Free Without Saying a Word by Amanda Ward

snuggled  into his arms, his spicy masculine scent creating a sensation of safety within her. Rhean kissed her gently, reverently... Laura quivered at the sweet tenderness of his kiss. The sound of clapping made her realize where they were. They pulled apart reluctantly, and with a flair, Rhean bowed to the audience.
    The maître d´ walked over to them with a bottle of champagne.
    “Congratulations to you both. Please accept this with our compliments.”
    Rhean thanked him and asked if they could take the bottle home with them as he was driving. The maître d´ said he understood and sent their waiter to fetch their desserts. Laura still felt shell-shocked that he had proposed so soon.
    Looking very pleased with himself, he reached over and began to play with the ring on her finger. As Laura looked at it, realization hit her.
    “The ring, it’s the one in the portrait!” she exclaimed. Rhean nodded.
    “It is indeed. I remember the color of the stone being the same color of your eyes after we kissed that first time. When I saw you looking at the portrait, I knew it was the one for you.”
    “It must be so old.” Laura shook her head. “It really is beautiful, but I can’t wear anything so priceless.” Rhean held her hand tight.
    “That ring was meant for you, and it will not come off until our wedding day when I place the matching wedding and eternity rings there,” Rhean stated in his headmaster tone.
    The desserts arrived. Laura went red-faced. She felt as if she’d been told-off.
    Laura would have loved her profiteroles had it not been for her darling new fiancé trying to steal them every chance he got.
    “I thought you didn’t want dessert,” Laura said, smacking Rhean’s fingers away from her dish.”Will you please knock it off?”
    “More fun to do it this way” Rhean grinned boyishly at her, a dimple making a welcome appearance.
    “I should have ordered a larger portion,” Laura complained and rolled her eyes, as she heard him chuckle.
    Rhean gestured for the waiter to come over. He settled the bill, and left the waiter and maître d´ a very generous tip. They were handed the champagne and again congratulated on their engagement.

    When they’d left the restaurant and got back inside the car, Laura quietly looked at the exquisite ring on her finger, and tried to put the events of the night into place. A familiar sickening coldness racked her body and she could feel herself start to panic. In the car, she felt trapped and anxious. She shifted about in her seat, trying to get comfortable, but she needed to get out. Instead, she started to babble.
    “I thought you said this was going to be a date. Man woman, go out, and eat food, lots of kissing,” she mimicked him. “I really don’t recall you asking me out so you could propose!” She thought back to Wednesday night. “Nope, you definitely asked me out on a date.”
    Rhean pulled the car over to the side of the road. He turned the engine off and switched on the internal light.
    “Are you having second thoughts?” he demanded, turning to face her. “Because if you are, so help me I will have you down at the nearest church before you can say antidisestablishmentarianism,” Rhean told her.
    “It just seems a bit fast, as though I’ve stepped onto a magic carpet with you and we’ve gone zooming into space before we’ve learned to fly.” Even as Laura said it, she knew it sounded ridiculous. She felt claustrophobic, and suddenly the need to get some air felt essential. She opened the car door and got out. Walking around the small layby, she tried to get enough air into her lungs. The strange thing was though, that each time she looked at the ring, it seemed as if it was meant to be there. Lifting her face up, Laura eyes blinked away the threatening tears, before the frigid air chilled them. She quickly wiped them as she saw Rhean get out of the car holding his overcoat.
    “Here,” he said gruffly and put it round her, “its