Having completed another contract, Josh looked at his inbox. It was surprisingly empty. Maybe he could leave the office in the daylight for once. JJ's head popped into his door. Josh shook his head as he wondered if it was hereditary.

He raised his eyebrow at the younger Sumner. "What's up?"

JJ sunk into a chair across from his desk. "My mother."

"What's Alicia done?" He loved his friends' mother. His own was more intense.

"She signed me up for the auction."

Josh laughed. "Maybe you'll get a date."

"I thought only old ladies bid on the bachelors."

Josh laughed again. "My date knows her job. I offered to reimburse her."

"So you're paying for a date with yourself?"

Josh shook his head. "No, with Ann."

"Do you think Emma would?"

Josh laughed again, feeling glad to not be in JJ's shoes for once. His mother forced him to participate in the bachelor auction every year. One year, a seventy-year-old woman bid for him. She served him a delicious lunch and talked about her travels around the world. He had voluntarily returned to visit the lonely widow. Last year, Oliver paid for him and they watched a baseball game together. When Emma complained they were drunk, Oliver reminded her of how he had paid for Josh's company.

Josh chuckled. "She might want to get back at Oliver for last year."

JJ laughed and bent over at the waist. As he straightened, he continued laughing.

Josh watched him. "It wasn't that funny."

"No! But it was funny!"

Josh frowned. "I can be funny!"

"When?" JJ laughed.

"Get out of my office."

Oliver thought he was funny. Didn't he? His friend didn't like when he teased him about Emma's cat. Joshua doubted any girl from his past even remembered him enough to consider naming a pet, Dex.

Staring back at himself in the mirror, Joshua straightened his black tie and looked closer at the lines around his eyes. He felt old. At least it was Saturday night, and he had a date. He didn't mind attending benefits, but knowing Ann would come home with him added to the evening. Being auctioned off like meat was embarrassing, especially for a guy who didn't like attention.

Ann's studio apartment was in a divided brick row house in the iconic Back Bay neighborhood. Joshua lived in a modern condo on the waterfront. Emma Sumner would point out how different their homes were, classic versus contemporary. Josh liked classic too, but the lure of the waterfront views and the need for an investment enticed him. As he stepped out of his room, he scanned the large paned glass windows with the view of a ferry heading towards the South Shore. Josh grabbed his wallet and keys before leaving to meet the hired car.

The driver pulled up in front of Ann's apartment, and Josh walked to the door. She appeared wearing a shimmering gold gown. He scanned her and didn't bother to hide his appreciation.

She chuckled and reached up to touch his cheek. "Soft."

Josh leaned in and brushed her lips, careful not to mess up her makeup or hair. The man wasn't clueless about women. As he followed her to the car, he appreciated the open back of her gown.

Walking into the ballroom, having a beautiful woman on his arm gave him confidence, especially one so assured of herself, like Ann. She was confident in business and life. Josh saved his assuredness for business.

He led her to the table where Oliver sat alone. His best friend stood to greet Ann charmingly.

Josh shook his hand. "Where's Emma?"

Oliver pointed to their mothers, and Emma who scrolled through her phone for them.

Josh smiled. "Proud mama."

Josh's smile turned to a frown as Jill Roche bit her lip. His mother's tell when she worried. He didn't need to be reminded. As her only child, he wasn't likely to give her a grandchild.

Changing his focus, he leaned over to Ann to find out what she wanted to drink. He could have predicted her red wine response and felt proud he knew her preference. Oliver had a scotch, and Josh wanted one too.

At the crowded cash bar, he stood in line and nodded to familiar faces. Emma appeared beside him and looped her arm around his. "Hi handsome. Will you buy me a drink?"

Emma rarely drank since her venture into motherhood. He looked down at her. "Are you drinking?"

"Not after I spilled my first drink. I want a virgin cranberry."

Josh winked. "Sweetheart, if you were a virgin, you would be drinking."

Emma laughed. "Dex, stop teasing!"

Josh laughed as he thought JJ was wrong. The woman in front of him turned to look at him. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place her.

"Did you meet Ann?"

Emma nodded. "The woman talking business with Oliver? I didn't spill on her when I knocked over my drink, but I think your chair is wet." Joshua laughed. Emma had been spilling since the day he officially met her. She used to run away until Oliver caught her.

