Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Loud knocking woke Violet from a deep sleep, and she became sharply aware of two things. First, the sun was streaming in through the skylight above the bed, which meant they'd overslept. And secondly, she was back lying on top of Max like he was her own personal body pillow.
Disgusted with herself, she grunted, climbed off him and took a step toward the door. That's when she realized a third thing—she was naked. She retrieved her pajamas from the floor and quickly threw them on.
On the bed, Max stirred. "Is somebody at the door? Must be breakfast." He reached for his phone. "Thanks for ordering it," he said flashing a smile.
Violet stilled. "I didn't order food."
She hurried around the bed to the table where she'd left her gun and removed it from the holster.
"Get dressed," she ordered.
She was pleased when Max did as he was told. He was out of bed and in his pajama bottoms before she made it to the living room.
"You don't think it's Damien's goons, do you?" he said as he followed her, pulling on his T-shirt.
"I know it isn't Rodrigo and Katrina, because they didn't say they were meeting us here this morning." She looked back over her shoulder. "Stay in the bedroom, out of sight. If anything happens, call Rodrigo. Got it?"
He nodded and stepped back, phone at the ready.
Quietly, Violet made her way toward the front door. As she passed the dining table, it thudded again.
"Who is it?" she called out.
"It's your mother," her mum practically sang the response. "We're here to get you ready for your wedding."
Violet hung her head in disgust as Max peered out from the bedroom. "Guess it's safe to come out now," he said.
"I wouldn't be too sure," Violet replied.
She stashed her gun in the console table beside the front door and then reluctantly opened it. Four smiling faces greeted her. One was apologetic.
"I'm sorry," Katrina whispered as Violet held the door open for her. "They were at my door half an hour ago, demanding we come help you get dressed."
Violet waved them in. She didn't blame Katrina. Her mother was a force all on her own, but when she came with Lian and Jasmine for back up, there was no fighting her will.
"Come in," Violet said ungraciously. "I hope you brought food."
"You should have been up hours ago," her mum said as she hurried into the dining area. "It's only two hours to the ceremony and you haven't even showered." She shook her head in dismay.
Violet locked the door before following them into the bungalow. "Two hours is loads of time. I could have slept for another hour and still be early for the wedding. Why are you here really?"
"To help you with your makeup." Jasmine waved a cosmetics bag under her nose.
"And to do your hair." Her mother brandished a curling iron.
"I'm here for moral support," her gran said sweetly, fooling no one.
"Hey ladies," Max said as he came into the living room. "Good to see you. And might I say that you are all looking beautiful today. Do I sense a theme?"
That's when Violet noticed all four women were dressed in shades of peach. What the hell?
"I thought you brought a lavender dress for the wedding," she said to Katrina.
Her teammate winced. "That was before Mrs. Lee saw the flowers you'd picked for the ceremony, and decided we should all match the wedding color scheme." She mouthed a silent sorry at the end.
Violet narrowed her eyes, letting her know the apology was not enough. "The color theme of the wedding is white. Tell them, Max."
"It's true," he said. "We told the wedding planner."
"And there is a lot of white in it," her mother said. "I'll give you that. But there are distinct accents of peach and pink." She put heavy emphasis on the pink and smiled smugly at Violet. "Very good choices indeed."
"I'm going to puke," Violet muttered.
Her sister's eyes shot to Violet's stomach. "Are you…?" She gasped, looking between Violet and Max with a blinding smile on her stunned face.
Violet had no idea what she was talking about.
Fortunately, Max did. And he was amused.
"Unfortunately, no," he said, smiling at Violet. "I think she's just nervous, and we haven't had breakfast yet."
Rosey Lee's eyes narrowed as she took in Max's appearance and the rumpled bed behind him. "Shouldn't you have spent the night before the wedding with your best man?"
"I could have," Max said, flashing a charming smile. "But Rodrigo refuses to snuggle."
Jasmine laughed like Max was comedy gold, when he really wasn't funny at all.
"Well, get your things together and head over there now," her mother ordered. "Because you can't be here while the bride gets dressed."
"Mum," Violet complained. "He's seen me get dressed before."
Her mother held up a hand. "Not on your wedding day he hasn't." She turned back to Max. "Do I have to tell you again?"
"No, Ma'am," Max said. He shrugged at Violet as he went off to pack.
