Chapter 11 Austin #2
Austin downed his coffee and put the cup on the counter. Chloe was dramatically fanning herself, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. Then he left for work. He’d find time tomorrow morning to speak to Liam before their date.
Saturday morning was a disaster. There were issues with the customer’s patio, and he’d needed to finish the job himself this morning.
One of his guys was sick the day before, and the other couldn’t work on the Saturday as he had his kids.
Austin was a fairly chill boss, and nothing anyone had done was something that would usually bother him, but he’d wanted to talk to Liam.
Now it was almost two o’clock, he looked a mess, and he’d picked up Maisie from Giselle and Henrietta’s as they had plans.
Nathan was coming over tonight to watch her, which she was happy about.
Given how inquisitive his little girl was, he was surprised she hadn’t asked any questions about what he was doing.
Austin needed to get something more permanent sorted for weekends.
He had a childminder during the week, who would pick Maisie up from school and stay with her until seven o’clock, making her dinner – if Austin could get back sooner, he would, and they always had breakfast together in the morning – but if he wanted to do something in the evening or on the weekend, he had to find someone else.
Giselle and Henrietta or Gerard and Kevin were always happy to have her, as was Nathan, but he didn’t enjoy passing her around to different people all the time.
She hadn’t complained, and loved her surrogate aunts and uncles, but Austin wanted to give her more stability.
It was hard enough juggling childcare with work, and now, if he was going to date Liam, there was no way he was only seeing him once a week.
Austin wanted to spend as much time as possible with him.
He walked into the bakery with Maisie. It wasn’t too busy, but it was only open for another hour. Austin was surprised to see Martin behind the counter talking to Chloe. It was great to see him here again.
“Hello again, Austin,” said Martin. “And who is this young lady?”
“I’m Maisie,” his daughter said with confidence. “Where’s Liam?”
Austin snorted. Liam was all she’d talked about on the way here.
He hoped she’d be okay about her dad being Liam’s boyfriend, because that’s where he wanted this to go.
There was no doubt in Austin’s mind, but he wouldn’t rush Liam.
He’d had a lot happen to him over the last few months, and Austin wanted to ease his stress, not add to it.
“Liam,” shouted Martin. “You’ve got guests.”
Liam came rushing out of the kitchen, all smiles. He had his apron on, but no hairnet or flour dusting today. He rushed round the counter and picked Maisie up in a big hug, ignoring Austin, although he flashed him a smile, which was flirty and just for him.
“Do you want to come into the kitchen with me, Maisie, and help me ice your cupcakes?” asked Liam.
“Yes, please. Dad, is that okay?”
“Of course, sweetie. Make sure you listen to what Liam says.”
“Come on, let’s go. Grab a coffee, we won’t be long,” said Liam, putting Maisie down and holding her hand as they walked into the back together.
Austin watched them go and couldn’t keep the big smile off his face. It was only when they went through the kitchen door that he realised Martin and Chloe were watching him with big grins.
“What?” he asked, trying to act nonchalant and failing miserably based on the way they both kept grinning at him.
“You two are so cute,” said Chloe.
“Me and Maisie?” he teased.
“Definitely what I was thinking,” she replied. “Usual, I assume?”
“Yeah, thanks, and can I get the mango cooler for Maisie?”
“Of course. The machine’s ready.”
Austin pulled out his phone and tapped the payment screen. He noticed Martin was still watching him, like he was a puzzle he was trying to solve.
“How are you doing, Martin?”
“What happened to Mr Wells?”
“Your son told me not to call you that, and I’m trying to impress him.”
Martin snorted. “Well, it must be working. He hasn’t stopped talking about your date all week.”
Austin felt his face flush. He’d never had this sort of interaction with a partner’s parent before, especially not before the first date.
They carried on chatting while Chloe made his coffee, but no heavy topics.
It would be important for him to get on with Liam’s father, so he wanted to get off on the right foot.
As Chloe was blending Maisie’s drink, his phone rang.
