Dream of Us

Denali’s POV.

Hearing her voice, knowing that smile is for me, it gives me so much my hope. My chest swells and I feel like I can breathe again. I give her my best attempt at a smirk.

“Hello again,” I repeat her greeting.

Either my tone or expression, or both, makes her blush and glance down nervously at her notepad.

“Back so soon?”

“What can I say, the food is incredible, and the service isn’t too bad either.”

She gives me a feigned frown and puts her fists on her hips, notepad squashed in one hand.

“Not too bad?” She repeats, raising a questioning eyebrow.

I grin at her. “Okay, it’s average.”

She tuts and shakes her head, but a smile is playing on her lips.

“What can this average waitress get you to drink, Sir?”

“Adrian, please,” I correct her, wishing I could say my real name instead.

“Adrian,” she says softly, a flirty smile on her lips.

The more I’m around her, the better I’m getting at reading her again. She’s still my same Dee, she’s just forgotten parts of herself, that’s all. It’s my job to help her remember.

“I’ll have the Argentinian Malbec again, medium, thank you.”

She hands me the menu and leans in close enough that I breathe in her delicious smell. That hasn’t changed one bit.

“FYI, the special tonight is sage and spinach ravioli, I highly recommend it.”

I try to resist a smile as my amused eyes meet hers. “Have you already tried it?”

She grins and straightens up. “I may or may not have done a little taste-test in the kitchen,” she giggles. “I had to! Can’t have Chef poisoning the customers now, can we?”

“No, we can’t. I’ll have the ravioli then, seeing as you recommend it.”

She’s still smiling widely as she walks away from my table. I let out a long breath and try to relax.

You’ve got this.

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Ani’s POV.

Why am I so hung up on this customer?

I chew anxiously on my bottom lip as I consider the question that has been rattling around my brain since he first walked into the diner. I had seriously been hoping that he would be coming back, I was disappointed when he didn’t show up this morning and relieved when I saw him this evening. I need to get a grip, crushing on the customers is not professional. It’s a good thing Michel is in the back with his finances, he can’t see me going all gooey-eyed.

I bring Adrian out his drink, admiring his physique as I approach him. The shirt he’s wearing is tight on his arms, showing off toned biceps that makes my stomach go all fluttery. The thought of those arms around me makes me grip the glass tighter.

You’ve got a boyfriend, Annie! Have some respect for him.

I’m frowning as I mentally reprimand myself when I place the glass in front of Adrian, of course Mr. Perceptive notices, I can’t get anything past him, he reads me like an open book.

“Everything okay?” He asks gently. “You’re frowning.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” I reply breezily, my voice sounding forced to my own ears.

“Are you sure?”

The concern on his face is touching but it worries me, too. I’m getting too attached, this isn’t right. I have a sneaking feeling he’s getting attached, too.

“All good, seriously. Your food will be out shortly.”

I race away from the table and get Gwen to take Adrian’s ravioli over when it’s ready. I hide out in the kitchen again like a chicken. If Sian were here, she’d be shooing me out and telling me to live my life. Gwen would do the same if she wasn’t so hung up on Adrian, too. It bothers me that she fancies him.

I feel oddly territorial about him, which is seriously strange because I never feel that way about Jaymie. We went to a family wedding once and one of his distant cousins was all over him, I left her to it and got another glass of champagne, content that I didn’t have to make conversation for a while.

That’s not a good sign, dumbass.

When Adrian orders dessert from Gwen, I notice him scanning the room, looking for me. Taking pity on his sad face, I carry the cheesecake out to him. Unprofessional or not, seeing his face light up makes it all worth it.

“Thank you,” he says gratefully, letting our fingers brush when he takes the plate from me.

Our skin does that weird thing again. Whenever we have physical contact, tingles pass over my skin. It’s like a manifestation of my attraction for him and it unnerves the hell out of me. It’s not normal to feel that when you touch someone, right?

“Your friends with Sian, then?” He says, surprising me.

