Page 74 of Grounding the Baker
“The usual. People not minding their own business,” replied Austin.
“Austin just swooped in here and went into the kitchen to give his man a good seeing-to before going to work,” said Giselle.
Michael’s eyes widened, and Austin spluttered.
“That is not what happened,” he said, scowling at Giselle.
“I’m just messing with you. I know you like to take your time.”
“And on that note, I’m leaving. Speak to you later, Michael.”
“Can we?”
“What?”
“Speak later.”
Austin saw the worried look on his friend’s face and didn’t hesitate to agree, letting Michael know he was free until eight o’clock. He knew Liam would understand if they had to meet up later, but Austin wanted to avoid that if hecould. They agreed to meet in the pub at six. After that, he left before any more cheering started. As he was walking to his truck, his phone pinged.
Liam
I’m giving you a key for the back door xxx
Good idea, but it won’t stop them! xxx
“Putyour wallet away and don’t insult me,” said Gerard. “I’m allowed to spoil my niece whenever I want to.”
Austin smiled and put his wallet back in his pocket. The childminder had a personal emergency, so Austin brought Maisie to the pub for dinner before he met Michael. It wasn’t something they did often, as Austin liked to cook, and they didn’t get to have dinner together every night with his work schedule. There were a lot of families in the restaurant at this time of day.
“I didn’t say yours was free,” said Gerard.
“You just told me to put my wallet away.”
“I said that, didn’t I? Well, I guess that means you owe me a favour now, doesn’t it?”
Austin didn’t hesitate to pull his wallet back out and slap his debit card on the table. Gerard chuckled.
“I just want you to fit me into your busy schedule. I want to give the patio a bit of a lift before the weather gets better.”
“How much of a lift?”
Austin wondered if it was something he could do himself or if he’d need support. He was booked solid untilthe end of May, but he had the weekends, although that would eat into his time with Liam.
“Not the whole thing. Just the bit where all the smokers go. It’s looking a bit worn down. I want it to feel more of a social space. Maybe have some cover for the weather, and for it to feel separate from the outside dining area. It’ll stop people wandering, and look less like we ran out of money by the time we got to that corner.”
Austin laughed. It was true. He’d been the one to do their entire outside dining area when they’d first opened. That section hadn’t been a planned smoking area, but people had just found their place. The rest still looked immaculate, and given it had been ten years, that was impressive. Austin wished more of his customers looked after their gardens when he was finished, but then that would take away his repeat business. He’d done a new garden design for one customer five times in seven years.
“I could probably do that in a weekend, so let me check with Liam.”
“Aww.”
“Piss off!”
Maisie giggled.
“What’s funny?”
“You always saypiss offwhen I’m here, but I know you usually use the F-word.”
