Page 141 of Fierce-Matt

“No,” he said, shaking his head. Big mistake as it only magnified the pain. “Any criminal record could cause his passport to be revoked. Do you want him here, or back in Australia?”

“You know my answer,” she said, her shoulders slumping.

“Exactly. My pride has taken enough hits in my life. This isn’t that big of a deal.”

She moved his hand out of the way to look at his face. “It looks painful.” Her eyes were filling with tears. He didn’t want her any more upset.

“I’m not going to lie. It is,” he said. “Got any aspirin on you?”

“I’ve got some,” Amber said. She moved over and got him a cup of water and handed him two pills. Her hand was shaking. Everyone just had enough today.

“Thanks.” He put them in his mouth with the water and swallowed.

“I owe you, Matt,” Amber said, wiping at her fresh tears. “I feel horrible this happened.”

“You did nothing wrong,” he said. He moved his jaw around some and tasted more blood. “Please don’t add this to the guilt you’re feeling.”

“Mom,” Anya said. “Why don’t you bake Matt some cookies? I bet it goes a long way for you both to feel better.”

“I can do that,” Amber said, nodding and forcing a smile. “What kind do you want?”

Matt tried to smile back, but it hurt like hell. “The ones with the jelly in the center. They were fantastic.”

“Those are Anya’s favorite too,” Amber said, her bottom lip trembling. Everyone was trying to put on a brave face. She moved over and gave him a hug. “Thank you for being such a good person. This is a mess.”

“You’re welcome. Why don’t you go see Elliot? He doesn’t need to know any of this, don’t you think?”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Amber left the room. Riley had gone after EJ and it left Matt and Anya together.

“It’s been a crazy morning,” she said, sitting next to him. “My heart won’t stop racing. You’re being a good sport about this though.”

“Anya, if his fist had connected with you, I’m not sure what I would have done. He’d be pressing charges against me once he woke and could get his ass off the floor.”

“My hero,” she said, giving him a kiss on the lips. Just the barest of touches. She was shaking like her mother was but trying not to show it. “I’m going to have to take care of you this weekend and that pretty face of yours will not look so hot in court.”

“I’ll have to come up with some good reason for it. I insulted my girlfriend’s cooking and she hit me with a frying pan.”

“Stop,” she said, laughing. “I’d knock you out cold if I hit you with a frying pan. Trust me, I thought of it a few times when we were younger.”

“How about you kicked me in the face when we were rolling around in the bed having a wild sex session? That sounds much more manly than your screaming brother landing a sucker punch on me.”

“If it makes you feel better, you can tell people you tripped and fell and hit the side of the bed. That’s about all your explanation is going to include if it states the bedroom.”

He stood up. “I’ll keep it simple and tell everyone it’s too embarrassing how it happened.”

“Or you can say the truth,” she said gently. “That you took the punch meant for your girlfriend. Like a hero.”

“I like that. Mighty Matt, the hero,” he said, grinning. “Ouch. That hurt.” He hoped none of his teeth were loose.

“Oh boy,” she said. “I’m going to hear this all night long, aren’t I?”

“Do you think I can get a shirt made with that on it?”

“Let’s go, Matt,” she said, giving him a little shove that didn’t budge him. “You need to drive me home since my mother is staying. Or better yet, give me your keys and I’ll drive.”

“I think we both need to go back to my place and rest. What do you say?”