Why is he bringing up Sian? And why am I jealous?

“Uh, yes, she’s one of the waitresses here. Do you know her?”

“Yes, I’ve know her all my life, actually. We’re third cousins or something like that,” he smiles. “Distant family.”

“Oh, wow! Imagine that,” I reply easily, relieved that he wasn’t about to ask for her number or something.

“Yeah, it’s nice to know someone in the city now. It’s funny, I didn’t even know she lived here until I saw her in the diner the other day.”

“It’s a small world, isn’t it?” I muse and his expression turns wistful.

“I don’t know, it feels too big sometimes…”

I give him a curious look, wondering what he means by that statement, but he smiles it away.

“Sorry, got a bit deep there,” he laughs. “Let me change the subject. This might seem random, but are you interested in astronomy at all?”

I blink a few times, alarmed by how much he has hit the nail on the head without trying. Since as far back as I can remember, I’ve been interested in space, the stars, the universe that’s out there. I listen to Podcasts, follow the news, and read the latest publications on any findings sent back by the new telescope.

“Um, yes, I am actually. Are you?”

“Yeah, I’ve been reading about the new telescope. Have you seen the images that it’s sent back?”

Without thinking, I pull out the chair opposite him and sit down, leaning across the table with interest.

“I have! They’re incredible, aren’t they? They are really having to rethink the way we look at our universe.”

“I know, it’s fascinating stuff.”

I forget my place. I forget that he is my customer, and I am his server, I sit opposite him like a friend, discussing a topic we mutually enjoy. We must talk for at least five, if not ten minutes before I realise what I’m doing. I glance self-consciously around the restaurant and I’m relieved to see there is only one other table filled and Gwen is serving them. If Michel saw me now, he’d drag my ass to the kitchen for the telling-off of my life, I can hear his screeching voice now.

I get to my feet awkwardly, shoving the chair under the table to hide the evidence of my unapproved break. In doing so, I bash Adrian’s knees, I’m surprised such a huge man can fit under these snug tables anyway.

“Gosh, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have sat with you like that, please forgive me. I should get back to work, let me know if I can bring you anything else.”

He looks amused with a mouth full of cheesecake. He swallows and wipes his mouth with his napkin before answering.

“Don’t apologise, it’s refreshing to meet someone that shares my passion for all things space-related. This cheesecake is great, by the way.”

I let out a sigh. I don’t think Adrian is the type, but he’s within his rights to report me to my manager for slipping up like that. I can’t trust myself around him, I don’t think clearly.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it, let me know when you want the bill,” I respond in a rush and hightail it away from his table.

Gwen grabs my arm, giving me a coy look when I enter the kitchen. “Did I see you sitting at Mr. Hottie’s table?”

“Don’t,” I hiss back at her. “I lost my mind! I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You weren’t thinking, girl,” she says proudly. “You were acting on instinct, you should follow those more often, sex is bound to come out of it.”

I roll my eyes at her. “That isn’t always the goal, you know?”

She turns up her nose. “Isn’t it?” She shakes her head and sighs. “Please just admit that you and that customer have ten times the amount of sexual chemistry that you and Jaymie have.”

“Gwen! You can’t say stuff like that.”

“Why not?” She fires back.

“Because it’s not fair to Jaymie.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “You’re not denying it, though. You didn’t say it was wrong or incorrect or lies, you know it’s true, you just don’t want to admit it. I’m telling you as your friend Annie, dump that man because you’re leading him to nothing. As an outsider, I don’t think there’s a future there.”

Her comments, no matter how true, get my back up. Perhaps that’s why they ruffle my feathers so much, because they’re undeniably true and the better half of myself doesn’t want to admit it.

“As an outsider Gwen, it is none of your damn business,” I snap through gritted teeth. “Drop it, will you?”

She holds up her hands in surrender, watching me warily as I storm back out to wipe down tables and try not to make eye contact with ‘Mr. Hottie’ at table nine.

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