her suddenly too-keen daughters, both of them staring at Ted. Handsome Ted, the football player, whom all the girls wanted to date in high school. He’d asked her out once, but she’d turned him down to study for a test. Which she’d aced. Perhaps if she’d been more social and dated a bit more, she’d have had the savviness required to not fall for Ronin’s lies.
“I don’t know. Maybe this isn’t a good idea. I know how Lin feels about possibly getting hit in the face. And Mae doesn’t like to sweat.” Portia used their previous excuses to try and get out of it.
“Mother!” Lin exhaled with annoyance.
“She’s chickening out,” Mae declared. And then she clucked.
Which proved embarrassing but not as much as realizing that she was being a coward. Seeing someone from her past could result in danger. But only if he told someone about her. Who would he tell? They’d barely known each other in high school. He’d obviously moved from their small town.
To whom would he blow her cover? Even if he told his mom, or a buddy back home. So what? It wasn’t as if it would get back to Ronin. For one, he wasn’t even looking for her. It had been almost a decade since her fake death. He’d moved on.
There was no danger. She had to stop worrying all the time.
This studio was convenient, smack dab between the girls’ academy and their house. Not to mention, her daughters needed to do something. How better to get them interested than with a teacher they were both eyeballing like that science experiment in the tub last semester.
I can’t live in fear forever. And Ted was still rather cute.
Portia smiled. “How do we sign up?”
He pushed a clipboard in her direction. “Just fill this out.” As she printed in the blanks, the girls slipped off their shoes and wandered to a display case filled with trophies.
He felt a need to make idle chit-chat. “So, whatcha doing these days? Working at the hospital?”
“Not quite. I’m a researcher for a private clinic.”
“And your husband?”
She shot him a glance. “What makes you think I’m married? Just because I have children? Or because a woman shouldn’t be raising them alone?” She’d heard it all in the past decade. Misguided commentary on how she should live her life. She was perfectly fine on her own. She barely had time for herself with her daughters’ busy schedule, and her work.
He chuckled, a deep baritone that almost brought a shiver. “Don’t get all twisted in a knot. I was just asking because of the name.” He pointed to the Stalone. He’d known her as Munroe.
“I am a widow and kept my husband’s last name for the girls.” Which would explain part of her name change on the form. “And I’m going by my middle name these days. Never did like my old one.”
“Fair enough. Portia.” He tested it out. “Will you be the only one coming with the girls?”
“I just told you I was widowed.”
“I caught that. I was only wondering if you’ll have someone else responsible for dropping them off and picking them up. A nanny, family member, friend.”
“Actually, Mother will be taking lessons with us,” Mae declared, having wandered back in their direction.
Lin jumped in. “Because a woman should know how to defend herself.”
“Man or woman. Everyone should be able to stand up for themselves,” Ted remarked. “I think it’s great you’re doing this as a family.”
This whole situation had gotten out of hand quickly, and Portia couldn’t see a way out of it. She’d told the girls she’d do it. But should she do this with Ted? He created an unnecessary link to her past. Posed a danger if he opened his mouth.
She should walk out and try somewhere else.
Instead, she managed a smile and said, “We’d like three memberships, please.”
She kept that pleasant expression and dulcet tone even as she finished the registration process. Wore the smile the entire drive back to their house. They had time for a nutritious dinner, then homework. Not that her girls actually had any. They went to a private school that had an adaptive method of teaching and learning that let the students set their own pace. The twins happened to give themselves strict guidelines and were very disciplined. What could Portia say? The girls took after her and excelled academically.
Around eight o’clock, Aunt Joanna arrived to mind the twins. A woman in her sixties, Joanna was round-cheeked with frizzy hair that ran the