Love Me Sweet - SEQUEL (A Kaimelia - Kai Bartley/Amelia Shepherd - fanfiction)

Part 11

AMELIA

I sigh impatiently, flipping through the pages of the menu. The hospital was adamant that I needed to represent the research for this dinner with an investor. Now that the project is really taking off, David's money isn't going to cut it, so we've been looking into other options. But I never expected that I'd have to deal with that side.

Still, David couldn't make it and since the investor is apparently more into the surgical part, having done a few years of surgical residency himself before dropping out, he asked me to go. And then begged, after I said no the first two times.

So here I am, waiting for this guy, who seems to be a no-show. It's been thirty minutes already and I've lost all hope, looking around now to flag down a waiter and get my check. I'd only managed to order a glass of club soda just to give me something to sip on while waiting.

Instead of a waiter, my eyes land on Ashley, who seems equally as surprised to see me. And within a few seconds, she's walking over to my table. "Amelia, or uh.. Dr. Shepherd. Having dinner?" she says with a wide smile, correcting herself quickly after ditching the formalities.

But they do seem pointless at this point so I shake my head a little. "Amelia is fine. And well, I was supposed to entertain a potential investor, but he apparently had different plans so dinner is cancelled," I explain, a soft smile on my lips as well. I must say, her happiness is sort of contagious. I guess you have to be that way when you work with kids. Reminds me of Arizona.

"Oh, that's rude of him," Ashley frowns for a second before her usual smile returns. "I was actually hoping to catch you at work today, just to look over some pre-op scans and decide on our next steps.." she says then, her tone hesitant. "I actually have them with me if uh.. you have time?"

It takes me a moment to understand what she's hinting at and when I do, saying no seems too rude so I simply nod and watch as she gladly takes a seat opposite of me. Honestly, my brain can't really catch up with reality and comprehend that I'm about to have dinner with my partner's ex. But then again, I've been in weirder situations.

A waiter comes over now, finally, and asks if we want any food or drinks. Ashley skims over the menu, deciding over a salmon dish and adds a glass of whiskey to her order, winking at me. "I need to de-compress after the crap day I had today," she smirks. "Feel free to join," Ashley adds then.

"I'm not one to judge, but I'm good with a club soda," I smile back at her and turn to the waiter, ordering that and a pasta that I was eyeing on the menu before. The waiter jots down our orders and takes our menus, leaving us in somewhat awkward silence.

"Perhaps we should look over the scans before I get started on the alcohol," Ashley laughs then, pulling out a folder from her bag.

I nod, feeling grateful that it'll at last give us something to chat about for the next few minutes. We don't get too far though, taking a break when her phone starts ringing. "I'm sorry, I have to take this, it might be about a case," she says and gets up, walking a bit further away from the bustle and music surrounding the tables.

I take in the decorations of the place, not wanting to seem too out of place. Although it's not like I haven't been sat here alone for the past half an hour. Eventually, I flip through a few more pages, looking at some test results. Neat handwritten comments are on pretty much all of the pages and I look over those as well, nodding approvingly at some of the remarks.

Although I want to dislike Ashley, she's actually quite nice and well.. I can't exactly be a hypocrite. I get along well with Owen and share custody of my son with Link so why wouldn't I be okay with Kai's ex as well. Even if I can't really imagine Kai having a meal with any of mine. I'm still surprised at how easily I got trapped in this situation, but I better make the best of it now.

I see Ashley returning then, two glasses in her hands. My eyebrow raises involuntarily at the sight and she seems to read the question from my eyes before I have a chance to say anything. "Figured I'd grab these since I was already walking past the bar. Save the server a trip," she smiles. That is actually quite nice of her, further solidifying my theory that she's not pure evil. Some people just aren't meant to be together and that's all there was to it.

I take the glass from her reached out hand and smile gratefully, watching as she sits back down. I can't help but look for similarities in us. I mean, does Kai have a type? So far I haven't really spotted any besides maybe the dark hair color. Although hers is almost black, so even that's not too similar.

"Um.. To awkward meals," Ashley raises her glass in a toast that honestly makes me chuckle. So I'm not the only one who feels like this is super weird. "Awkward meals it is," I smirk, clinking my glass to hers and lifting it to my lips. The smell confuses me for a second, but the cold liquid reaches my lips before I realize.

I don't know why I do it. Maybe it's the fact that I want to seem like this normal, has-her-shit-together, successful woman who's worthy of Kai. Or maybe it's because I'm nervous about this dinner and what Ashley being here in Minnesota means for us. It could be the overall stress of work and this research that keeps getting more intense. Or the simple fact that I'm an addict and I'll forever be one.

Whatever the case, I don't spit it out this time, instead swallowing the small sip and closing my eyes for a few seconds when the cold whiskey hits my throat, making it tingle.