"Yeah. Molly too," I said quickly, not sure why I was annoyed at the fact that he'd asked if Alice was single or not.
"Well, great. I look forward to meeting them this evening. And they know it's black tie?"
"Yeah, Travis. Don't worry."
"I'm not worried. I just don't want them to be embarrassed when they see themselves in the newspapers tomorrow."
"What?" I stared at him in confusion.
"You know the newspapers love to photograph me, especially considering I'm one of the most eligible businessmen in New York City."
I started laughing then. "You're one of the most eligible bachelors in the country, if not the world. Weren't you in an article in London a couple of months ago?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "I was. But hey, I'm not looking for love."
"Tell me about it. Me either," I said with a small smile, even though as I said that, a picture of Alice flew into my mind. The last couple of days had been really nice and low key. We hadn't really flirted, and we hadn't done anything sexy, but we had just enjoyed each other's company. I'd forgotten what it was like to be around a woman who didn't want anything from me that was also engaging and beautiful and just made me feel something other than bored. But I didn't want to complicate anything with Alice.
She told me that she'd let Rosalie know about our history and past, and I was glad that she finally told my sister. I was glad that we talked about the situation as well. I knew that it had been on her mind for a long time as it had been on mine.
I always wondered to myself if I had let my guard down, if I had made out with her, if I'd made love to her, what the trajectory of my life and her life and our relationship would've been. Would we have become boyfriend and girlfriend? Would we have gotten an engaged, married? Perhaps we'd even have a kid now.
Alice was the sort of woman who you gave yourself to, and you gave yourself to forever. I'd never met anyone quite like her, and I knew I probably never would again. She was special, but I wasn't looking for special right now, especially considering that my dad had just called me last night.
I'd sent him fifty thousand dollars to catch up with the house payments, but he just needed more. He wanted to retire soon, but his retirement accounts were all over the place. He barely had any money, and I wasn't sure what he was going to do. And the worst part of it was my mom didn't know.
He hadn't informed her that the finances were so bad. And he was scared that if he told her, she would break down. My mom was a worrier, so I understood that concern, but I felt like he should be able to tell her. He couldn't carry this burden alone, but I knew he wanted to protect her. He wanted to keep her safe, which was what I did with the women in my life as well.
That was why I wasn't telling Rosalie. I didn't want her to worry about our parents. And that was why I tried to protect Alice. I wanted her to enjoy her time in New York. I wanted her to blossom and fly and be as stress free as possible, and that meant that I had to abstain from certain things.
I couldn't kiss her. I couldn't touch her. I couldn't sleep with her. I couldn't flirt with her because she'd want more or expect more, and I just wasn't in a position to give her that right now. And I knew that she deserved that. She deserved a man willing to commit to her a hundred percent.
And it wasn't that if I was in different circumstances that I wouldn't. Perhaps I would. Perhaps I'd even enjoy it. Perhaps we could've had something really special. But at this point in my life, I just wasn't in that position, and I just needed to take care of everything and everyone else before I could be in a relationship.
"Hey, Foster. I mean, you do not have to bid on the trip to Hawaii. Don't worry about it, man."
I blinked as I stared at Travis. He was still standing in my doorway. "Sorry, what?"
"I said if you wanted to bid ten grand on the trip to Hawaii, you'd probably get it. But you were thinking about something else?"
"Sorry, I was totally thinking about something else." I shook my head and stood. "I should get going. I need to pick up some stuff for tonight. And my sister and Alice and Molly are all getting ready at my place, so it's going to be kind of crazy."
"Sounds like it." Travis paused for a couple of seconds. "Sounds nice though. It's been a long time since I've had a house full of anyone."
"You don't have friends and family that stay with you?" I asked him curiously, though now I thought about it, I'd never met any of his friends or family. I don't think he'd ever talked about them.
"Not really, no." He shook his head. "But enough about me. I will let you go, and I shall see you tonight."
"Yeah. You have a great evening, Travis, and I will see you later. Maybe I’ll bid on that trip to Hawaii after all."
"Good, good." He smiled. "And don't forget. I'm going to need to know your decision by Wednesday, or we're going to ask Sophocles."
"Sophocles." I stared at him in surprise.
"Yeah. He's already spoken to his wife about it." Travis shrugged. "I mean, I had to let him know that he was our second choice just in case you don't take the offer."
"Sure. I get it," I said. "And thank you, Travis, for giving me this time."
"No worries. You're the best man for the job. I really hope you take it."