Page 5 of Seduced in Ink

Madison blushed to the tips of her ears. “On that note, I’m going to walk away.”

Holland laughed, blushing just as hard as Madison.

She made her way through the throngs of people, enjoying the warmth and happiness emanating from the room. So many people loved her cousin’s art, and it made her ecstatic. He worked so hard. He might have an immeasurable amount of talent, but he also worked hours and hours for his business and put his blood, sweat, and tears into his art.

And now, people were here to purchase it and talk about it in reverent tones.

She was so damned proud of him.

“Madison,” a sharp voice said from behind her. “What do you think you are wearing?”

Madison turned on her heels, steeling herself. Goosebumps pebbled her flesh, and she cursed her natural instincts to run and hide. She was not afraid of the woman in front of her. She couldn’t be. And yet, fear coated her.

“Mother.”

“What is that atrocity on you? It is hugging your hips and makes you look even wider than you are. Than you could possibly be. The number of cupcakes you eat makes you wide enough. You don’t need to accentuate it.”

They were in a corner with Madison’s father blocking the two of them. Nobody could really overhear, but she was still embarrassed.

“This isn’t the place, Mother.”

“Don’t you dare talk back to me. And how dare you force Lincoln to invite us when you should have been the one to invite us?”

“What? This isn’t even my event. Of course, Lincoln should have invited you. This is his night.”

“We are family,” Mother snapped. “That is not how things work. You are our daughter. You were the one that was supposed to get us here. Instead, your cousin had to take time out of his precious day with his deviants in order to invite us when we should have already been on the guest list.”

“First, you’re not making any sense. You’re contradicting yourself. Second? Don’t use that word.”

“What? Deviants? We are talking about his proclivities,” her mother snipped. “I don’t understand why people are so accepting.”

“It’s not your place to understand. It is not your place to talk about it.”

“What did I say about talking back to me? You’re lucky we’re in public, or I would wipe that smile right off your face.”

Madison let out a sigh. She stood up to her mother often, but Mother didn’t care. She had only gotten worse the older she got, and as Madison remained unmarried.

“Anyway, since you’re here and you won’t bother to come over for dinner so we can talk to you, we’re just going to have to deal with this now.”

“I’ve been busy. It’s a very busy time for my store.”

“Yes, your precious little store. Where you just have to indulge in everything you bake.”

“Stop it,” Madison snapped.

“Whatever.” Her mother waved her hand again before she snapped her fingers. “Guy.”

Guy? What? Who the hell was she talking about? A guy?

A man wearing a custom-cut suit and a winning smile came over, his bright green eyes flashing. He had perfectly coiffed hair. A single strand delicately flopped over his forehead before he whipped it back, a careless gesture that could have been sexy in any other case.

All Madison felt was meh.

Meh because she had a horrible feeling about this.

“What’s going on?” Madison asked, worried.

“This is Guy. Guy, this is the daughter we were telling you about. I wish she had worn the dress I sent over, but there’s nothing we can do about that now. This is going to be the woman you’ll marry.”

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