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.”
“Oh, 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.”