CRUISE TO ROMANCE (14 page)

“
Si, naturalmente
.  You
have but to tell me your menu, and I will have everything ready for you to
cook.  It will be great fun.  If some of your dishes can be prepared in
advance, please plan on coming in anytime you feel is best.”

Jennifer gestured to the papers
neatly folded in her hands.  “I wrote down everything that I will need from the
smallest ingredient to the type of pan.  Every detail is here.”

“
Buon
.  I will see to it
that you have the assistance you need.  I will tell the Captain today, so that
he will send out the invitations.”

“Thank you.  What is a good time
for the Captain?”

“Usually eight o’clock.”

“Fine, I will be here around six
to start my set-up.  I may take you up on your gracious offer to enable me to
prepare some of the meal in advance.  If you have any questions, be sure to
call me.”  Jennifer handed him the papers and turned to go.

“Wait,” he called out.  “Since
you are here now, let me take you on a tour of the ship’s galley.”

Jennifer looked around in
surprise.  “That would be wonderful, Chef Ruscelli.  Thank you.”

Chef Ruscelli beamed from ear to
ear.  “
Buon
.”  He motioned for her to wait, then turned and rushed
through a pantry door, returning with a chef’s hat which he placed on top of
her head.

Jennifer laughed at the gesture. 
“Thank you again, Chef Ruscelli.  You do compliment me.”

“
Si
, yes, now you are one
of my staff.”  He studied her for a few moments before placing his hands on her
shoulders.  “Hmm.  You are not so bad after all.  Under different
circumstances, why I might even be attracted to you.  You are a little skinny
for my tastes though.  With all the eating a chef does, one would think you
would fatten up a bit.”

The protest died in Jennifer’s
throat the instant she heard the word
skinny
.  Never could she remember
being referred to as skinny.  What a dear, dear man!  Jennifer laughed and
straightened her hat.  “You are very kind!”

“It is my pleasure Chef
Jennifer.”  Chef Ruscelli motioned for Jennifer to precede him through a
corridor which led to a large room lined with heavy stainless steel doors. 
“When we embark from Ft. Lauderdale we have over eighty-five tons of food on
board stored in the rooms situated behind these doors.  Each room is specially
designed and temperature controlled for the various types of food.  Because
this is a fourteen-day cruise, we still have to load additional food onto the
ship in various ports of call.”

Thank goodness she didn’t have to
worry about supervising the preparation of the cuisine on this ship.  The
tonnage of food was staggering.  Jennifer noticed they were passing the coffee
pantry and
Garde Manger
or cold kitchen and nearing the main hot galley. 
“How many galleys does this ship have?”

“We have two main galleys for the
dining rooms, as well as one for each restaurant and one for Neptune’s Court. 
To your left is the meat preparation area and up just ahead is the fish
preparation area.”  Chef Ruscelli stopped at the pastry shop and let her enjoy
the wonderful smells wafting through the air.  “Chef Jennifer, you should be
someone’s wife, making the man delicious meals and having babies.  Tell me, a
beautiful woman such as you, where are your boyfriends?”

“Well, one of them will be at the
Captain’s table on Friday night,” she teased.  Jennifer felt more relaxed
around Chef Ruscelli now.  He really was a very nice man.  Charming too.  It
amazed her that with all the responsibilities he had on this ship that he was
able to take the time to give her a tour.  Even more amazing was the fact that
he would be helping her with her meal on Friday night.  That really impressed
her and she was beginning to feel honored.  He worked hard or he would not be
able to keep his position.

“Then your cooking has found
favor with him?” he inquired.  “The foolish man should snap you up.  Marriage
is for the best.  A man doesn’t let a woman like you get away.”

Jennifer laughed.  “It’s not
quite at that stage yet.  This meal was actually his idea, though.  It was nice
of the Captain to go along with his idea.”

“Mmm.”  Chef Ruscelli rubbed his
chin and studied her out of narrowed eyes.  “So nice of your boyfriend to allow
us the pleasure of your recipes and cooking skills.”  A secretive smile crossed
his face and he turned to retrieve two pastries from a cooling pan.  “Enjoy the
pastry, Chef Jennifer.  I want you to know that I am extremely anxious for
Friday night to come.  Not only will I have your lovely company, but your recipes
appear to be designed to garner great attention.”

