by Judy Angelo
Muttering to himself again, Ridge shook his head. He had three options as far as he could see – head into the forest after them, take the Jeep and try to find his way back to the city, or stay put and wait for them to get back.
He didn’t like any of them.
Half an hour later, when the moon began to shine its weak beam through the leaves, Ridge decided he could wait no longer. He’d stayed at camp long enough. Maybe too long. And even if he could get back to the city to round up a search party there was no time. Poor Lani could be in trouble even right at that moment. It was that thought that made Ridge decide to attempt the next-to-impossible. He was going into the forest to find them.
Making sure he still had his knife, Ridge grabbed his crutch and his flashlight and turned the beam toward the bushes on the east side. He began to hop out of the clearing, trying his best to put as little weight as possible on the ankle, but he stumbled and almost fell and the only way he could save himself was to stomp down hard on the sick leg.
Sweat popping out on his forehead as the pain shot up his leg Ridge sucked in his breath, clutched his stick closer and tried again. It took him a good three minutes just to get across the clearing and into the bushes that led to the stream. How in heaven’s name was he going to do eight miles?
He shook his head. He couldn’t think about that. He had to stay focused on his goal. He had to find Lani.
He’d just sucked in his breath, preparing himself to make another step, when he saw it. A light in the distance. The beam of a flashlight. And it was coming his way.
“Lani. Is that you? Aurelio? Answer me.” Hobbling toward the light he peered ahead, flashing the beam of his own light. “Guys, talk to me.”
And then he heard the sweet voice that made his heart swell with relief.
“Ridge. We’re here. We’re coming.”
He heard the sound of branches breaking and leaves being slapped out of the way and then the footsteps as his missing travel companions came toward him.
Lani broke through the leaves to the left of him and when he saw her his heart jerked in his chest. He wanted to run to her but he couldn’t so he just held his arms open wide and let her walk right into them. As soon as their bodies touched he wrapped his arms around his little woman and held her like he would never let her go.
“A little air, please.”
It was only when Lani began to struggle that Ridge relaxed his hold and set her just far enough away so he could look down at her. “What happened? Where the hell were you guys?”
Aurelio, who by this time had come to stand close by, cleared his throat but just as he opened his mouth to speak Lani broke in.
“We’re sorry, Ridge. We got sidetracked. I mean, I got sidetracked. We went to check on something else and the time… I didn’t realize…it just flew by.”
“You got…sidetracked.” Ridge frowned. “You promised me you would be back in a few hours and then you got sidetracked?” He dropped his hands away from her, not believing what he was hearing. “Do you know what you put me through?”
“I know and I’m sorry but I thought you’d be all right, seeing that you were here in camp and you had everything you needed close by.” She stepped back and away from him then shrugged and turned toward the camp. “And you’re okay, aren’t you? You seem pretty good to me.”
It was that casual shrug that did him in, sending his blood boiling. “That’s not the point. You told me you’d be back long before nightfall. And now you come strolling in at this time of night and that’s all you have to say to me? You got sidetracked?”
By this time she was halfway to the tent but she stopped and turned. “It’s no big deal, okay? We’re here now and we’re good and you’re good and that’s all that matters.”
“No, it’s not, dammit. You owe me a better explanation than that. You spend the entire day out in the bush then you stroll in as casual as you please, and give me some cock-and-bull story about getting sidetracked. Sidetracked? When you had me here wondering where the hell you were?” Ridge’s voice was getting louder with each word he spoke but he really didn’t give a damn. Lani had taken advantage of his semi-helpless state, staying out as long as she wanted, and she hadn’t even spared him a second thought. And all that time he’d been worried sick about her. “And don’t you walk away when I’m talking to you.”
She’d started walking and now she waved her hand in the air like she was exasperated. “I don’t need to listen to this. I don’t see why you’re making a mountain out of a molehill.” She didn’t stop walking until she reached the tent where she dropped her bag on the ground then crouched down and ducked inside.
And all that time Aurelio stood staring at them, from one to the other then back again, not saying a word.
It was darned embarrassing having the man you’d hired stand there witnessing your wife defying you. Maybe that was the reason Ridge’s rage hit the roof. Crippled though he might be he was not about to have his woman disrespect him like that, and in front of an audience.
He set off toward the tent and though his ankle was no better than it had been when he’d set out before, now he covered the distance in half the time. “You get back here, Leilani Kent,” he growled. “You don’t walk away from me like that.”
“Leave me alone.” Her words were muffled by the tent but there was no mistaking the challenge in her voice.
“You don’t want me to come in there,” he said, deliberately making his tone threatening.
“Or else what?” came the angry retort.
That did it. Ridge let go of his crutch, dropped to his knees and pushed his way into the tent.
Lani was kneeling by the sleeping bag, stripping her shirt off, leaving her upper body in nothing but her sleeveless undershirt. “You seem to have forgotten something. I’m a grown woman and I don’t have to answer to you.”
“You’re a grown woman who’s my wife. That makes all the difference in the world.”
“Is that so?” Her glare was fiery enough to scorch the skin.
“Yeah, that’s so.”
