by Tess Summers
Right then, Hope and Grace appeared in the doorway in their pajamas with mussed hair, rubbing their eyes. “What’s all the yelling about, Steve?” Hope asked as she shuffled toward the refrigerator.
Their brother looked away without saying anything. Francine interjected, “Girls, this is Travis Sterling. He’s the father of Ava’s baby.”
Just like that, her mother dropped the bomb and threw him under the bus. Maybe there was hope for the woman after all.
The younger girls looked him over, sizing him up.
Grace cocked her head and said, “You look familiar.” She squinted and stared at him, her eyes getting wide when she realized where she had seen him. The night after the party her parents still knew nothing about, when Ava introduced him as Patrick’s uncle. The man who sent the cleaning crew.
“Really nice meeting you, Travis,” Grace cooed.
Ava knew her sister recognized him and wasn’t going to draw any attention to the fact she had already met him, lest she have to explain the circumstances. Hope took the youngest girl’s lead and also gushed over the handsome man that had knocked their older sister up.
With that, Travis looked at everyone and said he had to get to work if he wanted to take the afternoon off. His eyes were no longer smug when they met Ava’s with an almost business-like expression before nodding at her brother. He kissed and thanked Fran again for breakfast, told the girls it was nice to meet them, nodded appreciatively at her father, then turned and saw himself out.
The girls scurried over to where Ava was standing, “He’s gorgeous! Nice job, Ava!” Hope said in a congratulatory tone.
Grace simply said, “I like him. He seems nice.”
Yeah, you like him because he didn’t rat you out to your mom and bailed your sorry hung-over self out from hard work.
Their brother stood there, glowering, but not daring to say anything while their father was still in the room. As if on cue, Robert Ericson made his way to exit the kitchen. Before leaving, he turned to his son and said, “Let’s talk later.” Steven knew better than to talk about it further in front of their mother.
* * * *
Ava and her mother pulled up to the valet at The Plaza precisely at eleven fifty-five. The elder Ericson woman had phoned three venues and because of all the business she had sent their way, was given a same day appointment at all three.
Francine made her way to the concierge desk and asked for Kimberly. Within two minutes, the woman appeared. “Mrs. Ericson! So lovely to see you again! Thank you so much for thinking of us.” Just then, Travis and Robert walked through the lobby doors. Frannie offered them both a warm greeting before turning to Kimberly. “Everyone’s here. Let’s get started, shall we?”
They walked into the elegant ballroom with crystal chandeliers hanging above each table. It was currently set up for an event, so they could picture what the room would look like for the party.
After a brief rundown of the amenities the hotel could offer for a party, her mother asked Kimberly, “What are our menu options?”
Kimberly must have misunderstood the purpose of Mrs. Ericson’s question.
“We can go as inexpensive as you’d like.” Obviously the woman did not know who she was in the presence of.
Travis had been looking through the window to the outdoor patio, hands in his pockets. He turned around and drawled, “And what if I’d like it to be expensive?” He was clearly offended at the mere suggestion he would host a cheap party.
This flustered the woman, and she tried to recover. Francine Ericson, ever the gracious socialite, attempted to put Kimberly back at ease by picking up a printed menu off a table and asking clarifying questions about the entrées listed. Her father chuckled as he walked around the space.
What am I doing here? This is silliness. We should just send out announcements like normal people.
Except their situation was far from normal, and a far cry from what she was sure her mother had envisioned for announcing her first grandchild to society. The guilt of that kept Ava from walking out the door.
“What day are we looking at?” Kimberly loudly inquired, directing her question to Travis.
Francine ran interference and answered with a smile. “New Year’s Eve.”
“Oh,” the woman said morosely. “That’s just a little over a month away; the ballroom is already booked that evening for an event The Plaza is hosting. If you had given me more notice…” She wrung her hands. “There’s a side ballroom we could look at. That one may still be available.”
Travis looked at Francine and the woman then flatly and coolly said, “Unfortunately, we hadn’t the luxury of being able to plan far enough in advance to meet your schedule. I understand that puts us at a disadvantage, and I understand there are consequences by not booking in advance, so whatever you need to charge for us to have the room for New Year’s Eve, I don’t care. I am prepared and more than capable of paying it. Please tell me the price to make this happen, so we can let you get back to your day.”
The woman looked anxiously at Travis, then back at Francine. She was clearly in a quandary.
Ava smiled when she remembered wondering what it would be like for someone to tell Travis no. Apparently this was it.
Francine again ran interference. “Travis, I arranged for us to also look at The Lodge and Las Montanas Verde this afternoon. Why don’t we wait and—”
But he cut her off, trying to be gentler this time. Smiling patiently, he said, “Francine, I know the two other locations. We’ve hosted the Warrior Project ball at both of them at one time or another. I’ve been to several events at all three locations and The Plaza has always outclassed the other two by far. This party is a big deal.” He looked over at Ava. “Your daughter and I are going to announce we’re having a child without the benefit of being married. I want this to be such an elegant affair that people will barely flinch at that detail.”
