She nodded, smiled, blushed. Matt wanted to roll his eyes. With the amount of dates she got asked out on, surely this routine was old hat by now. Matt folded his arms over his black sports shirt, a part of his uniform that could pass as civilian wear when he didn’t have his stab vest over it. He felt gleeful when he noticed his upper body bulk put Bob’s to shame. Bob straightened his shoulders, puffed out his chest and winked at Jena. Now Matt was really irritated. It was time to wipe that smug smile off the guy’s face.
“Jena is indisposed for the next wee while,” Matt said. “She’ll not be going out on any dates.”
“Matt!” Jena glared at him. “You don’t make those decisions for me.”
“Aye, I do.” Matt fought the urge to grin. Take that, Bob the bloody butcher.
Bob’s eyes narrowed briefly before he flashed a poor imitation of a movie-star smile. “Are you and Jena dating, then?”
“No!”
Jena’s answer was a bit fast in coming for Matt’s liking. She dated anyone who asked her, yet was offended at the suggestion he might be in the running? Yeah, Matt didn’t like that one bit. There was nothing wrong with him. Women loved dating him. They were falling over themselves to get his attention. He was a much better catch than Bob the bloody butcher. For a start, he was taller, he had more muscle mass and he didn’t need a bottle of bleach to fix his hair. He frowned at Jena. He’d deal with her outrage later. Right now he had to get rid of Bob.
“This has nothing to do with romance. Jena has a situation going on right now. Her activities are restricted. It’s too dangerous for her to wander around in public. That means no dates. With anyone.”
Bob eyed him thoughtfully. “You’re playing her bodyguard, then?”
“I’m looking out for her until this situation is resolved. She’s keeping a low profile. She isn’t dating.” Matt felt the need to repeat himself. He was pretty sure his words weren’t getting through the cloud of hairspray that surrounded Bob’s head.
Bob nodded and Matt felt smug.
Then the butcher ruined it by turning to Jena. “You can come to my house for dinner. I’ll cook. My place is far from public, so I’m sure Officer Donaldson won’t have a problem with it. Will you, Matt?”
Matt smothered the need to wipe the smile off Bob’s face—with his fist.
“Thank you, that’s real kind of you, Bob.” Jena gave Matt a pointed look. “I should be fine at Bob’s house, right? It isn’t a public place.”
Matt didn’t like this one bit, but couldn’t see a way around it. He nodded once, sharply. It was Bob’s turn to look smug.
“I’ll pick you up at eight, then,” Bob said.
“I’ll drop her off,” Matt told him. “Make sure she isn’t followed.”
The butcher cocked an eyebrow at him. “You do that.”
With one last smouldering smile, Bob sauntered out of the shop giving Matt his back. The butcher’s jeans were a shade too tight around his rear end. Another thing Matt didn’t understand. Or like.
“That was rude.” Jena pointed a finger at him. She had that little line between her eyebrows that always seemed to be present whenever he was around. He sighed. Well, sue him for doing his job.
“I was being honest. It isn’t safe for you to date right now. You need to curtail your activities until these guys are back in the States.”
She pointed at the door. “You hurt his feelings.”
Matt laughed. Bob was about as sensitive as a brick wall. “No, I didn’t. He could have waited a couple of weeks until this whole thing blew over. He’s just being an arse pushing to see you right now.”
Jena put her hands on her hips and started lecturing him. Matt noticed, yet again, that the cute cut-off dungarees she wore were designed to flatter every inch of the curves beneath them. Not to mention showcase those luscious legs of hers. She might not be the tallest woman on the planet, but her legs were perfectly formed.
“You aren’t even listening to me.” She threw up her hands in disgust.
Damn. Had she been talking? He’d totally missed whatever she was ranting on about.
Instead of admitting his mind had wandered, he decided to bluff his way out of trouble. “I don’t need to listen to you, Jena. I don’t need to acknowledge your complaints. They make no difference to me. I’m only here to make sure you’re safe. To make sure the baggage that followed you over the ocean doesn’t cause any trouble in my town.”
Jena muttered something that sounded like “annoying, pig-headed, rude men”. Matt ignored her.
“Come on. Work’s over. I’m hungry. I brought you a sandwich. We can eat at the station while I go over some paperwork.”
Her eyes went wide, distracting him for a moment from the food he was desperate to get at. “I don’t want to go to the station. I want to go home. I have a lot to do.”