“Well, let me tell you something. From here on things are going to be different.” She moved past him and lifted the tent flap like she was leaving but then she paused. “I’ll fulfill my obligation and stay married to you till my prison term ends,” she said, her voice cold, “but when we get back to Texas I’m moving out.”
***
Lani and Ridge were back in Manaus. She had the plants she’d come all the way to Brazil for as well as the bonus samples Aurelio had gotten for her, and now she would be able to do all the experiments she’d planned, and more.
And Lani felt more miserable than when she’d been up to her ears in debt and in danger of being thrown out onto the streets. How could she have been such a bitch to Ridge? Now she was probably first on his list of 'Ridge’s Most Hated'.
He’d left the hotel suite, saying he needed to go for a walk, but she knew it was because he didn’t want to be around her. That was understandable, after the way she’d behaved in the jungle.
But he’d embarrassed her. He’d barked orders at her in front of Aurelio and that was why she’d lashed out. After the way she’d acted tough in the jungle she couldn’t let their guide think she was a wimpy wife.
Lani heaved a sigh and walked out onto the balcony overlooking the garden. She’d done a stupid thing. She knew that now. She had to apologize and she had to come clean and tell Ridge the truth about what really happened in the forest.
But how, when he wasn’t talking to her?
Her ringing cell phone cut into that thought and made her dash inside. Maybe it was Ridge, tired of their feud. Maybe he was calling her to join him on his walk. She gave a hiss of disappointment when she saw that the call had nothing to do with Ridge at all. It was Aurelio. “Hi, Aurelio,” Lani said, trying her best to sound cheerful but not doing a good job at it.
“Hello, Doctor. I call to wish you safe travel back to the United States.”
“O
h, thank you. That’s sweet of you.” If Lani were perfectly honest she would say, after she’d paid the guide the balance of his fee, she hadn’t expected to hear from him again. His call was truly a pleasant surprise.
“But you do not sound very happy, Doctor. I know why.”
Lani rolled her eyes. Yeah, he would know, all right. He’d been there to witness the not-too-subtle quarrel between her and Ridge and the silent war that raged between them all the way back to the city. She was just surprised he’d actually brought it up.
“And I know what you must do.” There was an enigmatic quality to Aurelio’s voice.
That made Lani curious. “You do?”
“Yes. You must rock the boat, throw it off balance. You must do the unexpected.”
Now what was that supposed to mean? “Ookaay.” Lani dragged out the word, trying to decipher the meaning behind the old man’s cryptic statement.
Before she could ask him to clarify he spoke again. “I will say no more. Now I bid you a good evening and a good trip back to America.”
Long after Aurelio had hung up Lani sat there, thinking on his words. Rock the boat, he’d said. In short, do something surprising. She was good with surprises. She could do this.
And just like that an idea came to her. But could she pull it off before Ridge got back?
Quickly, she grabbed the hotel phone and asked to be connected with the restaurant manager.
“Yes,” he said, “we can do that but not before seven o’clock.”
Lani glanced at the clock. Six-eighteen. Ridge would be back by then. She hoped. “Great,” she said. “Go ahead and book them for me.”
As soon as she hung up the phone she dashed into the bathroom. She wanted to be ready. There was not a moment to lose. Twenty minutes later she was dressed in a midnight-blue cocktail dress, an outfit that always made her hair look its blackest and shiniest. She was wearing her dangly earrings that accentuated her slender neck and she’d decided to wear make-up – one of her rare moments, but tonight she wanted to look super-special for him.
And not a moment too soon. At sixteen minutes before seven the door to the hotel suite opened and Ridge walked in. When he saw her he froze. Then his eyebrows raised and he gave a low whistle. “You look sensational. What’s the special occasion?”
From the other side of the living room she smiled and gave a little shrug. “Oh, nothing much. Just a little…engagement. There’s a gentleman I know, I'm supposed to meet him tonight for dinner."
Ridge’s brows fell. “What gentleman? You didn’t tell me you were going out to dinner.”
“Oh, it was sort of…sudden. An impromptu arrangement, you could say.”
“Oh.” Ridge’s face was now so dark it was thunderous. “Let me not keep you, then.” Not sparing her another glance he marched off to the bathroom.
Lani grinned. So far so good. If all went well he would be good and well-roasted in his rage by the time the seven o’clock hour came around.
She heard when Ridge exited the bathroom but then he took a long time in the bedroom, probably stewing over her words while he dressed. Lani didn’t mind because by the time he came back into the living room all would be ready.
True to the manager’s word, at one minute before the seven o’clock deadline she heard a tap at the door. She rushed over and opened to a black-suited, bow tied man pushing a dinner trolley laden with the most sumptuous fare anyone could want – wild Norwegian salmon in cream sauce, filet mignon with baby carrots and potatoes and chicken cordon bleu. There was also a dish which the manager had called ‘Chef’s Surprise’. She had no idea what it was and she hadn't bothered to ask.
Lani directed the server to the dining table she’d decorated with softly-burning candles and a bouquet of tropical flowers and there he laid out the dishes, filling the air with a mouth-watering aroma.
As he straightened and turned to push the trolley away Lani raised her eyebrows. “The rest of your crew?” she whispered.
