I grabbed Lincoln by the back of his shirt collar, as he narrowly missed colliding with the young couple and child exiting the studio.

“Lincoln, calm down! What’s the rush?” I asked, exasperated, speaking to the air. The blur of movement that was my son escaped from my grasp and dashed through the door. I didn’t know if he had outright failed to acknowledge my question, or simply hadn’t heard me. Either way, I didn’t bother attempting to keep up with him. It was a battle I never won and I realised that it was a futile effort on my part. Besides, he was in a closed room with lots of other kids; he wouldn’t get that far.

I studied the room as Lincoln came to a halt about ten feet in front of me and stopped to turn around. He smiled mischievously in my direction as I did my best to look serious, although I couldn’t stop the hint of a smile pulling at the edges of my lips. Lincoln was a handful, but he was a sweet kid through and through.

As I neared him, I took note of the gleaming wood floors and the mirrors that lined the entire right side of half the studio. The room was pretty large: one half boasted gleaming wooden flooring, the other was covered in mats of various sizes. Children ranging from ages four to twelve were bustling about wearing white karate uniforms. I had heard them referred to as karategi and couldn’t wait to see Lincoln in one.

As I predicted, Lincoln didn’t get too far; an attractive woman dressed in a karategi stepped away from a class and extended her hand, blocking Lincoln from going any further.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa where are you going so fast?” she asked, looking around for a parent. I guiltily waved in her direction and the woman gave me a dismissive look. She was clearly unimpressed with my parenting skills (or lack thereof, as the case might be).

“Is this your son?” she asked me when I came within earshot. I nodded and reached for Lincoln’s hand. He gave me a questioning look, with big brown eyes, sensing the woman’s distaste for him, me, the situation or all of the above.

“Yes, I’m sorry. He’s quite energetic so he got away from me. He’s normally well-behaved but he’s been so excited to learn karate. It’s all he’s talked about for weeks.”

The woman didn’t return my smile and continued as if I hadn’t said a word. “We teach discipline and restraint here. Are you sure your son will adjust to this environment? He seems to be lacking---.”

The woman stopped abruptly as I looked at her sharply, a scathing retort was on the tip of my tongue when a warm voice said behind me, “That’s enough, Ronan. I’m sure you’re needed elsewhere.”

I didn’t turn around to see who was talking to us, given that I was giving Ronan my version of a death stare. As I glared, Ronan gave the person behind me a weak smile and then quickly began to explain herself, “I just want to make sure the child is a good fit---”

“The child has a name,” I growled, “And that name is Lincoln.”

Ronan’s expression moved from feigned concern to irritation as she opened her mouth to speak. I placed my hand on my hip and turned my body completely in her direction, waiting for Ronan’s response, when the person behind me stepped into view, shot Ronan a warning look and knelt down next to Lincoln.

Although I was angry, I wasn’t angry enough to not notice that this new arrival was gorgeous. Even as he squatted next to my son, I realized that he was a large man. All sinewy muscle, with wide shoulders and an expansive chest, he gave me an apologetic smile as he looked up at me, our eyes locking. His light blue eyes held mine for a moment before he reluctantly broke eye contact with me and turned to address Lincoln.

“So are you ready to learn karate?”

“Yes, sir” Lincoln said saluting the man as if he were an officer. The man laughed and said, “My name’s Jonathan. Is this beautiful woman next to me your mom?”

I blushed as Lincoln nodded solemnly, “Yes, her name’s Mia, but I just call her Mom.”

“Well, I think that next time your mom asks you to do something, you should. It’s a sign of respect and respect is very important, Lincoln.”

Lincoln nodded his head, taking in every word. He looked up at me “Sorry, Mom for running off like that,” he whispered as I ruffled his hair and smiled thankfully at Jonathan. Ronan watched the entire exchange with displeasure etched across her face and then muttered a barely audible, “Excuse me,” before she disappeared back into the crowd.

Jonathan stood up as she left and said, “You’ll have to forgive Ronan. She’s one of our best instructors, but her people skills are definitely lacking.”

I noted that as Jonathan spoke, he subtly checked me out. I shifted from foot to foot, holding on to Lincoln’s hand, suddenly uncomfortable under Jonathan’s gaze. He was well over my own 5’10” stature and I immediately noticed he had beautiful hands. Hands that I imagined a musician would have, instead of someone who made his living showing other people how to defend themselves. I also noted that he didn’t wear a ring and blushed, trying to get my thoughts back on track.

“I guess I should formally introduce myself, I’m Jonathan Warren. I’m the owner.”

I extended my hand and Jonathan’s warm hand slid into my own. He had a striking, white smile as well and I found myself immediately attracted to him.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Mia Sanders and you already met my son, Lincoln.”

He smiled at Lincoln and Lincoln smiled back at him, giving him a wide toothy grin.

Self-consciously, I brushed at my wrinkled work clothes, now extremely aware of my dishevelled appearance. I sighed to myself as I tried to smooth down the wrinkles of my skirt and pretended the stain on my white blouse was non-existent. I knew that I had left the house perfectly clean and presentable this morning, but as soon as I picked up Lincoln from school and grabbed a quick dinner for the two of us, it had all changed. There was nothing I could do about it now, I thought resignedly. Instead I just hoped my light brown curly hair that stuck up in a million directions on a daily basis was still controlled by the pony-tail I had pulled it into earlier. I attempted to subtly look in the mirror across from where we stood and wanted to scream in frustration when I caught a glimpse of myself. Strands of my hair had escaped from the hair clip which seemed to be hanging haphazardly to one side.

I reached up and patted at my hair, trying to be discrete as I removed the hair clip and released the few curls it had been holding in place. I focused my own large brown eyes on him and he smiled with unconcealed amusement.

“Let me take you to my secretary. She can handle everything for you.”

“Great,” I said forcing my voice to sound chipper.

He led me down the hall and through another door which I realised led to another side of the building. We walked a couple of feet with Lincoln singing along the way and Jonathan gave me a significant parting glance before leaving me at his secretary’s desk.

“See you in class, Lincoln” he said to my son and disappeared down the hall.

I didn’t realize that I had been staring in his direction until the secretary cleared her throat and gave me a wry smile and a knowing look.

I blushed and looked away.