
“What?”
“Mate, if you could see your face now, you’d know what I mean.”
“Why? What’s my face saying?”
“That you’re fucked!”