It was Mrs Hargreaves, the one whose patio he’d just finished.
“Hello, Calder Landscapes.”
“Austin, is that you?”
“Yes, Mrs Hargreaves. Is everything okay?”
“There are some gaps in the flagstones.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “As I mentioned, they need a few days to settle. I’ll pop back in a week and check them.”
“But I’m having a barbecue tomorrow.”
It was March and the temperature was rarely hitting two figures at the moment. Why she was having a barbecue was a mystery, but not his problem.
“I tried to fix it myself, but something must have happened because some flagstones have moved. Please could you come and look at it?”
“Okay, Mrs Hargreaves. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
He hung up with a groan. So much for being able to talk to Liam.
Now he was going to have to go back and fix whatever she’d done.
There was no obligation for him to do that, but Mrs Hargreaves was well connected in the village and sat on the parish council, so she was someone you wanted on side.
He’d said nothing, but he’d need to take Maisie with him.
“I’m gonna have to head. Please, can you get Maisie for me?”
“How long will you be?” asked Martin.
“No idea. Could be an hour. It just depends what she’s done.”
“Knowing Rita Hargreaves, I’d double that time. Why don’t you leave Maisie here with us. We can look after her.”
Austin wasn’t sure what to say. He knew Liam and trusted him, and by extension that would go to his dad as well, but then it was another person he was dumping his daughter on, and that made him feel like he was being a shitty dad.
“Liam, come out here a second,” shouted Martin.
Liam walked out of the kitchen with a smile. “What’s wrong? We’re nearly done.”
“I need to see a customer,” said Austin.
Liam’s face looked sad, which Austin immediately hated.
“It’s Rita Hargreaves, so I suggested he leave Maisie with us.”
Liam’s face changed immediately. “Yes, leave her with us. We’ll look after her.”
“I know you will.”
Liam smiled. “Come through and say goodbye.”
Austin walked around the counter and into the kitchen. Maisie was sitting on a chair with a piping bag. She was concentrating on what she was doing and looked adorable.
“Hi, Dad. Look what I did? It’s for you.”
He looked at her handiwork, or her attempt at replicating one of his plaid shirts. It didn’t have the same expert finesse that Liam’s had, but it still looked delicious.
“It looks amazing, sweetie. Thank you for doing that for me.”
He crouched down to be at her height.
“Maisie, I need to go back to work for a bit. Are you okay to stay with Liam?”
“Really? Yes, yes, yes,” she said, clapping her hands and squealing.
“I guess she’s fine with it,” he said with a chuckle, and looked at Liam.
He gave her a big hug and asked Liam if they could have a quiet word before they left. They walked into the shop away from the audience, which was Chloe and Martin.
“Sorry about this, but I won’t be too long and then we’ll leave you in peace to get ready for later. I’m still picking you up at six.”
“Who’s looking after Maisie?”
“Nathan is going to stay at ours until I get back.”
“Okay,” said Liam, looking awkward.
“If you remember, I said I didn’t want to . . .” he trailed off. Why was he stuck for words?
“You said you wanted to woo me.”
“Yes, that’s what I said. It’s what I want to do. Is that okay?”
“Yes, as long as you don’t woo me for a year.”
Austin chuckled. “I won’t be able to keep my hands to myself for that long.”
Liam blushed, and Austin couldn’t resist giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“I’ll see you later, Liam. Thanks for watching Maisie. I’ll be back as soon as I can, and later . . . maybe I’ll get to kiss you properly.”
“Depends how good you make this date,” he said with a cheeky smile.
Austin laughed. “Challenge accepted,” he said, and because he couldn’t help himself, he kissed Liam on the cheek again. “See you soon.”
Austin then left before he did something completely inappropriate for a public place, and especially in front of Liam’s dad.
As he headed back to his place to pick up his truck, he couldn’t keep the huge smile off his face.
He was already so gone for this guy, and it was the best feeling in the world.