Broken Together

by K. S. Ruff

  The envelope was sitting on the driver’s seat. I shoved the key into the ignition and tapped the garage door opener so I could warm the jeep while reading the note. Between the coat, the keys, and purse, I was certain this note would lead me away from the house.

  If you want me, you’ll ask for me in the place where we enjoyed our last date.

  I slid the card back inside the envelope, shoved it inside my purse, fastened my seatbelt, and eased out of the garage. Within minutes, I was pulling into a parking garage just down the street from La Madeleine, the French café where we ate breakfast Sunday morning. I walked the short distance to the restaurant. The place was packed. I squeezed through the crowd and scanned the tables, but I didn’t see Rafael.

  The gentleman standing behind the pastry counter waved me over. “Are you Ms. Stone?”

  “Yes,” I replied uncertainly. I wasn’t sure how he knew me.

  “This is for you.” He handed me an envelope, a pastry bag, and an eco-friendly cup.

  “What’s in the cup?” He’d obviously just made the drink. Steam was shimmying out of a small hole in the lid. I scanned the crowd again. The man couldn’t have timed that drink more perfectly. Was Rafael watching me?

  “A double shot café latte with cinnamon on top.” His eyes sparkled, like he knew some tantalizing piece of information.

  I peeked inside the bag. “Another chocolate croissant?” I laughed. “I never could eat just one.” I set the coffee and pastry bag on the counter so I could retrieve my wallet.

  “That’s already been paid for.” He smiled. “Aren’t you going to read the card?”

  “Oh!” One decadent cup of coffee would cause me to forget all about the note. I peeled open the envelope.

  You’re nearly there, love. Enjoy the coffee and croissant, then ask for me in the restaurant where we enjoyed our first date… in the United States.

  I laughed. Rafael had long insisted our first date was at a café on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, before I committed myself to Michael. Hence, the clarification “in the United States.”

  “Where are you off to next?” the man asked.

  “Komi.” I stashed the envelope inside my purse before grabbing the coffee and croissant. “Thank you.”

  “You must return and tell me the whole story,” he insisted, “on a slow day!”

  “Will do.” I squeezed outside and hurried toward the garage.

  Thirty minutes later, I was idling in front of Komi while weighing my options. I was fairly certain the restaurant wasn’t open at ten-thirty in the morning. With my bottom lip caught securely between my teeth, I turned the hazard lights on and hopped out of the jeep. The door to the restaurant opened before I reached the top of the stairs. “Ms. Stone?”

  I smiled sheepishly. “Yes.”

  The man bowed as he presented the envelope. “Mr. Garcia left this for you. Please come back and visit us again soon.”

  My cheeks heated. “Thank you. I’m sure we’ll see you soon.” I loved Komi with their synchronized waiters, top secret tasting menu, and decadent desserts. I clambered back down the stairs and climbed into my jeep. There were a number of signs indicating that I should not be idling there, so I broke the seal on the envelope and quickly read Rafael’s note.

  Take a chance… and journey to the place where we first danced.

  “Jaleo’s,” I recalled with a smile. “We danced at my thirtieth birthday party.” I downed the remaining dregs of coffee before easing into traffic. Rafael had thrown me a surprise birthday party. He’d invited a number of my colleagues and friends, but Kadyn and my cousin, Lexie, topped the list. Rafael’s efforts to secure their presence brought tears to my eyes. Hands down, that was the best birthday present anyone had ever given me.

  Although I couldn’t for the life of me picture Rafael proposing at Jaleo’s, I was praying it was my final destination. My breath caught when my assumptions caught up with me. I slammed on the brakes. Maybe this wasn’t a proposal. Maybe this was simply a trip down memory lane… a fun and romantic way to spend the day. “Well, if you don’t propose, then I will,” I announced decidedly.

  The car behind me honked. I resumed driving, but I was trembling violently. Should I stop and buy a ring? I twisted and craned my neck as I began searching for jewelry stores. My heart skipped a few more beats. I couldn’t just run into the nearest jewelry store and purchase a ring. It would take days maybe even weeks of prowling through stores to find the perfect ring.

