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Matt didn’t get a chance to tell Jena anything. When he slipped through the back door of the hardware store, he found her face to face with a woman who looked like she’d stepped out of the pages of Rolling Stone magazine. She was dressed in tight black leather trousers, a black leather form-fitting vest—with nothing underneath—and high black stiletto-heeled boots. She had a silver bag slung over her shoulder, about a million silver bangles and thick black eyeliner. Her dyed blonde hair was long, wavy and tousled—and she was obviously Jena’s mother.
The resemblance was startling—although the mother was a thinner, harder version of her daughter. Where Jena didn’t have to make any effort to look sexy, this woman worked hard at it. Where Jena’s eyes lit with kindness and mischief, her mother’s eyes were dull and calculating. After about two seconds assessing the woman, Matt decided he knew everything he wanted to know about her. And he didn’t like any of it.
“What do you mean you won’t take me to see Josh McInnes?” Jena’s mother was saying. “Isn’t that the whole point of your move here? To get close to him so you could introduce me.”
Matt clenched his teeth as he stood behind a shelf and watched.
“Mom.” Jena spoke with the tone of a person who had already answered the question. “I didn’t move here to meet Josh. I was joking earlier. I kind of moved here by accident. I was looking for houses on the web, somewhere far away from Atlantic City, and the name of this town stuck in my mind for some reason, so I ended up here.”
Her mother rolled her eyes. “It was in your mind because I’ve been talking about Josh’s move to Scotland for forever. When are you going to start paying attention, Jena? You didn’t even tell me you’d moved country. If Frank hadn’t called, I’d never have known.”
Jena rubbed her arms as though comforting herself. Matt took a step towards her before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to find Gordon. The man shook his head. Matt didn’t like anyone telling him how to deal with Jena, but tightness in Gordon’s expression made Matt pause.
“I did tell you, Mom.” Jena’s voice brought Matt’s attention back to her. “Several times—including when I came to see you the night before I left.”
“Was that the night I played Caesars?”
“Yeah, that was the night I dropped by Caesars.”
“Jena, that was the night there were scouts in the audience. Record companies. I told you about them when you arrived. You distracted me and made me miss my chance with them.”
Jena winced as Matt stifled a growl.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
What the hell? Why was she apologising? He shared a look with Gordon, who seemed equally surprised. This wasn’t the Jena he knew. Where was her smart mouth? Her sass?
“Yeah, well, you can make it up to me by taking me round to your friend Josh’s house. I’ve got a demo on me, my guitar in the car and I have a new song that’s perfect for him. Plus, I cleared my schedule for a few weeks before I left. I’m sure once he hears me, he’ll want to book me for his tour. I’d like to be his support act, but I’d settle for backing singer to get a foot in the door.”
“Mom.” Jena took a deep breath. “I live here now. I’m getting to know these people. They value their privacy. They came here to get away from everything. They don’t want to be pestered in their home.”
“Are you saying I’m a pest? You know better. Just because I know how to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way, doesn’t mean I annoy people. I’m not one of those talentless wannabes you see on American Idol. I am gifted. All I need is a lucky break and I’d be as famous as Josh McInnes.”
Jena seemed to shrink in on herself. Her normal spark snuffed out by the one woman in the world who should be nurturing it. It made no sense to Matt. Where was the bubbly, crazy woman he’d come to know?
“Where’s Frank?” her mother said. “Frank said he’d introduce me to Josh. He knows the value of using your contacts. Of networking.”
Jena didn’t even look at her mother to reply. “We split up. I told you about that too.”
“Jena.” The disproval in that one word was massive. “What did you do? He’s a great guy. Good looking, charming, working hard to get ahead. How could you throw away a relationship with a guy like that? He’s going places.”
“Yeah,” Jena mumbled, “straight to jail.”
Matt grinned, but her mother frowned. “You need to get your act together, stop messing around over here and go back home with Frank.”
Jena’s head snapped up, and some of the fire in her eyes returned. “He asked you to talk me into going back with him, didn’t he? What did he promise you in return? No. Don’t answer. I know. He’s going to connect you with Josh.”
Her mother let out an exasperated sigh. “Why are you getting mad? This is win-win for everyone. You get to go home to a beautiful house and a man who loves you, and I get the break I need. Who suffers in this, Jena, huh?”
Jena put her hands on her hips as her cheeks flushed. “He cheated on me, Mom. A lot.”
