Page 26 of What Doesn't Kill You…

Max nodded.

"First up, the boring part." She slid a document across the desk. "If you two will sign that, we can go ahead and sort the officiant. All the paperwork has been filed and we're good to go on this end."

They signed the document and passed it back, although Violet did wonder if she should have read it first. But then, the whole thing was purely a symbolic ceremony anyway, there was nothing she could sign that would cause any lasting harm.

"Okay," Delilah said as she tucked the papers into her folder. "Now vows. Have you decided to write your own or use the traditional ones?"

How the hell were they supposed to write vows? She could just imagine what hers would say: I promise to keep your stupid ass alive while you chase a story using a harebrained cover idea, on an island in the middle of nowhere.

Yeah, that would go down like a block of concrete thrown off a pier.

"Traditional," Max said, flashing Violet a knowing smile.

"Perfect." Delilah made a note. "So, you opted for the karaoke dinner the evening before the ceremony."

Max nodded while Delilah ticked the item off her list. Violet glared at him. Seriously? Karaoke? He shrugged.

"And," Delilah said. "You bought the Eternal Love package, which, as you know, includes some resort perks." She beamed at them. "I have you down for kayaking, a dance lesson with our wonderful professional dance coach, his-and-hers massages at the spa—very romantic, and a moonlight picnic on the beach. Does that sound about right?"

No, it sounded horrific. All Max had told her about was the kayaking and now she was supposed to get massaged? No way in hell was she letting a stranger stroke her body. That was plain weird.

"That sounds perfect," Max said before smiling at Violet. "Doesn't it?"

"I can hardly contain myself," she bit out.

"Good," Delilah said, completely missing Violet's tone. "Now, the cake?" She passed them a laminated sheet with photos on it. "These are our standard designs, which are included in your package. You have a choice of chocolate, vanilla, or red velvet. Which do you prefer?"

Max turned to Violet. "What do you say, honey? Chocolate sound good?"

His head on a spike sounded better. "Sure," she said.

"Great!" Delilah made another note. "You mentioned in your emails that you didn't want to finalize flowers or music until your fiancée was here." The wedding planner gave Violet an understanding smile. "I gather the proposal and destination wedding were a big surprise."

"The biggest. I had no idea I was getting married. Some would say it was a shock."

Max cleared his throat. "But she's thrilled. Aren't you?"

"Effervescent," Violet said without the slightest hint of emotion. "Bubbling over with joy. I never in a million years would have thought to get married here. Or married in general. Yet, here I am." She stared at the wedding planner. "In paradise. With the man of my…dreams." Nightmares more like. She was going to puke.

Delilah did the eye blinking thing while her brain rebooted. "Yes, well, I am so excited for you. Be assured that everyone on Wedding Island will work hard to give you a wedding you'll never forget."

"Oh, I'm going to remember this." She looked up at Max and hoped he read the promise in her eyes. Somehow, somewhere, there would be payback for his ludicrous plan. He could count on it. "I'm going to remember all of this," she vowed.

The moron flashed his bloody dimples at her.

"Wonderful," Delilah said. "Now, let's talk about the ceremony. Max opted for a beach event, but if you'd rather move it to another location, we have a couple of venues free for that time slot." She consulted her notes. "The old sugar mill is available, and the end of the pier. It's really more of a jetty than a pier, but we built it wide enough to host smaller ceremonies over the water. And there's a gorgeous gazebo structure at the end that looks adorable dressed up with flowers." She sighed at the thought of it. "Let's see, what else?"

"I think the beach is fine," Violet said because she honestly didn't care where the fake ceremony was performed. It wasn't happening anyway.

"Beach it is." Delilah beamed. "Now, on to flowers. We have the most amazing florist working in the resort and she has a whole team on hand for dealing with our many weddings. We use local and imported flowers, and although it's short notice, I'm sure we can get you whatever you have your heart set on for the arrangements."

Violet almost laughed. Flowers. She had to choose flowers. Of course she did. It was her childhood all over again. Being forced to help out in the family business, while her mother sang ABBA songs at the top of her lungs. Unlike her sister, who'd bought into the florist shop, Violet had run from it as fast as she'd been able and had sworn never to talk flowers ever again. Yet, here she was. Her mother said this day would come, that karma would get her for turning her back on family. Guess she was right.

"Have you got any ideas as to what you'd like?" the wedding planner asked. "The sooner we know your choices, the sooner we can get it sorted." She looked apologetic. "Time is tight, seeing as your wedding is the day after tomorrow."

"You're in for a treat here," Max told the woman. "My fiancée's family run a florist business. You could say it's her life's calling." The twinkle in his eyes made it clear this was payback for the drugging incident.

Oh, foolish man. He didn't know what he was dealing with. She narrowed her eyes at him, taking his dare. Prepare to be dazzled, she thought.