Ava knew the people who would flinch. The people he was talking about were in the Ericsons’ social circle, particularly Francine’s. While having a baby out of wedlock was no longer considered scandalous in today’s society, it was still frowned upon in the circles her parents ran in. Ava’s sphere not so much, but she was still willing to do whatever would help lessen the blow to her parents’ reputation. Travis might also have been concerned about his partners, and how their older clients might feel about such news, although she highly doubted it. Travis could have fifty children out of wedlock with fifty different women, and people would still hire him. She wasn’t sure if she gave a damn or not about how this was going to reflect on Travis in ‘society’, but she did relish the blow his unobtainable bachelor status was going to take, if at least temporarily. He’d probably become more eligible as the doting, single father who needed a woman to mother his child.
If she didn’t recognize his name, Kimberly at least understood Travis was someone she wanted to make happy. Not to mention being able to name the fee would be quite a coup.
“Maybe we could move our event to the other hall.” She excused herself to go talk to her superiors.
Ava was going to say something to Travis about how it wasn’t a big deal—they should look at the other locations, but thought better of it. Instead, she tried to make chitchat to break up the uncomfortable silence. Her mother took over instead with talk of decorations and centerpieces. Ava could tell Travis wasn’t paying attention. He was lost in thought elsewhere, knowing he could entrust Frannie to make this the party of the decade.
“Ava, what colors are you thinking?” her mother asked her.
She hadn’t given a single thought to a color scheme. Off-the-cuff, she suggested pink and black. Francine shrieked. It was a fabulous idea. “Actually, Mom, what if we did a black and white ball?”
“Oh, I like that idea even better!” Frannie scurried around the room, notepad in hand, jotting ideas and drawing schematics. Ava was surprised her mother hadn’t brought a tape measure with her.
Travis appeared at her side, hands back in his pockets, and nudged her with his arm as he said, “I like that idea too.”
She felt obligated to be nice to him. He was going to an awful lot of trouble for this party. “Hey, I’m sorry about this morning, with Steven. He is the quintessential older brother. He’ll come around.”
Travis shrugged. “I had it coming” was all he said about it.
“Still, I know I share more than half the blame. I should never have lied to you, no matter how scared I was. You had a right to know.”
“I can’t argue with that, but if I hadn’t been such a prick to you, it probably would have been a helluva lot easier for you to.”
She smiled. “That’s true.”
Just then Kimberly appeared, paperwork in hand. The hotel was requiring one hundred percent of the ballroom rental up front as a deposit. Ava choked at the amount but Travis didn’t even flinch. They would meet again within a week to finalize the menu and the open bar options. Guests would be given a preferred rate if they chose to stay in one of the hotel’s rooms, and there would be a large dance floor and a stage with a microphone. The only sticking point, that Travis of course won by putting up more money, was what time they would have access to the room. Francine insisted it had to be the evening before in order to decorate it properly.
With the stroke of a pen, they had their location. Her mother looked at them, practically beaming. “Don’t worry about a thing. I will handle every detail.”
Ava was relieved. She was tired just looking at one ballroom. Travis hugged Frannie at the shoulders and said, “I’m counting on it.”
Mr. Ericson knew what a tizzy his wife was going to be in over the next month, especially having the holidays thrown in the mix. “Dear, you need to be sure to delegate.” His wife hushed him, grinning ear to ear at the idea of how amazing this party was going to be.
They walked out to the lobby, and Travis asked her parents if they wouldn’t mind riding together, so he could take Ava to lunch alone. She was a little irritated he didn’t even ask her, just assumed she would be willing. As if he could read her mind, he turned to her. “If that’s okay with you?”
Damn it, now she couldn’t be annoyed about that.
“Depends on where you’re taking me,” she teased.
He replied, “We can go anywhere you want, but I was thinking Barrio. You seemed to enjoy it the last time we were there and—” He paused, recognizing how surreal what he was about to say was, “I need to make sure you’re eating so my son isn’t going hungry.”
“Barrio sounds lovely—” She thrust her index finger at him, “—as long as you don’t molest me this time.” Last time they were there he had seductively kissed and licked her wrist and hand causing the whole restaurant to stare, not to mention what he secretly did to her thighs under the table.
He threw his head back and laughed. She hadn’t seen him do that in so long. She had missed it.
“I promise I will behave myself. This time.”
The whole inappropriate behavior talk got her parents’ attention, as they both snapped their heads to look at them. Ava answered their inquisitive looks with a laugh and, “It’s a long story.”
“No wonder you want to go alone.” Her father chuckled as he escorted his wife to the valet station.
* * * *
The ride to the restaurant was a bit somber. Travis wanted the details of her hospital stay Steven had brought up that morning. She tried to be as nonchalant about it as she could, but his brows were furrowed the entire time she was talking about it.
“How long were you in the hospital?” he queried.