“Men do that.” Her mom waved a hand dismissively, as though it was nothing. “You need to compromise in a relationship. You’re lucky you caught his eye in the first place. You’ll never get another man like Frank, one who’ll help you with your career. Who’ll make sure you never want for anything. Plus he’s hot. What else is there? If you keep being selfish like this, you’ll be alone forever.”
Matt had heard more than enough. He left Gordon shaking his head in disgust as he stepped out into the store. Jena’s mother’s eyes shot straight to his, and to his disgust, they showed interest. She batted her lashes, fluffed her hair and pushed her boobs out. The sight made him want to vomit. When Jena spotted him, she took a step towards him before stopping herself. For some reason, her hesitance annoyed him. She was damn well within her rights to lean on him. If she needed to be rescued, he could do that. Hell, he was great at rescuing women. He had a lifetime of experience.
“Hey, princess,” Matt said. “I brought lunch. Can’t have you wasting away.”
Her eyes widened at his tone, silently asking what he thought he was doing. Matt couldn’t have answered even if he wanted to. All he knew for sure was that he didn’t want her mother to think Jena was alone. She wasn’t alone. She had him.
“Matt, look who’s come to visit.” Her smile was tight enough to crack a tooth. “It’s my mom. Mom, this is Matt, my...”
“Boyfriend.” Matt held out his hand as Jena looked like she was going to choke. “I was lucky enough to snap Jena up when she came to town. There have been guys queuing up to date her.”
Her mother tried to hide her shock as she shook his hand. She held it a minute longer than was polite. He had the urge to rub his palm on his leg when she released him.
“You’re a cop?” She lifted an eyebrow in Jena’s direction. “You never told me you were dating a cop.”
“You never asked,” Jena muttered.
“They must grow them big in Scotland,” Jena’s mother told Matt, making him cringe. “Call me Mona.” Her smile was sultry. Her laidback tone completely different to the one she’d been using with her daughter. She let out a throaty chuckle before he could say anything. “I know what you’re going to say. I get it all the time. Folk are generally shocked I have a grown daughter. We look more like sisters.” She cast a snide glance Jena’s way. “Although if you keep dressing like that, honey, they’ll think you’re the mother.” She laughed again. It was forced and nasty.
“No,” Matt said. “I wasn’t going to say that. You definitely look like her mother.” He turned away from her shocked expression to look down at Jena. “Your mum has a great sense of humour.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his side. “Nobody would take one look at you both and think you were older. Hell, you don’t have the same wrinkles she does, for a start.”
Mona gasped. “They said Scottish men were tactless.”
Matt gave her a smile that often got him out of trouble as a teen. “Was I being tactless? I can never tell.”
Jena was stiff as a board in his hold. Matt ignored it. He knew exactly how pliant she could become when he put in a little effort. The thought made his blood heat. Okay, so he hadn’t thought through the whole being Jena’s pretend boyfriend thing, but there was definitely an upside—he got to touch Jena again. Sure, he said he wouldn’t do that. He’d been determined to remain at a professional distance. But this didn’t count. It was all part of his duty to her—as a cop. Kind off. Maybe. Aw, to hell with it, he just wanted to hold her. Stuff being professional. There weren’t any rules against dating the women you were protecting. Hell, it wasn’t even an official job anyway. He nodded to himself. It was settled. There was nothing to stop him. He was dating Jena. He smiled at her as something settled within him. The anxiety of being around her and not touching her melted away. Yeah, he was definitely going to have a relationship with Jena. It was the right decision. Now he just had to tell her.
“You must be starving, princess,” he said softly. “You didn’t eat much for breakfast this morning.”
“Oh, she’ll be dieting,” Mona said before Jena had the chance to speak. “I’m glad you took my advice,” she said to Jena.
Matt felt the muscle in his jaw tick. “I really hope that’s not the case. You don’t need to diet. In fact, you lose one inch of that gorgeous body and I’ll tie you to the bed and force-feed you cupcakes. No man wants a skinny woman in his bed, isn’t that right, Gordon?”
The old man came up to stand on the other side of Jena. He folded his arms over his overalls. His face was shuttered and his eyes were hard. “Aye, that’s right. All these women trying to get the body of an emaciated wee boy. What man in his right mind finds that attractive. Unless, of course, he’s perverted and sick in the head. No, give me a woman with sexy curves any day of the week.”
Jena gave him a grateful smile and relaxed slightly. “Don’t let your wife hear you say that.”
“Now why would I look at another woman, when I found the perfect one?” His eyes twinkled.
