Chapter 13
"Robin, you look amazing tonight." Keith took Robin's hand and gave it a chaste kiss. "I am so happy that you agreed to be my date."
"Thank you for inviting me." Robin took a sip of her wine and gently smoothed out the skirt on her dress. The floor length dark burgundy gown, a gift from Brenda, fit her like a glove and she was a little self conscious about wearing it but Rylee and Michelle had insisted it was perfect for the night.
He could sense she was nervous about her dress and how she looked in it. The woman had no idea how truly beautiful she was. "You look gorgeous – promise."
"He's right – you do."
Robin jumped up out of her chair at the sound of the voice behind her. "AJ!" She hugged the man and smiled at his companion. "And Michael – it is so great to see you both."
Michael gave her a quick hug. "It's great to see you too. Got room at your table for us?"
Keith stood up and gestured to their table. "Of course we do."
The two men sat down and Robin smiled at the sight of the father and son together. Maxie had gotten Robin up to date on all the gossip in town over the years. The best piece of gossip was how Michael found out the truth about exactly how Sonny forced AJ to sign over his parental rights. Once the truth was out, he turned his back on his mother and Sonny. As soon as Michael had turned 18 he had changed his name to Michael Quartermaine and left Sonny, Carly and the mob far behind him. He was now studying business at PCU while interning next to his father at ELQ.
"Did you put your name in for the auction?" Several doctors and nurses had agreed to be auctioned off for dances tonight to earn extra money for the Stone Cates AIDS wing. "Because, if so, I have every intention of bidding on you."
Keith shook his head. "Hey, she's my date – get your own."
Robin just laughed at the men. "I think that I agreed to several dances so everyone should be able to get a turn."
"Sounds great to me." Robin's heart stopped as she heard Patrick's voice cut through the air. She took a deep breath and turned around. She was shocked to see who Patrick had brought as his date. "Michelle?"
Her daughter giggled and hugged her mom. "Surprise!"
Robin hugged her back and quickly sat Michelle down in the chair right next to her. "What are you doing here with him?"
Patrick sat down next to Michelle and smiled at the women. "Hey – him has a name." Robin stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed. "Real mature there Soltini."
"Says the man who has a race track in his spare bedroom." After a long surgery one night Patrick had challenged Robin to a race. There was still some debate as to who won, Robin insisted she had kicked Patrick's ass, but it had been a fun evening of corn dogs, racing and beer.
"You have a race track in your house?" AJ would ask Robin later how she knew about track.
"It's not just any track." Patrick stated proudly. "It's a Giant Set with Lap Counter – one of the best race tracks you can buy."
Keith slipped his arm around the back of Robin's chair and leaned over to talk to Patrick. "Not near as good as the real thing though – I used to do a little racing in high school and college."
"Me too." Patrick was not about to back down. "Even had a couple of offers to go pro but decided that my hands were too important to risk damaging in a race. I still have a car down at the speedway – I keep trying to get Robin let me take her for a ride."
Michelle choked back a laugh at Patrick's comment. She looked across the table and saw Michael was doing the same thing. "I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced – I'm Michelle Soltini."
"Robin's daughter?" Michael looked curiously at the beautiful dark haired woman who had accompanied Dr. Drake. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Michael Quartermaine and this is my father AJ."
"It's nice to meet you, both of you." Michelle smiled at him.
"I have actually been wanting to talk to you – Maxie said you are a nursing student and I am opening a clinic for low income families down by the docks. I was wondering if you might like to do some of your clinical hours there?" He looked at Patrick. "Would you mind switching seats with Michelle so we can talk?"
Before Patrick could say a word Michelle was already standing up. "I wanted to go and say hi to Maxie and Matt – why don't we go do that first and then we can talk." She winked at her mom. "Have fun!"
"Thanks Michelle." Robin shook her head. "That didn't take long."
"Maxie has been talking up Michelle to Michael since you moved back to town. He has been trying to meet her for weeks." AJ approved of his son's decision to try and date Robin's daughter.
"And matchmaker Maxie strikes again." Robin laughed as she watched Michael and Michelle join Matt and Maxie at their table. "I think you just lost your date Drake."
"I'll survive." Patrick slid over next Robin. "So, when does the bidding begin?"
Michael smiled at Maxie. "Brilliant plan Max." He pulled out Michelle's chair and helped her into her seat. "Robin didn't have a clue what was going on."
Michelle winked at Michael. The truth was the two of them had been seeing each other for a couple of weeks but were keeping it on the down low until they could see where it was going. They had met in a biology class and instantly clicked but she was a young mom and her first concern would always be Rylee. "Yeah, mom was completely blindsided."
Matt laughed as he saw Patrick move over into Michelle's abandoned chair. "Oh, I wish I could hear what is going on over there."
Maxie saw a couple approach Patrick and Robin's table and smiled. "We may not be able to hear them but I know that we are going to be able to get a blow by blow description later from their table mates."
Michael shook his head. "Come on Maxie, my dad is not that reliable…"
"Not your dad Michael," Maxie looked over at the table in question, "her."
