Page 27 of Into the Shadows

“Speak of the devil,” Tucker interrupts. “She's over there.”

Chapter 16

Lottie

Gia groans as she reaches down to touch her toes. “Why did I think it was a good idea to skip multiple sessions?”

I snort. “I tried to get you to come.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she says.

I reach forward in my sitting position to grab my toes. Our self-defense class is supposed to start in about five minutes. Our instructor, my aunt Sara, stands at the top of the mats on the far side of The Warehouse. My mom and Noah’s mom, Natalie, are talking with her while the rest of the class warms up.

Gia looks across the room. “Hottie alert. Who's that guy talking to your dad?”

I look over my shoulder, and the blood drains from my face. “Oh, shit, Gia.”

“What?”

“That's Teddy. Teddy is talking to my dad right now.”

Gia's jaw drops. “That'sTeddy? Damn girl, get it.”

I roll my eyes. “Not helpful.”

“I can totally see why you’ve been hung up on him for years.”

I smack her leg. “Focus.What am I going to do?”

“Well… You could run over there, throw yourself into Teddy's arms, and allow your dad to hate him forever.”

I give her a look.

“Ooorrr you let them talk, pretend like you have zero connection to him so your dad falls in love with him, then you can date him without a care in the world. I know which one I would pick.”

I drop my head back with a groan. “This is so not ideal.” It's then I notice that Teddy's also talking with Noah and Uncle Tucker. It seems everyone is at the gym tonight. At least Noah will keep my secret. He's well aware of my father's predilection for disliking any man I date. Maybe Gia is right. Perhaps Teddy can charm my dad.

An image of his scowling face pops into my head. Okay, so charming isn't the right word to describe Teddy. The best I can hope for is that Dad respects Teddy’s military background.

A small part of me hopes that if he befriends Noah, he might be a little more willing to give me a shot. We haven't talked much since my interview with Sheriff Lansing. I don’t want to push the dinner idea on him.

It was a spur-of-the-moment ask, and he responded entirely too quickly to be the truth. He knows I want to go to dinner. If he is serious about accepting, he can bring it up.

Okay, that sounds dumb even in my head. I should just buck up and ask him again.

I do my best to focus on my class. Sara has been teaching self-defense since she was a little older than me. She was one of my biggest role models growing up. Not to mention how Mom and Dad encouraged me to learn how to protect myself. Aunt Sara has told us how learning to defend herself saved herlife, and while Mom’s never had to use these skills, she emphatically supports learning them.

Gia and I pair up together, working through the holds we’ve been learning. Sometimes, Sara will invite a couple of guys who work out at the gym to help her demonstrate how to use the attacks on someone larger than us. I always take advantage of them when they volunteer. It makes me feel more comfortable trying it out on a guy twice my size. The guys are usually pretty good sports about it, and they never take it easy on us, either.

When class is over, most of us stay around to stretch and chat. Mom plops down next to me. Her hot pink leggings and sports bra still look as fresh as they did when she walked into the building, while my face is beet red. I have to wear black workout clothes. Otherwise, I'd have ginormous sweat stains all over the place. Thank you, Dad, for those genetics.

Except for my eyes and the unfortunate sweating business, I got everything else from my mom. My cheery disposition and light brown hair, my height, and my genuine desire to make the people I love happy are all things I share with my mother. She's one of my favorite people.

“Did you see who was talking to your dad before class started?” She looks over at me, her brown ponytail hanging over one shoulder.

As much as I would love to lie to her, I’d never get away with it. “Um, yeah, I did. His name is Teddy.”

“How do you know him?”

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