Mona had obviously had enough. “It was nice meeting you both, but Jena’s taking me to see her other friends—Josh McInnes and his manager, Mitch. Mitch is here, right? I checked the web and it said he was here.”
Matt shook his head. “Jena and I have plans for the afternoon. Maybe some other time.”
“Jena.” Mona stared at her daughter, her smile fixed in place. “I came all this way to see you. Surely you have time for your mom.”
“Tell you what,” Matt said. “Why don’t we meet up for dinner later in the pub? That’s where all the locals hang out. You can usually find Josh there in the evening. Isn’t that right, Gordon?”
“Auch, aye, he loves the pub.”
“Really?” Mona perked right up, her need to spend time with her daughter totally forgotten. “Why didn’t you say so? That gives me the afternoon to get changed and organised. I came straight from the airport.”
The way she spoke implied she was waiting for a compliment on how great she looked.
“Aye, you look like you could use a spruce-up,” Matt said instead.
Jena coughed slightly and covered her mouth with her hand. From Matt’s viewpoint, he could see her hiding a smile. It warmed his heart. He never wanted to see that beaten and dejected look on her face ever again.
Mona sneered at Jena. “Maybe you could spare a couple of minutes of your precious time to show your mom how to get to your house.”
Jena froze. “You want to stay with me?”
“Where else would I stay?”
“You never stay with me. I mean ever. I left home ten years ago and you’ve never even visited, let alone spent the night.”
“You’ve never moved country before.”
Jena shot Matt a look tinged with panic. “It’s, I’m, the house...” She let out a sigh. “The house is a mess, Mom. It needs a lot of renovation. I don’t have space to put you up.”
“You’re sleeping there, aren’t you? I can sleep in your bed. You can take the couch.”
“Now, that would put me out a tad, seeing as I’m in that bed too,” Matt drawled.
Jena flicked him a look. She cleared her throat. “There are rooms above the pub. They’re really pretty. You’d be much more comfortable there.”
Her mother folded her arms and glared at Jena. Matt readied himself to intervene. “Why don’t you stay at Matt’s place and I’ll stay at yours, if it’s gonna be so horrible to share a house with me.”
“Can’t do that,” Gordon said. “Everybody in town knows Matt has a rat problem. They even had a video of it on in the pub. He’s stuck at Jena’s until it’s sorted.”
Matt smothered a grin. What he had was about a hundred soft toy rats, courtesy of his sisters.
Mona put her hand on her hip, drawing attention to the star tattoo that encircled her belly button on her very flat stomach. “You’re telling me I came all this way to spend money on a hotel room. What happened to family taking care of family?”
Matt almost choked. From the woman’s behaviour, she had no idea what family taking care of family meant.
“You’re totally right, of course,” Gordon said with a gleam in his eye. “A daughter should put her mother up, even if it is an inconvenience. After all, Jena, she did come all this way, just to see you. Pity, though.” He scratched his beard. “Those rooms in the pub are damn nice. Some of the guests for Josh’s wedding stayed there—they even have a celebrity page set up on Facebook for the hotel. It’s become the place to visit when you’re in Scotland.” He faked a hearty laugh. “The rooms are so good you can’t get some people out of them. Mitch Harris moved into one when Caroline had the baby. He says the castle is too noisy now and he doesn’t want to buy a house. He likes the food at the pub too much.”
Mona perked to attention. “Josh’s manager is living above the pub?”
Gordon shrugged, although his eyes held pure mischief. “Only when he’s in town. Which seems to be all the time these days. Can’t keep that boy away.”
Mona turned to Jena with a gleeful smile. “Why didn’t you tell me how great the pub is? If it’s good enough for Hollywood, it’s good enough for me. I mean, if Mitch Harris stays there, then that’s a recommendation in itself. I wouldn’t want to miss out on the chance to stay in a Scottish landmark.” She flashed a wide smile. She was backing out of the shop as she spoke, in a hurry to get back to the pub now she knew Mitch was in residence. She faked a yawn. “That trip really took it out of me. I mean, who can sleep on a plane? It’s a miracle I was able to drive from Glasgow without passing out. I’ll just go book a room before they sell out. We’ll meet tonight. What time do people eat around here?”
“Seven,” Matt said. “We’ll see you there at seven.”
“Great. Big kiss,” she said, then turned and practically ran from the shop.
