Page 79 of Seduced in Ink

“Mr. McClard.”

“Call me Mark. You saved my girls. I’m never going to be able to thank you enough.”

Aaron shook his head. “You don’t need to thank me. If we had told you about Guy to begin with, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

“There are a lot ofshouldsand questions about what would’ve happened. Things we need to talk about as a family. But I want to thank you for being there for my ladies, for saving them. I’m glad you’re with our baby girl. Even if it was a lie at first, I can see it’s the truth now.”

Mark held out his hand, and Aaron blinked, not knowing what to say. He just reached out and clasped it.

“I’m glad I was there.”

“So am I. I’ll be proud to have you as part of our family.” Mark squeezed Aaron’s hand before going back to his wife. It looked like they would be putting her in the ambulance soon, which meant that Madison would likely be leaving. That also meant it was time for Aaron to let her go.

Madison came over, and he let out a breath, doing his best not to look like he was breaking inside. “I’m going with Mom, and Dad’s going to follow in the car. I hope that’s okay. I know I came up here with you, but I don’t think I can let her out of my sight.”

Aaron reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I understand. You need to go with your mom. You need to be with her for this. She came out to save you.”

Tears filled her eyes, and he felt like a heel for bringing that up.

“She did. It was like she was my mom again. I know we have a lot to talk about. All of us. But I’m just so happy she’s okay. That you’re okay. That you were here.”

He swallowed hard.

If he were a smart man, he would tell her how he felt. He would say that he loved her and that he always would. But he wasn’t a smart man. He knew exactly what she needed, and it wasn’t him.

“You’re going to be healing as a family. And you need each other. It’ll be good for you to be with them.”

“It will,” she said, confusion on her face. She frowned up at him. “What’s wrong?

“I guess it’s over.”

Why did his voice sound so icy? Why was the rest of him cold, as well?

Her eyes widened. “What?

“There’s no more engagement. There’s no more Guy. You don’t need me to be your beard anymore or anything like that. You have your family. You need to be with them. They see you now. For who you really are.”

Just like I saw you.

She didn’t say anything, but he didn’t really let her. Instead, he leaned down and brushed his lips across hers, a goodbye that he knew would break him. But he didn’t care.

He leaned away and gestured towards her mother. “They’re going to be taking her away soon. You don’t want to miss it. I’m glad I was here this weekend. I’m glad that I got to know you.”

She just looked at him, seeming stunned, but still didn’t say anything.

He was an asshole for even doing this, but it would be a good break. It would make things easier and allow her to figure out exactly what she wanted without him.

She finally had her family. He didn’t need to be a part of it.

“Madison, we’re heading out,” her father said. Madison just shook her head at Aaron.

“Go. It’s what you need.”

She had a bandage on her head, another on her arm, and he couldn’t look at any of it anymore. She needed to go, or he was going to break.

Even more than he already was.

Instead of saying anything, she simply walked away, leaving him alone. Just like he wanted.