Page 43 of Seduced in Ink

Phenomenally great sex.

She and her last boyfriend had even done most of the things that she and Aaron had done. She liked things on the kinkier side, yet she also enjoyed things sweet, happy, and playful.

Somehow, Aaron had mixed all of that together to create a night of perfect bliss that scared her.

Because even if she had done each of those things individually before with another person, it hadn’t been the same as it was with Aaron.

And that scared her even more. It should because she hadn’t expected him.

He had been on the periphery of her life for years. Lincoln and Ethan had been best friends for as long as Madison could remember. Honestly, she couldn’t think of a time when the Montgomerys hadn’t been part of her life. When Lincoln wanted to pull her away from her parents a bit more and bring her into his life as much as possible, she had become an honorary Montgomery of sorts. She’d embraced them as much as they embraced her. She knew some of their family secrets, knew their hurts and their likes and dislikes. Just like they knew some of hers.

And Aaron had always been there. The one she laughed with, the one she joked around with.

But she had never let herself think of him as anything more than that. He was Ethan’s baby brother. The one who talked fast, though not as quickly as Ethan. The one who lovedCriminal Mindsand whose favorite author of all time was Lisa Kleypas. He was the one who always did his best to make sure his siblings were happy, sometimes forgetting to do the same for himself.

She had noticed all of this from the sidelines, and though the Montgomerys had tried their best to pull her from that place, she had always known where she was most comfortable.

And yet, here she was, no longer on the sidelines when it came to Aaron.

She was someone who needed labels, who needed firm examples and boxes to put everybody and everything in. It was the only way she could focus on what she needed to do with the rest of her life. She had a home she loved, a job she adored, and she worked hard to keep both the way she wanted them. There had been many sleepless nights when it came to making her dreams come true. And while finding love had always been on her agenda, it had never truly happened.

Maybe her relationship with her family was part of that. But it was also her. She hadn’t found what she wanted.

She wasn’t saying that she loved Aaron. She didn’t. She wasn’t ready for that. She knew that once their fake relationship or whatever they were calling it ended, she would have to learn how to walk away yet still keep him in her life. Somehow, she’d become part of his family through Lincoln. They’d welcomed her with open arms and treated her far better than most of her own flesh and blood. Once this sham with Aaron ended, she wasn’t sure how she would be able to face them…or him. She’d have to leave completely. Break all ties.

Leaving her a shattered mess of someone who didn’t know their place.

She needed those labels, and she didn’t know what she and Aaron were now. Were they fake engaged? Were they together for real?

Or were they somehow seeing each other casually while she wore his ring?

Finished with the cupcakes, she set down her piping bag and reached under her shirt for the ring that hung on the chain.

She swallowed hard and looked down at the diamond, admiring how it sparkled, almost as if mocking her. She tried to breathe, only she couldn’t quite catch her breath.

She was engaged.

Yet it wasn’t real.

She didn’t know if what she had shared with Aaron in bed was real. It had felt real, the feel of him, the taste of him, his touch.

But what if nothing else was real?

He had said, “just you and me,” and she had agreed. But that wasn’t a label. That wasn’t what she needed. The problem was, she had no ideawhatshe needed. So, asking for a label would likely only end up in an explosion of nothingness with her hurt. Or worse, she would hurt him. He was a nice guy, only trying to help. The idea that she would end up hurting him because of her insecurities scared her more than anything. She would willingly walk alone and into the fire of her mother’s wrath if it meant not hurting Aaron.

“Hey there. Are you done with those cupcakes?” Brynn asked as she hustled to the back. “People are already raving about them, and we just got a new order.”

“This batch is ready,” Madison said, shaking herself out of her reverie. She didn’t always do the baking, but today she had wanted to throw herself into her cupcakes and do something routine like filling each cup with part of herself.

Brynn had seemed to understand that and took up the responsibilities up front with ease.

If Madison ever decided to open up a second branch someday, something she had been thinking about, perhaps in Fort Collins, she would definitely send Brynn out there to manage it if she were willing. It scared her to think of losing Brynn or even getting to a point where she was ready for the next phase of her job and career. But it was on her agenda and was something Brynn understood.

Things were changing, and yet Madison felt like she was drowning.

She hated it.

“You look sad, or maybe thoughtful. And you were playing with your ring again. Can I see it?” Brynn asked, coming closer.