Page 7 of Seduced in Ink

“Yes, yes we are.”

The lie came out of nowhere, and yet it felt right. And also like a horrible mistake. But she kept her gaze steady.

“That can’t be true,” her mother continued. “Who would want a girl like you?”

And there it was. Aaron’s jaw tightened at those words, and Madison looked over to her mother and raised her chin. “Aaron did. And, yes, he’s my fiancé.”

And on that note, with that lie, she knew for certain it had been a horrible mistake. However, the look of pure astonishment and hatred in her mother’s eyes made it all worth it.

At least she hoped to hell it had been a lie.

Chapter 2

Aaron Montgomery squeezed Madison’s hip again and wondered what the hell he was doing. Had he lost his mind?

Undeniably.

He hadn’t even realized that he was saying the words until he was suddenly lying to Madison’s family as if he did it all the time.

“Oh, really? Convenient,” Madison’s mother said, her eyes narrowing to cat-like slits.

He did not like this woman. He tried to give most people the benefit of the doubt because he didn’t always know the situations behind some people’s attitudes or words, but this woman? He hated her.

From what he had heard her say to Madison, she deserved his hatred and more.

“Yes,” he said, leaning over to kiss the top of Madison’s head. She was wearing heels and yet felt so tiny compared to him.

What would that mean in bed?

He held back a curse. No way would that be happening. Ever. A fake engagement, even if it might not last for more than this conversation, didn’t mean they would end up in bed. In fact, because of this fake announcement, they’d most likely never end up in bed—even if he’d had thoughts about it in the past.

No, thank you, he wasn’t going to let his thoughts go down that path yet again.

“And you’ve been hiding this all along?” Madison’s mother snapped. “I don’t believe this for a second.”

“Believe what?” Lincoln asked, coming over to their little corner. Aaron knew the charade would be over now. He’d earned any incriminating looks and yells he received for acting without thinking.

People were starting to stare. Thankfully, some of Aaron’s other family members began pulling people’s attention away as if they knew that Madison needed a little privacy, even if nothing was private right now. Then his parents began talking to a large group, and Aaron’s siblings subtly made their way over.

“Ah, you don’t even know?” Madison’s mother asked. Aaron thought her name was Maeve, but he couldn’t be sure. All he remembered was that she had always been Mother, not Mom, not Mommy, not Ma.

Mother.

“Did you know that Madison and Aaron have been dating? And that they’re engaged? No, of course, you didn’t. Because it’s all a lie. She’s a sad, pathetic excuse for a McClard.”

Lincoln’s eyes narrowed, and Aaron resisted the urge to step forward, but his hand did fist on Madison’s waist. She reached around and squeezed his hip as if warning him.

Aaron tried not to think about what that touch meant. Or how much he liked it.

Madison’s cousin looked ready to commit murder before he blanked his expression, a sly smile spreading over his features. “Oh, I didn’t know we were announcing it,” Lincoln said. Aaron froze, his hand spasming on Madison’s side. Her hand did the same on him, and Aaron had to wonder what Lincoln would do next.

“You knew?” Madison’s mother rasped.

“Of course, I knew. I’m family.” Lincoln winked at the barb, and Madison made a little coughing sound that Aaron tried to cover with a laugh.

Aaron leaned forward, smiling. “We were keeping things a little on the down-low because of the new engagements in my family. However, the cat’s out of the bag. Considering that you were trying to set up my fiancée with someone else, I had to, you know, make sure my territory was claimed and all that.”

“Territory?” Madison asked, her voice so low that Aaron wasn’t even sure her mother had heard, despite being so close.

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