Page 55 of Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming

Patrick snickers and lets out a snort of his own. “Yeah, damn, I was nervous.”

“You are now, too, aren’t you?”

“A little. I was pretty nervous when I called you today, too.”

The morning after their night together on the yacht, she gave him her number, and he called her later that day, asking her to have dinner. Aimee, feeling a little cheeky, suggested Fresh ’N Fishy, a trendy seafood restaurant whose owner apparently has a quirky sense of humor and wanted to see if anyone would come to a high-end seafood place with such a cheesy name. They did! This place has a waitlist a mile long. Patrick not only got them a reservation, but he also got them a private room with their own server. The chef’s tasting menu is currently being prepared. It includes Pacific oyster, crab cakes, seared scallops and Chilean sea bass. They’re both drinking a sauvignon blanc, suggested by their personal sommelier.

“Thank you for bringing me here. I’ve always wanted to know what all the fuss was about.” Aimee sips her wine.

“You’re more than welcome. The hype for this place is well-earned. The food here is amazing.”

Aimee smiles sweetly at him. She sees his shoulders relax a little, which, in turn, makes her feel sorry for him. She knows he feels terrible about what happened between them, and she doesn’t want him to feel tortured about something that happened twenty-two years ago.

She reaches out and touches his hand. “Patrick.”

“Yes?” He squeezes her hand and looks her right in the eyes. All of his focus and attention is on her.

“Forty-year-old Aimee understands why you did what you did, but in that moment, seeing you again, I became that heart-broken eighteen-year-old girl.”

“I understand. I became that heart-broken eighteen-year-old boy again.”

“I want you to know that I forgive you, Patrick, and I want to give us a real shot.”

He bows his head and mumbles a thank you to God. He comes around the side of the table and sits close to Aimee, andthey kiss. Their press their lips together over and over before he returns to his seat with a little pep in his step.

He takes her hands in his and squeezes them. “I need to tell you something.”

“Is this about your daughter?”

“How did you know I have a daughter?”

“You mentioned her in an Instagram post. She’s twelve, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think she’ll like me?” Aimee’s voice is small.

Patrick kisses her hand. “Of course she will. You two have a lot in common. Courtney is a force of nature, too. You should see the way people light up around her. That kid can literally make friends with anyone.” He smiles.

“That’s so sweet to say about your baby,” Aimee gushes.

“She’s my little ray of sunshine.”

The server brings out their food and refills their wine glasses before leaving.

“I read an article about you a few years back.” Aimee cuts into a scallop.

“Which article did you read?” He takes a bite of sea bass.

“The one about the heart procedure you performed on conjoined twins in Ghana.” She takes a bite.

“Really?”

“Yep, truth be told, Patrick, it wasn’t just the IG post or the article. I’ve kept up with you a lot over the years,” she simpers.

His eyes light up. “I’ve kept up with you too. I didn’t follow you on social media because”—his eyes dim—“I wanted to respect your wishes about never speaking to me again.”

“I didn’t follow you either. At first, it was because I was still angry, but after a while, I wasn’t sure if you would even want to hear from me after how I spoke to you.” She looks down and fiddles with her utensils.