Page 83 of What Doesn't Kill You…

"It fits fine," he said, holding her hand tight in his.

She took a shaky breath. "I give you this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness. Receive this ring as a token of wedded love and faith," she repeated after the officiant.

Again, she felt the strange sensation of a key turning over in a lock.

Max took her grandmother's ring and, with reverence, slid it onto Violet's finger. It fit like it'd been made for her. She glanced at Lian, seeking something, maybe approval, maybe reassurance. Her grandmother smiled and nodded, and the need within Violet eased.

"I give you this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness. Receive this ring as a token of wedded love and faith," Max said, his voice strong and sure.

There was a clang inside Violet. The kind you hear when a lock is fully secure. And she knew they had done something that might never be reversed. Something, she feared, she didn't want to be reversed.

The officiant was talking again, but all Violet could feel was the weight of Lian's ring on her finger and Max's hand in hers.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the woman said. "You may kiss to seal your marriage."

With a gleam in his eye, Max turned her toward him, and before she could protest, complain, or control what happened, he kissed her hard. There was a whoop from her family as the guitarist began to play. Violet honestly couldn’t have told anyone what the song was, because she was lost in a maelstrom of emotion. None of which she understood. Feeling very disorientated, she faced her family and teammates. Their joy was a wave that buffeted her.

"May I present," the officiant called loudly. "Mr. and Mrs. Durant-Lee!"

There were cheers. Over at the tree line, Violet saw Abasi, dressed in his resort uniform, smiling at them. Further over, in a narrow gap between two trees, she spotted another man. The one who'd been at the bar during their karaoke dinner. Damien's minions were watching.

The thought helped put her feet firmly back on the ground. They were doing this for a reason. Her family would understand. Lian had when she'd explained.

She looked down at their linked hands and the rings that gleamed with age and love, and suddenly nothing seemed certain.

"Excuse me," the officiant said behind them. "If you could follow me, we'll sign the paperwork and then you're free to celebrate with your loved ones."

"Paperwork?" Violet asked as they followed the woman to a small table set up behind the gazebo.

She gave them a bright smile. "The marriage license, of course."

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

"We're really married?" Violet wanted to shoot her new husband, then take him out into the ocean and dump his body where sharks could feast on him until there was nothing left.

"It was a shock to me too," Max said again. "I didn't read the package contents properly because I was in a hurry to book the wedding, and this was the only option still available for this weekend. I should have paid more attention."

"You think?" Violet paced the length of the dining and living room area in their bungalow. "Now instead of telling my family the whole thing was a lie to bring down a criminal, I need to tell them we have to get a divorce."

This was going to kill her mother. There hadn't been a divorce in their family in, well, ever. There had been a suspicious poisoning when her great aunt got fed up with her abusive husband, but that was nowhere near as bad as divorce. She stopped suddenly and considered Max. Killing him would be more acceptable to her family.

"I don't like what you're thinking." Max pointed at her. "Don't do anything rash. We can fix this."

"How?" she snapped as she resumed pacing.

"As soon as we're back in North America we'll file for an annulment." He didn't sound very confident.

"That sounds suspiciously like a divorce only under another name," Violet said.

"Honestly, I don't know anything about this, but I can do some research." He reached for his laptop.

At the same time someone knocked the door.

"Don't move," Violet warned him. "I'm not done with you."

He sat at the dining table with the laptop in front of him. "I'm staying right here, Googling annulments."

Violet stalked to the door, checked the peephole, saw it was Rodrigo and threw it open.