"Uh, Katrina," Violet said. "Wasn't Rodrigo coming over here this morning anyway? Maybe he could help Max with his stuff." And look after him, seeing as his bodyguard had been hijacked by her family.
"Already on it." Katrina held up her phone.
A few minutes later, Violet handed Max over to Rodrigo and closed the door behind him.
She turned to survey the mess her family had made of her living area.
There was makeup, hair stuff, and jewelry everywhere.
Why there needed to be so much junk for one person, she didn't know.
All she'd planned to do was put on the ugly dress, slap on some lip gloss, and call it good.
Now her mother and sister were discussing hairstyles, while Katrina got out the clothes steamer to get the wrinkles out of her dress, and her grandmother sat in the midst of everything—judging Violet.
Her mother hurried toward her. "Go have a shower while we sort your dress. Then we'll start on the rest of you." She tucked Violet's hair behind her ears, the way she'd done when Violet was a child. "You are going to be such a beautiful bride." She sniffed with emotion. "Even if it kills me."
"I swear," Violet said. "If you start crying, I will shoot you."
Her mother laughed. "You've always had a dark sense of humor. Now go."
Violet hadn't been joking. "Could somebody at least order some food," she called as she walked into the doorless bathroom. "I'm starving. And nobody comes in here, understood. The bathroom is off limits until I'm done."
"She's always been shy," she heard her mother say to Katrina. "I've no idea where she gets it from."
With a growl, Violet climbed into the shower.
She didn't dally in there either, for fear her family would get up to no good while left unsupervised. Katrina clearly wasn't a good influence. It was obvious she let the Lee women push her around.
When she came back out of the bathroom, wrapped in a complementary white terry robe that dwarfed her, she found her mother standing staring into her closet. On hearing Violet, she turned, tears in her eyes.
"Oh baby," she said. "You chose the perfect thing to wear for your wedding. I can't wait to see it on you."
"Really?" Violet looked past her into the closet, expecting to see the ugly, cheap dress Katrina had bought to bolster their cover story.
But that wasn't what she found.
Hanging from the hook high on the wall, placed there for wedding dresses, was a white two-piece suit, made up of wide-legged pants and a form-fitting waistcoat.
It was clear both pieces had been tailored to fit her petite form.
Violet approached the outfit with wonder, smoothing her fingers over the soft material.
She wasn't sure what the fabric was called, but it was heavy enough to hold its shape while still being cool enough to wear in the Caribbean weather.
The outfit was similar to a man's suit, but without the jacket, and made to fit her. And it was stunning.
"How?" she asked absently.
"Katrina steamed it," her mother said. "Clothes always look so much better once they've been steamed."
"I mean…" She trailed off because she realized she couldn't ask her mother where the ugly dress had gone.
"Mum," Jasmine called and her mother hurried into the living room.
Katrina came up beside Violet and lowered her voice. "It was sitting there when I opened the bag," she said, wide-eyed. "It has to have been Max."
A strange warmth started in the center of Violet's chest and slowly spread outward. "He shouldn't be spending his money on stuff like this," she said. "He doesn't have much left."
"I guess he thought it was important." Katrina flashed a smile before going to join the others.
"Do not put that outfit on until you've had your hair and makeup done," her mother snapped from the other room.
Reluctantly, Violet closed the closet door and turned to find her grandmother watching her, with those unreadable eyes of hers that seemed to see everything. It was clear she was going to be a problem.
Violet's phone buzzed and, grateful for the distraction, she checked the screen to find it was a text from Max.
I forgot about rings, he wrote, and, weirdly, they don't sell them on the island. Guess they figure couples will turn up with them.
Violet let out a groan, and then perked up at the thought this might be excuse enough to postpone the wedding. She texted back. I'm going to tell my family and see if this will get us out of having the ceremony.
The moron sent back laughing emojis.
Thrusting the phone into her pocket, she stalked into the living area, delighted to see there was food on the dining room table. She took a seat and helped herself to coffee and pastries. Her gran strolled over to sit beside her, making Violet feel nervous all over again.
"We've got a problem," Violet told her family, trying hard not to look too happy about it. "I don't think we can have the ceremony today."
Her mother gasped. "What happened? Did Max break his leg? Do the staff have Norovirus? Is there a tsunami coming?"