“Why, thank you,” Jennifer said. 
“I look forward to your gracious company.”  Jennifer glowed with happiness over
the compliment.  He was really quite decent once she started talking with him.

“
Buon
.”  He smiled with
delight.  Chef
Commendatore
Mario Ruscelli was looking downright
wicked.  “Let us continue our tour.”

*    
*     *

Jennifer felt like celebrating. 
After her visit to see Chef Ruscelli earlier this morning, she’d worked on her
manuscript.  All her recipes were finished and organized.  She still had to
test some of them, but she knew from experience that they would be delicious. 
She wanted to be sure every one of them was perfect before sending her
manuscript off to her editor.  Now she could enjoy her cruise in good
conscience.  She had two days at sea to relax and play before the ship reached
St. Thomas.  She knew just the man to spend the time with.  But first, she had
to soothe some ruffled feathers.  Sheila’s feathers.

Since their discussion on the
balcony, Sheila had given her a wide berth.  Yesterday during their shopping in
Barbados and submarine ride, Sheila seemed subdued.  Jennifer thought maybe she
and Mike were at odds.  Whatever the reason, it was lucky for her, because the peace
and quiet had enabled her to finish up on her work.  She hated to say good-bye
to Barbados, with its unusual cuisine, but visiting St. Thomas would be fun and
interesting too.   It would cater more to the sophisticated traveler.  Jennifer
was leaving the water sports until they reached the cruise line’s private
island in the Bahamas.  In St. Thomas, she planned to shop ‘til she dropped. 
Maybe Sheila would like to join her, but with her, Jennifer never quite knew
what to expect.  For all she knew, Sheila had plans for para-sailing that day. 
Jennifer could just imagine her dangling beneath a colorful parachute being
pulled by a boat.

Jennifer gathered her papers from
the table and glanced around the quiet library.  Soft cushy easy chairs in tan
leather were placed beneath floor lamps.  Small tables were placed near
built-in book shelves to provide the passengers with working space.  The
windows were covered with sheer drapes and the walls were paneled wood. 
Jennifer smiled to herself.  She would miss this place with its understated
elegance and plush comfort.  It had been a wonderful place to work.

Sheila would probably be at one
of the pools this time of day, so she headed for her cabin to stow her
manuscript and change into a bathing suit.  Jennifer slipped her key card into
the lock and entered the cabin.  From the door she could see their steward had
cleaned the cabin and left them a bowl of fresh fruit.  Next to the bowl sat a
vase of roses.  Not just any kind of roses, but chocolate roses, white chocolate
roses, milk chocolate roses, and dark chocolate roses.  In her heart she knew
they came from Ryan, but she still had to read the card and pinch herself.  She
reached for the envelope and opened it.

As she read, she started to
giggle, then laughed at his silliness.  Ryan was such a tease.  Tonight he was
going to cover her in chocolate?  Surely he was joking.  She glanced over to
the roses.  They looked delicious.  Jennifer took one and peeled off the
cellophane wrapping.  Yes, she assured herself while she nibbled on the flower,
he was just joking about covering her in chocolate.

Jennifer changed into her navy,
French cut, bathing suit that Ryan had liked so much and headed upstairs to the
open-air pool.  After checking through the maze of chaise lounge and deck
chairs without finding Sheila, she slipped into her cover-up and headed for
Neptune’s Court.

There next to a bright window sat
her friend Sheila, sipping on iced-tea and looking pensive.

“Hi, Sheila.”  Jennifer called as
she walked up.  “Feel like company?”

Sheila smiled.  “Sure, have a
seat.”  She motioned to the waiter who brought over the beverage cart.  After
Jennifer took an iced-tea and the waiter left, Sheila asked, “How’s the
cookbook coming along?”

“Wonderful.  I’m finally at the
point where I can relax and have some fun.”  Jennifer squeezed a lemon wedge
over her tea.  “I wanted to see if you would like to go shopping with me when
we hit St. Thomas.”

“Sure.  Sounds like fun.”

“I thought you might have other
plans.  Like para-sailing or exploring the rain forests.”  Jennifer smiled at
Sheila and sipped her tea.

