Page 29 of Grounding the Baker
Austin got that flare in his stomach again, but he’d deal with that later. Now he had Liam in front of him, he wasn’t sure what to say. This wasn’t him. He was always confident, but this guy had him tied up in knots.
“I missed seeing you this week.”Real subtle that was, Austin!
Liam blushed and looked at the floor. “Sorry, I’ve been busy.”
No, this wouldn’t do at all. Austin used his thumb and finger to lift Liam’s chin so he could see into his eyes.
“I know you heard something about me, and I’d like to know if that’s the reason you’ve been avoiding me.”
“I haven’t been avoiding you. I’ve just been busy.”
Austin was done dancing around. He hated seeing the self-doubt in Liam’s eyes. He needed to make his intentions clear, even if it blew up in his face.
“Do you know how much restraint it’s taking for me not to kiss you right now?”
Liam’s eyes widened, and his breath hitched.
“I know the timing’s shit, but I want you to know something, Liam. I’m not looking for one night with you. In fact, I want to woo you for a while before I take you to bed and give you the best night of your life. You can tell me to fuck off, but I think you want this too. I know you’ve got a lot going on right now, so how about we leave the ball in your court. This is just me making my intentions very clear, Liam. I can’t stop thinking about you, and I’d love to take you out for dinner. Can you give me your phone, please?”
Liam looked like he was shell-shocked, so Austin pulled his own phone out of his pocket and held it up. That seemed to jerk him out of whatever was going on in his head. Liam pulled his phone out, unlocked it, and passed it to Austin. He punched his number in and saved it before texting himself. There was no way he was walking away from here without Liam’s phone number. Austin passed the phone back to him.
“I look forward to your call,” said Austin, before leaning forward and kissing Liam on the cheek.
Austin heard him gasp, and when he looked into his eyes, they were watering. It made Austin want to pull Liam into his arms, but he’d put all his cards out there now. Liam had to make the next move.
He smiled at the beautiful man, getting one back. Then he did something he didn’t think would be so difficult– he walked away, out of the gym, without looking back. All he had to do now was hope Liam would call.
EIGHT
LIAM
It had been a week since Liam had seen Austin in the gym and he’d said all those things that had made his head spin. He still couldn’t believe it. If it had been three months ago, Liam would have jumped into his arms there and then and started humping his leg. Austin hadn’t said he wanted to fuck Liam– he wanted towoohim– but he’d also made his intentions clear about what would happenwhenthey got to the bedroom. It had been hard not to cum in his pants right there and then. He’d continued to stare at the door when Austin had left, and it took Rodrigo getting his attention to remind him he was still in the gym. He’d advised Liam not to waste time before “hitting that,” as he’d so eloquently put it, but Liam had wasted time. He’d lost count of the number of times he’d written a text to Austin and then stopped himself from sending it.
Liam’s life was a bit of a mess right now. His dad had reverted into himself after the funeral, his friends in London were preoccupied with finding a new flat, and Milo’s life had blown up in spectacular fashion. It made Liam’s problems feel like nothing in comparison. Thebakery was still busy, but trying to manage that and work full-time was driving him to exhaustion. Then, on Friday, he’d been called by the big boss to be told his manager had left the business with immediate effect. This was the manager who had been fully supportive of Liam and given him all the flexibility he needed over the last two months. His presence was required in the office on Monday to meet the new manager alongside the rest of his team, so they’d have limited goods to offer in the bakery on Monday, as he’d need to be on the train by six o’clock in the morning. He could do a couple of hours’ baking, but they’d have a limited range. There was nothing he could do about it. Hopefully his new boss wasn’t an arsehole. He only had four months left at the place, but one person could do a lot of damage in that time.
Austin had been to the bakery every day this week, and since Liam was no longer evading him, they had spoken in a friendly manner like they used to before the festival. There was no pressure from Austin, and he’d been all smiles as always. Liam was now conscious of Austin’s flirting and secretly loved it, but if he was going to have a chance with this guy, he needed to wait until things were more stable. He’d advertised for some more help at the bakery, so that would take some pressure off until the summer when he’d be able to commit full-time. He was working on the basis that his dad wasn’t coming back, so he’d probably still need some part-time help then as well. The bonus and shares from work would give him a solid financial cushion, so the bakery could absorb the additional cost.
There was a knock on the door of his annexe. Assuming it was his dad, he shouted for him to come in, but they knocked again. Liam got up and opened the door.
“Hi, Giselle, are you looking for me?”
“Who else would I be knocking on this door for? Put the kettle on. We’ve got lots to talk about.”
She pushed past him and removed her coat. He shook his head with a smile and did as he was told. You didn’t argue with Auntie Giselle, as she was known to most of the village. He put the kettle on. The annexe opened into his combined living room kitchen diner. He had a bedroom at the back with an en-suite bathroom. He loved this place, as it meant he could be close to his parents but still have his own independence. They’d built it for him when he was seventeen, but at eighteen he’d wanted to have the halls of residence experience at university, so had done that for the first year. The plan had been to live at home for his second and third years, but he’d met Milo and they’d lived together ever since, meeting Kieran and Hassan after they’d left uni.
“Tea or coffee?” he asked.
“Tea, dear. You should know that by now. Since when would a French woman have instant coffee?”
He chuckled. It was a fair point. He had considered buying a machine for his annexe, but had only visited once a month until now. There was one in the house if she’d insisted anyway. Once the kettle had boiled, he kept himself busy. She seemed in no hurry to start the conversation, but he suspected she was here to talk about his dad. Giselle had been close friends with his mum, and probably felt he’d been left to grieve long enough. Confirming that she didn’t want any sugar, he added two teaspoons to his. He blamed his mother for giving him a sweet tooth.
Putting the mugs on the coffee table, he sat down in the armchair, which faced the sofa she was sitting on. She took a sip of the tea and hummed appreciatively before putting it down and levelling a glare at him.
“He needs more time,” he got in before she could speak. “She was his soulmate. We shouldn’t be pushing him to do more than he’s ready for. I know what you’re gonna say, and I know what Mum would think, but you’ve not seen him. I just want us to give him space. Let him grieve before you go storming in and dragging him back to civilisation.”
He ran out of breath, but he wasn’t sure what else he could say. Giselle smirked at him.
“Are you done?” she asked.