As soon as the Wicked Witch of the West was out of the door, Jena pushed away from Matt. He instantly missed the soft warmth of her curvy body and scowled. She smacked him on the chest. It was like being swatted by a fly.
“Why did you let my mother think we were an item?” She spun on Gordon. “Why did you tell her Mitch was living at the pub? That’s mean.”
“Matt?” Gordon said.
“I’m on it.” He took out his phone and held a finger up to make Jena wait. “We’ll deal with the relationship thing in a minute.” She scowled. It was cute. “Mitch,” Matt said when he answered. “Jena’s mum is in town. She’s called Mona Sage. She’s a singer looking for a break and she seriously doesn’t deserve one. She’s scented your blood at the hotel. I’d get out before the shark gets you.”
Mitch thanked him for the heads-up and hung up. Matt turned to Jena, who had her arms folded and was tapping her toe in clear irritation. Now why didn’t she behave like this with the witch?
“Explain,” she demanded.
He let out a sigh. “She was horrible. I didn’t like it. She said you couldn’t get a decent man. I’m a decent man and I decided you could get me. Plus you need someone watching your back while she’s here, and it may as well be me. I’m already doing the job where Frank is concerned. Might as well double up.”
It sounded perfectly reasonable to him. Unfortunately, from the look on Jena’s face, she didn’t agree.
“The lad’s right,” Gordon said. “That woman is toxic. She’d walk over your broken body to get to Josh. You’re better off with someone in your corner, lass, when you deal with her.”
“What do you mean by ‘get you’, Matt?” She eyed him suspiciously.
Matt took a deep breath. Here goes. There was no point explaining the logic behind his decision. In his experience, male and female logic were two completely different beasts. Best to give her the final result of all his thinking. “I’ve decided to skip the whole dating thing and jump straight to the relationship. It’s safer.”
She blinked at him as Gordon laughed so loudly it echoed through the room.
“You’re serious? You want to be involved with me? Romantically?”
Matt folded his arms. “Don’t go getting all worked up about it. That leads to accidents. And I don’t want to be set on fire. A plain thank you will do just fine.” He stepped towards her. “We should really seal the deal on this new relationship with a kiss. Pucker up.”
Jena let out a frustrated wail, made a fist and thumped him in the stomach. Thankfully, she punched like a girl and his stab vest blocked most of the blow.
“Your sense of humour is sick,” she told him.
“Who says I’m joking. Close your eyes, Gordon, I’m going in.” With a grin, he stepped towards Jena.
“Ignore the idiot,” Gordon said through his laughter. “He’s right about one thing though. You need all the help you can get dealing with that woman.”
Jena threw up her hands. “I’ve been dealing with that woman my whole life. I don’t need backup to cope with my mom.” Hands on hips, she looked at the ceiling for a moment. Her pain was almost tangible. The sight of it made Matt ache, and from the look on Gordon’s face, it had the same effect on him. Jena’s head dropped back down. She looked so lost. “She’s a really focused person. She’s put a lot into her career. And she is good. Trust me. You’d want to hear her sing. All she needs is a little bit of luck to make it to the next level.”
“Is that you talking or your mum?” Gordon said gently.
“She wants it really badly. It’s all she can think about. She doesn’t realise how she comes across.” Jena wrapped her arms around herself again. She was breaking Matt’s heart. “Once she gets where she wants to be, she’ll calm down. She won’t be so insensitive to people.”
To her daughter, she meant. He could see it in her face. So earnest. So eager to believe the best of everyone, even as they walked right over her or treated her like muck on their shoes. He couldn’t bear to see her standing so alone any longer.
“Come here.” He pulled her into his arms.
“Matt, I’m over the joking.”
“It’s a friendly hug, nothing else.” If that was what it took to get her to come to him, then he’d roll with it. For now. “You’d give me one if I needed it. So shut up and enjoy. And don’t tell anyone or they’ll all want one.”
She laughed against his chest, but her arms threaded around his waist. She sank into him, and something within Matt settled. He had an overwhelming sense of being in the right place at the right time. Here, with this woman, lending her his strength when she needed it.
Gordon clasped his shoulder before taking off for the back of the shop, shaking his head in disgust as he did so.
Matt snuggled Jena closer, engulfing her with his heat. He stroked one hand over her hair while his other held her tight against him. If he had his way, nothing and no one would ever get close enough to hurt her again.
With that thought, Matt realised that his feelings for Jena ran a lot deeper than he’d suspected.
And he couldn’t bring himself to worry about it.
Not when holding her felt so completely and utterly right.