“Not hardly,” Sheila replied. 
“Mike hasn’t said anything about what he wants to do, so I suspect he and Ryan
are going to go diving again.  Are you over being angry with me?”

“I was never angry with you,
Sheila, I was upset.  Yes, I’ve calmed down.  Everything’s okay.  Truly.”

“Good.  I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.”

Sheila twirled her glass and
watched as her tower of ice cubes tumbled lower into the glass.  “Mike has been
moody the last several days.  He’s getting withdrawn and he seems to be
brooding.  It has to be over a woman.”

“Maybe he has a woman back home
and he misses her,” Jennifer offered.

“Well, he told us that he didn’t,
if you remember right,” she reminded her.

“That’s true.  He did.”  Jennifer
leaned forward.  “Do you have any idea at all who it might be?”

Sheila looked at her over her
glass before taking another sip.  “I was hoping you did.  She has to be on this
ship, but I can’t think of anyone.  He’s with me most of the time.”

“I’m sorry, Sheila.  I know you
really like him.”

“It’s okay.  I didn’t go into
this relationship expecting anything more than a good time.  But I didn’t think
that he had someone else here on the ship.”  Sheila picked up a chocolate chip
cookie and took a bite out of it.  “Try one.  They are so good.”

“No, thanks.  I had some
chocolate in the cabin,” she answered.

“Did someone mention chocolate?”
a masculine voice behind her startled her.

“Ryan!”  Jennifer stared at the
two men standing behind her.

“Well, hello to you to,” Mike
teased.

“I’m sorry, Mike.  Hello.” 
Jennifer laughed.  “Care to join us?”

Mike grinned and settled himself
next to Sheila while Ryan chose the chair beside Jennifer.  “So what’s all this
about chocolate?” Mike asked.

Jennifer turned to Ryan, who sat
watching her closely, his eyes alive with mischief and fun.

“Ryan sent me roses.  Chocolate
roses.  They are delicious!”  The four of them laughed, but Jennifer noticed
the slight frown on Mike’s face as he glanced at Ryan.  What could possibly be
wrong?  Mike approved of her according to Sheila.  Well, she wasn’t going to
let it spoil her mood.  Jennifer turned back to Ryan.  At that moment he looked
up at her and grinned before running the tip of his tongue over the inside edge
of his bottom lip.

Jennifer blushed at his blatant
sexuality.  She could feel his tongue running over her, around the edge of her
bathing suit, lapping up warm chocolate as he went.  Her face reddened as her
body responded to her erotic thoughts.  In that instant she knew Ryan was
serious, very serious.  Tonight Ryan intended to cover her in chocolate and to
lick it off.  Goose bumps appeared from nowhere and she tingled all over.

Ryan just sat there grinning from
ear to ear.  What a tease he was!  He knew exactly what she must be thinking
and he was enjoying every minute of it.  Well, two could play this game.  Of
course, she would have to be subtle since there was an audience of very
interested bystanders.

“You’ve probably eaten so many by
now that you won’t want any real food,” Sheila remarked.  “However, I do. 
Lunch anyone?”

“Yeah.”  Mike rose from the table
and urged Sheila stay.  “I’ll get yours, Sheila.  Can I get you anything
Jennifer?”

“Some orange segments and
strawberries, please,” she answered and smiled broadly.

Jennifer could see the devilment
written all over Ryan.  As soon as Mike left, she picked up a chocolate chip
cookie and brought it slowly to her mouth where she delicately nibbled on the
edge.  Warmth flooded her when she saw Ryan’s expression change from mischief
to curiosity as he watched.

Mike returned to the table where
he and Sheila shared a bowl of pasta.  Deep in conversation between the two of
them, they didn’t notice when Jennifer slid her small bowl of fresh fruit closer
to her and gently picked up an orange segment with her fingers.  She smiled. 
She had Ryan’s undivided attention and she meant to keep it.  His chair was
pushed back from the table and slightly turned to face her.  Ryan sat relaxed,
one elbow positioned on the table in casual comfort.  Her gaze slid over him
from his firm open thighs resting so close to her, to his strong powerful
chest, partially exposed by his carelessly buttoned shirt.  What she could see
of those gorgeous muscles made her want to run her tongue over them.