Page 15 of Grounding the Baker
“What time do you finish your other job? What is it you do?”
“I’m an investment manager for a private equity firm, and I’m usually done by seven o’clock. We have offices on the west coast, so I need to be around for calls in the evening. If we have Singapore, I do those from here, once I’ve got everything in the oven.”
“What time do you start here?” asked Austin with a frown.
“I get here at four o’clock.”
Austin went to say something and then stopped.
“I know I’m overdoing it. You don’t need to get all big brother on me.”
Austin wrinkled his nose, as if he didn’t like Liam referring to him in that way.
“I finish up my corporate job atthe end of March, and then I can just focus on the bakery. Once Dad’s ready to come back, he can deal with all the business stuff, and I can focus on baking.”
“So, you’re dealing with all the operations and the baking, and what I’m guessing is a very demanding day job?”
“Yeah, but it’s not for long, and I like to keep busy. Gives me less time to think.”
Austin went to speak again, then stopped. “Will you be here on Saturday?”
Liam noted the subject change, but went with it. He didn’t need a lecture on how much he was overdoing it. Giselle and Henrietta had given him enough earache about it.
“Yes, I’m here all day.”
“Great. I’ll bring Maisie in to meet you on Saturday, then.”
FIVE
AUSTIN
Austin hadn’t slept brilliantly the night before. By the time he got home from dropping Maisie at school, he was ready to go back to bed, but he had a long to-do list today. He wanted to get it all done so the weekend could be completely free to spend with Maisie. Austin was far too excited about taking his daughter to meet Liam, which was something he wouldn’t be saying to anyone. He knew his friends wouldn’t be able to help but take the piss out of him.
Thinking about Liam reminded Austin of what had kept him up all night. The man was burning himself out. Yes, he was a lot younger than Austin– well, not a lot, it was only twelve years. Perfectly acceptable. That still didn’t mean he could run on empty forever; anyone could see he was frazzled. Liam had people around him he’d known a lot longer than Austin, who should say something. Maybe they had, and Liam was ignoring them. There was no doubt he’d have a stubborn streak in him. Would Austin be overstepping if he said anything? They barely knew each other. Could he even refer to Liam as a friend? He wanted to referto him as a lot more, but Gerard was right, the timing was lousy.
No matter how much he tried, Austin couldn’t get Liam out of his head, and last night had only intensified his feelings, holding the man in his arms while he let out his pain. Austin wanted to be that person for him whenever he needed it. Why the fuck had the universe put them together now? It didn’t seem fair to either of them.
“Here you go,Austin. You’re good to go,” said Michael.
He took the permits, pleased he could now start trading locally. He’d already put out some feelers and had some client calls booked for early February, hoping all the paperwork would be sorted in good time. Given the village had a parish council, many business permits had to go through them and could take months, but Michael had worked his magic and made it happen sooner. Who you knew still mattered, which wasn’t a great way for society to function, but if it gave him an advantage with local bureaucracy, then Austin would take the win.
“Thanks, Michael. How’s it going?”
“Good. Just busy. We have the first festival of the year in two weeks, and it only feels like yesterday we were doing Christmas.”
“What is it?”
“Festival of Love.”
Austin smiled. He couldn’t help it.
“Thinking of inviting someone?” said Michael with a teasing smile.
Austin knew what he was doing, but wouldn’t bite. He remembered the Valentine’s Day festival from years ago. Itwas a staple of the town and had probably gotten even bigger with Michael in charge. The guy was a hopeless romantic, although it was for everyone but himself.
“Will you be inviting someone?” he asked Michael.
“I’ll be working.”