“Just overnight.” She continued to try to downplay it. “They wanted to keep me for observation while they decided if I needed a feeding tube.” She laughed and tried to make it sound like a joke.
“Steven said you weren’t eating because of nerves.”
“I didn’t have much of an appetite,” she conceded.
“Because of me?”
“Well…” She paused, debating if she should bring up the next point, but then decided it was what it was, and there was no sense avoiding it. “I was worried how I was going to keep him from you.” She thought she saw him wince ever-so-slightly. “Then I was scared because every time I ate, I vomited.”
She continued, chuckling, “I was so nervous about having to eat it made me sick to my stomach. Talk about irony.”
“Did you really almost lose our baby?” He sounded sad.
“There was a concern about his development if I didn’t start to keep food down. Anti-nausea medicine wasn’t working very well.”
“Are you still taking that?”
Ava smiled brightly. “I am, but not as often, and I’ve gained five pounds in one week!”
With a half-smile, he said, “You’re the first woman I’ve ever known who was happy to put on weight.”
His face became somber again as he put his hand on top of hers and gave it a little squeeze. “I wish I had been there for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t.”
She smiled and shrugged, not able to think of a good way to respond. He didn’t talk any more about it, but he didn’t take his hand away until they reached the restaurant.
Not surprisingly, he was recognized the minute they walked through the doors. There was the same amount of fuss over him as last time, only now she was far more self-conscious about people staring, given her obvious pregnant belly and page six unknown status. Travis whispered something to the maître d’, and Ava saw him slip the man some money, then they were immediately shown to a corner booth out of the way.
Their conversation started out awkwardly, but it didn’t take long for them to be laughing and enjoying each other’s company. She realized that, other than the mind-blowing movie sex, simply talking to him was what she had missed most. He was brilliant about so many topics, but humble enough to know she could teach him things too.
Somehow the topic turned to baby development. She explained she was currently in the second trimester, and she then would enter the last phase of her pregnancy.
She touched his arm when she told him, “You were smart to start talking to him last night. Soon he will begin to respond to familiar voices.”
“You shouldn’t have told me that. Now you’re never going to get rid of me. I’m going to be talking to your belly every night. Maybe I’ll even sing.”
She giggled at the thought, and he continued in a quieter, questioning tone. “I want you to think about staying with me, so I can talk to him in the mornings too.”
He had said it with trepidation, like he already knew the answer, but couldn’t resist asking.
She put her hand over his and smiled. “Let’s stick with you visiting me.”
He responded in a teasing tone, “You could have your own room and everything.” As if that was the one thing she couldn’t resist that would tip the scale in his favor.
“I’ve got my own condo. Well, at least I hope to again. If they ever start rebuilding.” She shook her head when she realized she was not making a very good case for not staying with him. “For now, I’ve got my very own pool house. I can swim any time I want, and my mother takes excellent care of me.”
“I had your mother’s breakfast this morning. You’re right, I can’t compete with that.”
Once again, he gave up way easier than she had expected, reinforcing what she already knew. His offer was given out of a sense of duty. She didn’t want him to feel obligated to her. The small fortune he was dropping on this party to try and salvage the Ericson reputation should be more than enough to ease any form of guilt or obligation he might have.
“You do realize you created a monster, don’t you? My mother is going to be relentless about making this party perfect.”
He smiled. “I know.”
She teasingly frowned at him. “Yeah, well you’re not the one who has to live with her!”
He grabbed her han
d and started kissing her wrist. “My offer still stands,” his lips murmured against her skin.
She snatched her hand back and pouted. “You promised!”
He flashed that familiar wicked grin and put his hand on her thigh. “I couldn’t resist.”
They finished their meal, and she slipped off to the restroom while he waited in the lobby for her. They were standing in line at the valet when Ava commented about what a beautiful, sunny California day it was.
“Want to walk around for a bit?” he asked.
She thought about it for only a second before nodding. “Yes, that sounds great.”
He put his valet ticket in his pocket, offered her his arm, and they started up the sidewalk toward the center square.
“Thanks for lunch. You’re right, I do enjoy their food.”
“I noticed,” he teased.
Playfully slugging him on the arm, she feigned offense. “Hey! I’m eating for two!”
“Oh, it was a compliment! Like I told you earlier, I want to make sure our baby is getting fed too!”
Holding onto his upper arm with both hands, she leaned her head against his shoulder and laughed as they continued to walk along, talking about nothing in particular while enjoying the conversation and the company.
She hadn’t realized how far they’d walked until they were standing in front of his building.
“Do you have a few minutes to come up? I want to talk to you about some things.”
Sounded serious. She looked at her watch, wondering if she should get back to help her mother with the plans, although she knew her mother didn’t need her for a single thing. “Sure.”
He opened the door to the lobby and immediately took her arm again as they walked toward the elevator. The girl in the headset behind the huge desk smiled and offered, “Good afternoon,” as they made their way through the reception area.