  I was thoroughly wrecked by the time I walked into Jaleo’s. I felt anxious and jittery… nervous, scared, excited, hopeful, vulnerable, and eager all at once. I hadn’t a clue how you could pack so many emotions into a single moment, but I felt every single one, along with a few I couldn’t even begin to identify.

  “Ms. Stone?” a young woman asked.

  I shook my head while attempting to clear my thoughts. Belatedly, I realized my mistake. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shake my head ‘no.’ I mean ‘yes,’ I’m Kristine Stone.”

  The woman eyed me worriedly. “Would you like to sit down? You look a little shaky.”

  Gratefully, I collapsed onto the nearest chair. “May I have a drink of water?” I bolted out of the chair when she turned to retrieve the drink. “No. Wait. Is Rafael Garcia here?”

  She smiled. She had a beautiful smile that reached all the way into her eyes. “No, but he asked me to give this to you.” She pulled an envelope from the black apron she had tied around her slender waist.

  The woman and the envelope glistened through my tears.

  “Are you okay?” She helped me back onto the chair. A second employee handed me a glass of water.

  “I’m just feeling emotional.” I drank the entire glass of water before opening the envelope.

  One final request, love. Help me roll back time. Return to the place I first made you smile, so I may reveal myself… this time.

  A strangled sob escaped my chest. I slid the card back inside the envelope and tucked it alongside the other envelopes inside my purse. “Thank you for the water.” I pressed a wad of money into the woman’s hand before walking out the door. I knew exactly where I had to go.

  I parked the jeep inside Union Station and walked to the park in front of the Senate Hart Building. I stopped just short of the park bench I’d been seeking. Another envelope was sitting on the bench. “No,” I groaned. I turned in a circle as I surveyed the park. I’d been expecting Rafael.

  There weren’t many people lingering in the park, but quite a few staffers were walking toward Union Station for lunch. I picked up the envelope before sinking onto the bench. “I should know where I’m going before I indulge in a good cry,” I lamented under my breath.

  I opened the envelope. I stared at the inside of the card. “It’s blank,” I objected. “Why would it be blank?”

  I pondered that question for quite some time. When no easy answers came to mind, I sifted through my memories until I reached the day Rafael saw me crying on the park bench. I’d walked outside to eat lunch, so I could escape the noise and the insanity surrounding the Senate. It was a crisp fall day… a day that pre-dated Kadyn, Justin’s abduction, Michael whisking me off to Paris, Maxim, and Ukraine. At that time, there was only me… and Cade… and the Senate. I was on the verge of meeting Kadyn, I didn’t know that Michael asked Rafael to watch over me, and I was terribly homesick.

  I pulled my knees to my chest. The twists and turns that carved my life were filled with heartache and pain, and yet I questioned whether I would change a single moment. Part of me longed to roll back time to this very moment in time, when Rafael discovered me crying on this park bench. The other part of me insisted on cherishing the good that grew from every difficult experience transpiring after that moment in time.

  I brushed away my tears so I could study the card. I ran my finger along the heavily embossed crimson font that formed the word “love” on the front of the note card. I opened the card and studied the inside. Was the blank inter
ior supposed to symbolize something? Rafael was poetic. Maybe this was meant to symbolize a blank page at the end of an unfinished book, a page where the author could take the story in a thousand different directions, add a plot twist, or change the ending.

  The card slipped from my fingers. I knelt to pick it up, then froze. There was a question mark penned on the back of the card. An icy breeze ruffled my hair. I grabbed the card before it could blow away.

  I sat on the ground while staring at the question mark. A million questions danced along the outskirts of my mind. I reached for the stack of envelopes I’d stashed inside my purse. I removed one of the cards and slowly turned it over. There was an “M” written in cursive on the back. My heart leapt. I scrambled onto my knees and tore through another envelope… then another… and another… until the back of every single card lie facing me on the ground. The back of each card held a single letter. In addition to the question mark, there were two M’s, two L’s, two R’s, two Y’s, a W, A, E, I, O, and U.

  A shadow fell over me when I began rearranging the cards.

  My eyes snagged on a pair of black boots… traveled up black jeans… skimmed a black coat hiding broad shoulders and a trim waist… then locked on Rafael’s devastatingly handsome face. At six foot three, with long dark hair, and a body carved from stone; “Dark Angel” was the only term that could possibly describe him.

