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“Nice to meet you.” I flashed her the dimple.
She grinned in response, looking like a cat about to devour a canary in one bite. “So tell me, Bob.” Aileen’s voice was a purr. “What’s a fine male specimen like you doing with a nerd like Madison?”
“Mother.” Maddy looked as though she might cry or run away, or both.
I put my arm protectively around Maddy and pulled her close. “I don’t think Madison’s a nerd, Mrs. Delaney.”
“Call me Aileen.” She tilted her chin, inspecting us next to each other. “You two don’t seem to have a lot in common. You’re a Tarzan, but Maddy’s no Jane. My little girl does not know how to swing through the jungle.” She grinned widely, as though the word “swing” brought her special pleasure.
Oh, for fuck’s sake! I glanced at Madison. She still looked as though she might burst into tears. I turned back to her mother. “Ma’am, I’m—”
“Aileen.”
“Right, Aileen.” I smiled again, forcing myself to be civil, even though Aileen was anything but. “Madison’s the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”
“Ah.” Aileen’s eyes sparkled. “And is that because you’re a hanger-on?”
“I’m sorry?” I didn’t let my smile falter.
“A hanger-on.” She pronounced the words slowly as if perhaps English was not my first language. “Someone who clings to someone else because it benefits them.”
“Not at all.” I gripped Maddy tighter. “I have my own life, but it’s better with Madison in it.”
“Is that so?” Aileen motioned around the study to the grounds outside. “You’ll be proposing to her shortly, I expect, after seeing the vast amount of wealth she comes from.”
Madison clenched her hands together. “Mother!”
“If I ever propose to Maddy, that will be our business.” At that, Madison’s knees buckled, but I held her up. “And it
will have nothing to do with you or your money. It would have everything to do with your daughter and my feelings for her, not to mention her feelings, which I care about deeply.” And you seem to have no regard for!
Aileen put her hands on her hips. “We’ll see.”
Wow, this woman was a piece of work.
“It was so great to meet you, ma’am.” Aileen cringed, and I mentally fist-pumped. “But I think we’ve heard enough. I’m taking Madison to her room now.”
Aileen’s gaze flicked to her daughter in distaste. “Oh, for the love of God. Don’t be such a baby, Maddy. You know I don’t like to beat around the bush.”
Maddy’s voice was thick when she spoke. “There are bushes, and then there are bushes, Mother.”
“It’s all good,” I said a little too brightly. I maneuvered Maddy toward the door, desperate to get away from the mom. “All the bushes are good!”
Aileen winked at me, and I swallowed hard. Was that because I’d said bush?
“See you two later!” Her voice tinkled after us as we hustled down the hall.
Once we’d made it out of earshot, I glanced at Maddy. She was still red, but at least her lip wasn’t quivering anymore. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I’m super.”
I let her go and jabbed my finger in the direction of the study. “You did not prepare me for that.”
“I told you she was bad,” Maddy moaned.
“You didn’t tell me she was a stalker-cougar! You said she was an uptight Catholic!”
Maddy shrugged. “She is. She’s just also a stalker-cougar. She’s all the things.”