Josh asked, "Did JJ ask you to bid on him?" Emma nodded. "Are you going to?"

Emma smirked. "Oliver thinks he deserves an old lady."

"I know. We made a bet. Oliver's in for over sixty."

Emma rolled her eyes. Sumners loved to bet and Josh joined in. He stepped forward just as the woman at the bar turned to leave holding two glasses of wine. He stepped back before she turned into him.

Holding out his arm to let her pass, he said, "Red wine would clash with my tux and lower my value."

The woman's face turned redder than her hair. He shook his head, trying to remember how he knew her.

When he and Emma returned to the table, Ann smiled up at him. He put down her drink and sipped his.

"Is my chair safe?"

Oliver answered matter factly. "They replaced it when they changed the table linen."

Josh smiled. Spills didn't faze his friend.

Ann leaned towards him. "Oliver wouldn't tell me any Roche-Sumner secrets."

Josh laughed as he reached his arm behind Ann's chair and put his hand on her shoulder. A few tables away sat the redhead with Jimmy Sinclair. He was from a Boston family so old his ancestor probably threw tea in the harbor.

His eyes kept wandering as he tried to remember who Jimmy's date was. Josh was older than Sinclair and had never spoken with him, so he couldn't walk up to him to find out his date's name. He considered asking Oliver, but it was rude to point.

Just before dinner, he glanced over and the willowy woman stood as Alicia Sumner approached her. Alicia held both the woman's hands in hers. Their conversation caused her face to turn sad. He felt for her as she morphed her smile into a pained expression. When Alicia left with her smiling, Josh let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Oliver raised his eyebrows just as Alicia stopped by to meet Ann. She kissed Josh's check, and he asked who she had been talking with.

"The McManus girl, she was in school with you." Oliver shook his head. "Her first name is Shaun, but she wouldn't be McManus anymore."

Josh frowned. "Shaun."

He repeated it to himself as he sat and Alicia moved on to her own table with his parents. Shaun McManus. Shaun McManus.

"Biology." Everyone looked at him. "I tutored her in biology. I knew the name was familiar."

Oliver asked, "Did I know her?"

Josh shook his head. "She was a few years behind us and not popular."

Emma looked up at Oliver. "She was like me."

Josh turned to Ann while the other two acted lovey. "What were you like in high school?"

Ann laughed. "The nerd."

Josh smiled. "See, we belong together."

The servers carrying huge trays of salad paused their conversation. The meal was standard fare and not worth the price. Their conversation flowed, but he feared Ann and Emma weren't meant to be friends. As the dinner dishes were cleared, Ann leaned in.

"I'm going to powder my nose and say hello to Anita Browning."

He nodded. "Don't forget the auction."

She laughed as she lightly squeezed his bicep. "Never."

Josh smiled as he watched her walk away. He felt smug at the thought of exploring underneath her gown later. The woman she mentioned speaking with was a highly successful agent at her agency.

When the organizer called all the bachelors to gather in a small room, he scanned for Ann. He stood up and filed out behind JJ and other single men, including Sinclair. They assigned each a number. He was number fourteen, and he wondered if the higher number coincided with his age. As he waited his turn, he heard laughter and whistles from the ballroom, along with the voice of the auctioneer.

Josh said, "I wouldn't mind a scotch."

As an organizer directed JJ to the door, he looked back. "I'd like two."

The number of bachelors dwindled. Josh began pacing while Sinclair stood calmly.

He nodded to Josh. "Your first time too?"

"No, I'm sucked into it every year. I think it's my mother's way to push me down the aisle."

Sinclair laughed; JJ missed it. Josh wasn't worried about the bidding, but standing in front of all those people, looking like a specimen. Sinclair didn't appear bothered in the least. Finally, his number was up. He stood on the platform stage, and the announcer said it was his fifth auction. The lights blinded him as he smiled and the bidding started. It surprised him when the bidding continued between who he feared were old ladies with deep pockets. He told Ann not to give up and assured her he would cover it.

Finally, he heard 'sold'. He relaxed his smile and walked to his table. His best friend waited with a scotch which he almost drained.

He looked around. "Where's Ann?"

Oliver frowned. "She wasn't here."

"Who bid on me? You?"

Oliver shook his head.