Broken Together Read Online Free

crisp, cold grass. I hadn’t a clue how much time had passed. “Will you run
away with me?” Rafael finally asked.
    My
eyes widened. “Run away? Where?”
    He
studied my expression closely. “Does the ‘where’ matter?”
    My
heart skipped a few beats. “No,” I conceded. “How long will we be gone?” I was
thinking of work.
    A
single eyebrow rose. “Does that matter?”
    A
nervous giggle escaped my lips. “Evidently not.”
    “Will
you run away with me?” he repeated.
    I
grinned. “I told you some time ago… you’re the only dream that matters. So, yes.
Where you go, I go. If need be, I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, to
heaven, and hell, and back.”
    A
look of complete and utter satisfaction lay claim to his face. He stood and
pulled me onto the bench. “There is this small matter of the ring.”
    I
fidgeted nervously. It wasn’t so much the ring. It was what that ring
symbolized. Rafael’s proposal and our engagement were about to become undeniably
real.
    Rafael
lifted my right hand. His eyes darkened when they settled on Maxim’s ring. “As
is true for the people of Ukraine, the Portuguese place their engagement rings on
the right hand.”
    I
sucked in a sharp breath. “Rafael, I didn’t know. When Maxim placed this ring
on my finger, I didn’t know that.” I thought it was okay, that somehow it symbolized
less, if the ring was on my right hand. I swallowed nervously. “Americans wear
engagement rings on their left hands.” I was now thoroughly regretting my
decision to accept Maxim’s ring. He had deemed it a promise ring, not an
engagement ring. He released me from that promise, but I continued to wear the
ring because it reminded me of all I’d endured and lost in Ukraine.
    Rafael’s
eyes met mine. “Regardless, my wife will not wear another man’s ring.” His eyes
remained locked on mine while he removed Maxim’s ring.
    I
couldn’t possibly object. Maxim had rubbed that ring in Rafael’s face at
Cenia’s wedding reception. Clearly, there was a great deal of symbolism
involved for Rafael and for Maxim. I forced myself to breathe when Rafael
pocketed Maxim’s ring.
    Rafael
opened the black velvet box. A diamond ring glittered brilliantly against the
black backdrop.
    My
breath caught. Rafael was presenting me with the most exquisite ring I’d ever
seen. The platinum and diamond ring had been sculpted in such a way that the
center stone appeared to be unfolding like a rose. Two smaller stones flanked
the center stone, like leaves. Diamond braids formed the band along the top of
the ring. Still more diamonds were secreted into a breathtaking, scroll-like
display along either side of the ring. The center stone was quite large, and
there were more accent diamonds in the melee than I could possibly count. It
was as if I’d stumbled upon an elegant diamond encrusted garden. “It’s
beautiful,” I breathed.
    Rafael
held the ring over the tip of my right ring finger. “I’m going to repeat the
question, Kristine. Will you accept me as your husband? Choose me above all
others? Marry me and become my wife?”
    I
gazed deep into his eyes. “Yes, Rafael. I will marry you… honor, love, and cherish
you every minute of every day for the rest of my life.”
    We
both breathed a sigh of relief when the ring slid securely into place.

Chapter 2 –Believe
     
    I
gaped at the sleek white jet. “You bought this?”
    Rafael
laughed. “At your request.”
    I
turned sharply. “What?”
    He
placed his hand on the small of my back as we neared the metal stairs leading
into the aircraft. “At Reagan National Airport, you said, and I quote, ‘ Win
the property owners over, purchase the jet, and meet me in McAllen .’”
    I
stared at him incredulously. “I was joking.”
    He
shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
    I
carefully climbed the stairs. “Did you buy this in Paris?” Rafael hadn’t
breathed a word about the jet when he joined me in Mexico or during the