Page 6 of Deep Love

Chapter Three

Delphi

Mason Harrister. Iwas staring at Mason Harrister in the kitchen of Moose’s Diner. That wild brown hair and those sky-blue eyes were the same, but the dark beard framing his mouth was new. And hot. Very hot. And why did he look so yummy in that chef’s coat?

Why was he wearing a chef’s coat?

“Oh, great, Mason, you’re here now.” Jessica made a beeline for him, motioning for me to follow her. “I want to introduce you to our new waitress, Delphi—”

“Adamo,” he finished. “Delphi Adamo.”

I held my breath, waiting for him to say, But you died six years ago. When he met my gaze, however, I saw he wasn’t planning to get hysterical. That was so Mason Harrister. Ever the calming presence in the room.

At least that was what he’d always been for me.

But still, shouldn’t seeing someone he’d thought to be dead—someone he’d claimed to love—freak him out at least a little? What was he? A robot?

“Oh, you two know each other?” Jessica split a glance between the two of us. “Super. I guess that takes care of that then.” She rubbed her hands together. “Delphi is ready to start right away so I’m going to grab her an official Moose’s Diner T-shirt.” She turned to face me. “If you have any questions, Mason’s the guy to ask. He knows this place as well as I do, maybe better.” She shot Mason a smile. “He’s also the nicest person here.”

That definitely sounded like the Mason I remembered from my first life here.

“Be right back with that T-shirt.” Jessica walked off toward a door at the other end of the kitchen, leaving Mason and I gaping at each other.

Say something. But I wasn’t sure if I wanted him or me to say something.

“How . . . how are you here?” Mason’s dark brows crinkled.

“Mason, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” That was the truth. My return trip to Earth was the stuff of paranormal books and movies, not real life.

After picking up the knife he’d dropped and setting it on a counter, he took several steps closer, his left hand slowly rising. When his fingertips brushed against my arm, he jumped back.

“Fuck. You’re real. I’d convinced myself that I was dreaming.”

“Because you dream of me often?” I’d meant the comment to be light and funny, but Mason’s face grew serious.

“All the time, Delphi.” His voice was a whisper. “All the time.”

My throat instantly stung and I wanted nothing more than to run to him and have his arms around me again, but Jessica bounded back over. The woman was seriously excited to have hired me. I hoped I turned out to be a halfway decent waitress for her.

“Here you go.” She waved the T-shirt like a flag then tossed it to me.

I caught the shirt and put it on over the T-shirt I was wearing.

“Now jeans are fine for pants to wear to work,” Jessica said, “but make sure they are clean and you always wear the T-shirt. You can have two more shirts to take home with you so you can get them into your laundry rotation.” She grabbed a pad and a pen and handed them to me. “Some restaurants have switched over to digital technology for taking orders, but I’ve always found pen and paper never freezes up on you or needs updates or any of that nonsense.”

I took the pad and pen. “Works for me.”

“Super.” She looked at Mason then at me again. “So how do you two know each other?”

We used to be in love. Then I died.

“We’re old friends,” Mason said, “who have a ton of catching up to do.”

“Oh, fun! But no catching up until your shifts are done.” Jessica grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me to the doors that led to the main dining area. “Okay, take section five in the corner over there.” She pointed to a set of booths I knew well from when I used to come here—often with Mason. “It’s pretty busy tonight so try not to get flustered. Smile, converse with the diners, take their orders, and try not to drop anything on them.” She shot a look to Mason and they both rolled their eyes.

“Got it.” With a quick peek back at Mason, I pushed open the doors and headed for section five. I was on the move all night, but that was good because it gave me less time to worry about what I would tell Mason about my miraculous reappearance. I’d been so rattled about getting kicked out of Seraphia—for reasons that were not my own doing—that I hadn’t considered that I’d run into people who knew me from before I’d died.

My parents didn’t live in Vermont so I’d figured I had some time to deal with them, if I even decided to tell them I was back. We hadn’t been all that close, and sure, my sudden death had probably been a blow to them, but did I want to spark up a relationship that had always been a little one-sided?