Chapter 6 Liam #2
“You mean that group of super-hot friends who everyone in Soho wants to fuck?” It was true. They were like the cast from Hollyoaks, but queer, although to be fair, that fictional village was showered in more rainbows than Heartwood.
“Have you had Jason?” asked Liam, being provocative.
“Not my type. Thank God. That would have been awkward.”
“I think Hassan’s fucked him.”
“Who hasn’t Hassan fucked? Well, apart from us.”
Liam felt his face heat, and he couldn’t look Milo in the eye.
“No! How am I only just hearing about this now?”
“It was a couple of years ago. You and Kieran were away. We got drunk, and it just happened.”
“I have questions, but they can wait until later. Just remember not to let Hassan and Austin meet. I don’t think the hot single dad will be able to hide his jealousy.”
“I hate you!”
They both laughed.
Milo had stayed over and left for London the next day. His dad had joined them for dinner and felt a bit like his old self. Milo had kept up the patter in that way he did, and his dad had responded with full sentences rather than just a couple of words or grunts. Liam would take any progress.
That his friend was having a secret affair with the deputy prime minister had stunned Liam.
He was sworn to secrecy, and he would never tell a soul, but he still couldn’t quite believe it.
That the guy felt he had to be in the closet in this day and age to have a chance of getting to the top wasn’t the best feeling for any of them.
Regardless of political beliefs, seeing someone who was like you at the top of the tree was something that still mattered.
The rest of the week had been busy. Thankfully, Chloe had only been off for a couple of days, and Liam had made it all work.
How was he going to do this until the end of June?
The money they’d dangled in front of him had been too tempting, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to draw a wage from the bakery for a while.
It was doing well, but there were always lows with any business.
He wondered if trade would drop off soon now his mum was no longer there.
Today wasn’t the day to think about that.
It was the Festival of Love, and he had a gazillion things to bake.
It’s why he was in the bakery at three o’clock in the morning to get everything done.
Chloe was coming in at five to help him, but he could get some of the complex things out of the way first. That was what he should do, so why he immediately started on making special cupcakes for Maisie was something he would not get into right now, but avoiding a knowing smirk from Chloe was probably the primary reason.
The festival was the busiest Liam had ever seen.
He didn’t do this one often, but he’d done others in the summer months and they weren’t as busy as it was today.
They weren’t the only food vendor here, but they were the only bakery.
That was all Michael’s doing. He was selective about who he let have stalls here, and priority always went to people who already had a presence in the village.
There was someone else doing coffee, as his mother had never done both at once. Said it was much easier to sell cakes than faff around making coffee with a long line forming. Their stall had been booked before his mum died, but Liam wouldn’t have changed anything.
Liam didn’t think they’d make another two hours before selling out. He probably should have baked more.
“Do you have any chocolate orange left, Liam?” asked Giselle.
“All gone, I’m afraid.”
“We’ve got a couple down here, haven’t we?” asked Chloe.
“No. They’re reserved,” he said, feeling his face heat.
“And I bet I can guess who they’re for,” said Giselle with a knowing look.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Giselle and Henrietta laughed, whilst Chloe snorted. These women were far too intuitive.
“Yes, yes, I get that I’m a complete cliché. Having a crush on a straight guy. You don’t have to take the piss.”
This resulted in them all howling with laughter, which made him feel even worse. He scowled at them all.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, honey,” said Giselle. “Who told you Austin was straight?”
“What? He was married to a woman.”
“He likes both.”
“What? Since when?”
Giselle looked at Henrietta. “Since forever, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” replied Henrietta. “Ever since he was at university. At least that’s what his mum told us.”
Liam’s head was spinning. So, Milo was right.
Austin was bisexual. He was replaying all their interactions in his head.
Had Austin been flirting with him? Or was he just being friendly?
It had to be the latter. Why would someone like Austin be interested in Liam?
The guy was so put together, and Liam was a fucking mess.
He felt like a zombie most of the time, and he had another four months of this.
He looked at his watch and saw it was almost twelve thirty, which was the time Austin said he’d be here.
Liam couldn’t see him right now. He wasn’t sure how he’d react around him, and would probably make a fool of himself, even more than he had already.
Had Liam been obvious with his crush? Straight guys could be fairly oblivious, but another queer guy would have picked up on it.
Austin was probably just humouring him because he was a nice guy.
Fuck – he needed to get out of here. There was no way he could be on the stall when Austin arrived, but he couldn’t leave Chloe on her own.
Maybe he could just disappear for a bit and then come back.
He could bake some more muffins. His chocolate orange ones.
There’d be no danger of those not selling out.
“Will you be okay on your own for an hour while I bake some more muffins?”
“Really?” asked Chloe. “I thought this was it.”
“I didn’t know it would be this busy, and we’ll easily sell them, especially if I make chocolate orange.”
“Liam? Are you okay?” asked Henrietta in that calm voice she had, but it was doing nothing for his nerves.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Right, I better bake.”
He ran off before they could say anything else.
He was heading for the exit off the village green as fast as he could when he saw a familiar plaid shirt.
Liam wasn’t proud of himself, but he quickly hid behind one of the other stalls and watched Austin walk past with Maisie.
They were heading towards his stall, both smiling and talking.
Maisie looked excited, but that was probably about the whole festival and nothing to do with Liam.
He’d grown fond of her in the past few weeks, and didn’t like the fact that she might be disappointed he wasn’t there.
Once Liam was certain Austin wouldn’t see him, he rushed off the green and headed towards the bakery.
Once he was in the clear, he fired off a quick text to Chloe, letting her know about the special order for Maisie, which included something for Austin as well.
She was instructed not to accept any money.
She replied with a string of thumbs-up, winky face, and aubergine emojis.
Chloe was a bitch, but he couldn’t help laughing.
Hopefully, Austin wasn’t sticking around all day, or Liam would need to face him, and he didn’t feel ready for that yet.