Page 53 of XOXO

“That sounds fabulous,” I said. “I’ll take a porn star martini and the beef filet.”

“Great choice, Darling,” the other woman said.

“Thank you,” I said as the server left.

“He doesn’t deserve you and I hope you never see him again,” the man said.

“Oh, I won’t. If he can’t even communicate that he's not coming then I don’t need him,” I said.

“Exactly, Darling. You’re more than welcome to join us if you'd like. I’m Yoona and that is Jacque and Maya,” she said pointing at the empty chair.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to interrupt,” I said, feeling self-conscious.

“Oh, Hermosa, you aren’t,” Jaques said, waving me over. “You can tell us all about that awful man or not.”

He called me beautiful in Spanish and I felt like it was fate.

“Okay, if you insist,” I said, grabbing my purse and moving to their table. “Hello, my name is Violeta.”

“Beautiful name,” Maya said. “Are you local or are you visiting?”

“No, I’m from America,” I said, flattered. “I’m traveling around Europe.”

“That’s wonderful,” Maya said, taking a drink of her martini. “How are you liking Europe? What's your favorite place so far?”

“I just visited Lake Como and it was breathtaking. I wish I could have spent more time there. Paris was gorgeous, too,” I said as the server put down my martini.

“Lake Como is gorgeous,” Yoona said. “It’s so peaceful, but Paris has always had my heart. It’s so romantic there and visiting in fall is even better, along with all the great pastries.”

“I ate my weight in pastries while I was there. I loved it,” I said, taking a sip of my porn star martini and I moaned at how good it was. “Oh, this is delicious.”

“If you have another cocktail, the Basil Smash is delicious.” Maya raised her glass.

“Are you looking for love in Europe?” Jaques asked.

My cheeks grew red. “Well, not exactly. I’m just trying to have fun meeting new people wherever I go.”

“You know what, I wished I had done that before I met my husband,” Maya said. “Smart girl. You have fun.”

“Sample before settling down,” Jaques smirked. “But what happens if you fall in love?”

“I won't, I'm not looking for love,” I said confidently.

They all looked at me with varying degrees of amusement. It felt like I wasn't a part of the inside joke.

“Sometimes love doesn’t care if you're looking for it or not,” Yoona said. “I thought I was done with love and turns out it wasn’t done with me.”

“I’ve never been in love and I don’t think I’m meant for it,” I said truthfully.

Yoona studied me before nodding her head. “I think you just haven’t meant the right person and one day it will sneak up on you.”

“God, I hope not. At least not now,” I said, taking a drink. “I want to have fun first.”

“Here's to having fun,” Jaques said, raising his glass.

“Having fun,” we said, clinking glasses together.

The server brought our food and our conversation was easy and fun. They each had boys who were friends and they were vacationing on the coast together. Yoona’s husband built her a home and she had so much love for him it was sickening, and so fucking beautiful. They were everything I wished my parents were or at least my mother. They gave me recommendations as we ate dessert with coffee and even looked at my Rendezvous account.