Page 11 of The Wrong Promise

Can we please FaceTime? I need to speak with you and make sure you’re okay.

Pen, I need you to stop worrying. I am fine. I’m not going to pretend I don’t miss you, but I’m happy here. I’ll send you my location so you know where I am. I’ll send you another when I get back to my hotel. Give Summer a big hug from me x

After sending my location, I drop my cell back into my bag. It’s the same every Friday night. Before Penny metFranklin, we would meet on Friday nights along with Hugh. Nothing stood in the way of our meetups, not even my boyfriends.

However, guys never stayed with me longer than six months. Every relationship has ended the same. We were too different, even though I tried to change to be more like the girl they envisioned me to be in their mind. I even changed my freaking diet and pretended to like the same foods as they did. I’m not made of relationship material, accommodating the other person, ultimately making me unhappy. Miserable, actually, and I’m not going back to being that girl.

Finally, I understand I have to love myself before anyone else can love me. My new life is about self-discovery along with the adventure of living in another country and building my career.

The champagne bottle pops, and cheers sound from nearby tables. Everyone is so happy here.

Oscar fills my glass, and we clink our glasses. “Cheers.” He smiles at me.

What are we cheering?

“It’s my understanding that scones are not scones, and biscuits are not biscuits,” I say and raise my glass.

“Life lessons.” He grins and downs his glass, then wipes his mouth before a shudder rolls over his broad shoulders. “Next lesson, what food are you ordering?”

Before I answer that I’m not hungry, I acknowledge the test.

“Chips, not French fries.”

He refills my glass. “Bangers are?”

“Pork sausage. Now, I have a question. What is it with everyone taking a vacation to Thailand? Why Thailand?”

He laughs at my disbelief. “First, it’s holiday, not vacation.”

“Oh, right, I remember.”

“Exotic destinations are appealing.”

I shake my head. “Like Mexico?”

His brows tighten. “I consider Thailand to be different from Mexico. I prefer Madeira.”

In conversation with my coworkers, I discovered many of them have traveled to far more countries than me. I have traveled around the US, Canada, and Mexico but never pondered venturing farther until a few months ago.

“Mark it as a place of interest,” he suggests. “What’s the next destination on Zara’s want-to-explore list?”

“Oh, more castles and formal gardens, and I’ve not been to Scotland.”

“AnOutlanderfan?”

“Only since my flight over. I binge it when I can’t sleep.”

“Does live music interest you?”

“Hell, yes.”

“There she is.” He grins. “I thought you’d aged twenty years while I was at the bar.”

Our discussion leads to our favorite bands and another bottle of champagne.

The girl at the table beside me begins dancing around us. Because of the lack of space, she bumps into me. Instead of getting annoyed, I jump up and dance with her. Carefree, I move my hips to the beat, laughing along with her as though we have known each other for years and not the ten minutes we’ve been dancing. While her youth is noticeable, I don’t care that I’m thirty-freaking-five and should be acting in a more mature, classy way. It feels good to be free of judgment. As much as Penny and Hugh like to enjoy themselves, they’d never in a million years get up and dance with a stranger in a bar—and so, in my typical blending fashion, I wouldn’t have either. But here, I’m coming out of my shell, and it feels fantastic.

Oscar claps his hands and smiles at me as he stands, whispering, “I’m heading to the loo.”

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