  Rafael drew me to my feet. Without speaking a single word, he sat me on the park bench. He handed me a long-stemmed rose, then knelt at my feet.

  I couldn’t speak.

  Grasping my hands in his, Rafael began to sing Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love,” the same song he’d asked the young man to sing two years ago when he saw me crying on the park bench.

  Rafael’s rich, velvety tone both soothed and shredded my heart. Tears warmed my cheeks. His raw and unaccompanied rendition of the song would have made even the bitterest soul weep.

  Rafael’s feelings were so in tune with the lyrics that his voice broke on the very last word… love.

  Heaven and earth lie spellbound while that word lay claim to the universe.

  Finally, Rafael spoke. “Kristine, you unknowingly claimed my heart the day you wept in this park. I have longed for your heart ever since. Out of respect for my brother, I tried not to love you, but my heart would not be swayed. I loved you more with each passing day. By the time I pulled you into that safe room, it was too late. Right or wrong, I fell hopelessly in love with you.”

  Rafael took a deep breath. “I cannot promise you an easy or carefree life, but I can promise you that I will love and cherish you every second of every day that there is blood coursing through this body. I give you my heart, asking only that you do the same.” He paused briefly to arrange the cards at my feet.

  WILL YOU MARRY ME?

  Rafael removed a black velvet box from his coat pocket. He opened the lid before peering up at me. “Kristine Annabelle Stone, will you marry me?”

  Tears streamed down my face. “Yes. Yes, Rafael, I will marry you!” I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him with everything I had. He snapped the box shut and cushioned the blow as we tumbled to the ground. Rafael tucked me beneath him and resumed kissing me despite the applause and laughter that surrounded us. He continued kissing me until everyone walked away.

  * * * * *

  We lie; hands clasped, eyes sparkling, and cheeks flushed; facing one another in the 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 six weeks that had passed since Cenia’s wedding.

  Rafael smiled. “I purchased the jet while I was in Paris, ordered a few modifications, and had it delivered here.” He was climbing the stairs directly behind me.

  “Ms. Stone, Mr. Garcia,” the flight attendant greeted warmly. “Welcome aboard.”

  The pilot stepped out of the cockpit. “Mr. Garcia. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’d like you to meet my co-pilot, Robin Tatman. We just completed the pre-flight inspection and checked the weather. You picked a perfect day to fly. We may hit a few bumps during the climb out, but it should be smooth en route. We’ll
have about a hundred knot tail wind, which should shorten the time.” He glanced adoringly at the flight attendant. “If there is anything we can do to make the flight more comfortable, please let me or my wife, Kari, know.”

  Rafael shook the pilot’s hand. “Captain Anderson, you and your wife came highly recommended.” He shook Kari’s hand before greeting the co-pilot. “Ms. Tatman, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for assisting Captain Anderson.”

  I tried to exchange pleasantries with the flight crew, but I was rendered speechless by the décor inside the jet. A sleek leather U-shaped couch cradled a deep mahogany table with an inlaid chess board. Three plush leather chairs flanked each table on either side of the couch. The furniture had a contemporary feel. The upholstery was white with dark brown trim. Recessed lighting glowed softly along white walls, just above the windows and from within the tray ceiling. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the couch faced a large, contemporary gas fireplace, framed on all four sides with the same dark mahogany wood. The fire was already lit and glowing brightly from within. “There’s… there’s…”

  “A fireplace?” Rafael finished as he stepped behind me. He pulled me flush against his chest. His chin rested briefly on top of my head, but he shifted so he could press his lips to my ear. “That fireplace extends into the room on the other side of that wall. Would you like to see it?”

  My breath rushed out all at once. “You didn’t.”

  A laugh rumbled from deep within his chest. The vibration tickled my spine, which was still pressed to his chest. “Didn’t what?”

  I spun in his arms. “You did not buy a jet with a private bedroom.”

  Rafael locked his arms around me as he stepped forward, forcing me to walk backwards while he made his way toward the back of the jet. He snagged a bottle of wine, a corkscrew, and two wine glasses from the table when we walked by, pressing them all against my back. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”