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.