He smiled. “They were instructed to come up fifteen minutes after the hour to give you time to settle down.”
“Okay. That makes sense.” She rubbed her hands together. Things would be perfect if Ridge would leave the bedroom just as soon as the server left. He would be surprised by the romantic dinner she’d arranged which would put him in a mellow mood before she executed part two of her plan. With that thought in mind she gave the man a hearty tip then quickly rushed him and his dinner trolley out the door and turned off all the lights in the room. The only illumination was the soft glow from the candles.
With everything in place, Lani went to sit at the table and wait for her husband to appear. Five minutes passed but there was no Ridge, which made Lani frown. What was taking him so long? She didn’t want the food to get cold. After another two minutes she decided to go check on him. She found him sprawled out on top of the bed in nothing but his boxer shorts. He was lying on his back, arms folded across her chest. He was staring up at the ceiling, a dark scowl on his face.
“What are you doing?” she asked, stepping into the room. “Aren’t you going to get dressed?”
“For what?” he growled. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere.” Then his glare left the ceiling and he trained it on her. “Who’s this guy you’re going out with? And why the heck did you set up this date? You’re my wife.” His eyes narrowed. “Or did you forget that part?”
Ridge was really jealous now, which was the effect Lani had been going for. The more riled up she got him the hotter their lovemaking would be once she’d wined and dined him. At least, that was her theory.
If she ever got a chance to do the wining and dining… He looked like he’d taken up permanent residence right there in the middle of the bed. She decided to try another tactic. “I have a surprise for you. Why don’t you get dressed and come out to the living room?”
He gave her a suspicious glare. “I’m not interested.”
“Oh, come on,” she said, exasperated. “Stop being so stubborn. You know you want to see what it is.”
“Actually, I don’t.” He gave her a cool look. “If you want to get me out there so you can introduce me to your date, it ain’t happening.”
“Will you stop being an ass and get yourself into the living room?” Lani gave a hiss of annoyance and turned toward the door. There was just so much patience she could exercise. “You get your butt outside, do you hear me? You have two minutes.”
With that she stalked off to plop herself back into her chair at the dining table. She was mad. After she’d gone to all this trouble her fabulous dinner was getting cold and it was all because of that obstinate, unreasonable man. She folded her arms across her chest, gritted her teeth and waited. She would give him two minutes and no more.
But after two minutes there was no sign of Ridge. Lani let out an exasperated sigh but she kept her bottom glued to the chair. She was not going to run after Ridge. She sat there, refusing to look at the clock, and she waited and waited. And still no Ridge.
Finally, no longer able to resist, she looked up at the clock on the wall. Seven-sixteen. Ridge had kept her waiting over ten minutes and on top of that the cursed musicians were late.
The tap at the door came just on the tail end of that thought, just when she’d decided she didn’t want any damn music, anyway. But when she opened the door there they were, three of them, and they were grinning from ear to ear.
Lani gave them the less than welcoming greeting of a groan. “Is it too late to cancel you guys?”
“Yup,” the short one said and before she could even think of closing the door he walked in, his two tuxedoed buddies behind him.
It seemed that things were out of her hands. She was about to be serenaded, whether she wanted it or not.
With a sigh of resignation she went back to the table and sat. Talk about a waste of time. But she’d ordered them so she guessed she would just have to sit through it. Alone.
“Ready, madam?” the one who looked like the leader a
sked.
Lani grimaced. “Yeah. Go ahead.”
***
What the heck? Was somebody holding a concert in the living room?
Although Ridge’s scowl had disappeared long ago, now it came back full force. There were violins playing in the living room and he had no idea why.
He gave a grunt of annoyance. Lani must be desperate, resorting to playing classical music to get him to leave the bedroom. Well, it wasn’t going to work.
But then the music got louder, almost sounding like it was live. But it couldn’t be.
His curiosity getting the better of him, Ridge got up off the bed and padded across the floor to throw the bedroom door open. What he saw made him draw back in surprise.
Three violinists stood around Lani where she sat at the dining table and they were playing with such concentration and feeling you would think they were performing in front of an audience of a thousand.
And there was Lani, sitting at the table laden with dish upon dish, and she had her head down and it looked like she was…crying?
He’d made a couple of steps forward when she looked up, her eyes widening as she saw him. “Ridge,” she gasped. “You’re not dressed.”
He looked down and saw that she was right. He’d walked out into the living room in nothing but his boxer shorts. But how could he have known she had real live musicians performing in their hotel suite?
But when the men saw him they did not pause in their serenade. True professionals, they swung their attention back to the woman at the table and continued playing.
So this was the surprise Lani had spoken about. She’d arranged dinner and music for them. And, he now realized, the man with whom she’d planned on having dinner, was him.
That knowledge made him feel like the biggest jerk there was. His main concern the beautiful woman sitting at the table, Ridge strode toward her, not even bothered by his near naked state. He had other, far more important things to think about like how to get back into the good graces of his wife. As soon as he got to her side he went to drop to his knees, ready to shower her with apologies, but before he could do it she pulled him down and practically shoved him into the chair beside her.
