He Loves Lucy

Chapter 12

November and December

Journal Entry Nov 19

Breakfast: 1 banana; 3/4 c Kashi; 1 c plain yogurt; decaf with skim milk

Lunch: 3 oz grilled chicken; 2 rye flat breads; 2 c salad with a whole cucumber; 2 tbsp oil and vinegar

Dinner: 3 oz grilled salmon; 1 julienned zucchini; 1/2 c brown rice

Snack: Another banana

Affirmation for Today:

Only three weeks of celibacy left. Soon I will be fucking Theo’s brains out on a regular basis and can stop subconsciously selecting phallic-shaped fruits and vegetables.

Lucy figured this was the worst-case scenario: in a few weeks’ time, she would step up on that medical scale on the set of WakeUp Miami and not have lost another pound. That would still mean she was eighty-two pounds and forty-one inches smaller, eighty-two thousand dollars richer (at least on paper), and on her way with her sister to a luxury spa in Jamaica for a week of pampering.

As far as worst-case scenarios went, that wasn’t so bad.

“Hey, Lucy? Is there anything else that needs to go?” Veronica poked her head into Lucy’s open office door and blew a wayward strand of hair out of her face. She looked cute in a pair of overalls and flip-flops, and she’d been a real trouper, helping with everything that needed to be done in order for them to be in the new office by the end of the week.

Lucy took one last look around at the pale yellow walls and sighed. “That’s pretty much it, I guess. How about Maria and Barry?”

“Barry’s unhooking his computer now. Maria’s already over there working with the phone people.”

“Did the detective call with any news this morning?”

Veronica made her fish face. “Not since yesterday. They still think our fearless leader went AWOL and took Lola DiPaolo with him.”

Lucy shook her head. She didn’t Like leaving Stephan like this, but how were you supposed to give your two-week notice to an invisible man? All of them had left letters of resignation on Stephan’s desk, should he ever show up to read them.

Though dozens of audience members had confirmed that Stephan loudly proclaimed that he was a dead man before running from the TV studio-the last time anyone saw him-Miami Police detectives were operating on the theory that he’d not met with foul play but flown the coop for financial reasons. The IRS was snooping around Sherrod amp; Thorns right along with the detectives.

Police also believed that Stephan and Lola had some sort of relationship. Lucy could only imagine the profound nature of their pillow talk.

Lucy took one last look around her little office and smiled-she was moving up in the world. Her new suite was in a high-rise on Biscayne with a view of the bay. The lease was hefty, but she didn’t think that would be a problem. Every one of Stephan’s longtime clients had happily jumped ship with her. The publicity she’d received in the last month had also helped her close deals for seven significant new accounts, including the Lucky Chef gourmet food chain Barry had been courting.

Slump Buster Advertising was officially open for business.

“What’re your plans for lunch, Lucy?”

Lucy turned to answer Veronica when her lunch plans-all her plans, really-suddenly materialized in the doorway.

“Hey, Cunningham.”

Theo leaned up against the door frame in a pair of jeans, a ribbed polo shirt, and sneakers. He’d let his hair grow in the last couple months, and Lucy thought it suited him. He looked less like Malibu Ken and more like himself-funny, warm, sexy, and hers. All hers.

She felt the smile as it spread across her face. When she looked at Theo these days, she was astounded at the depth of her love for him, her trust in him, and how, with his help, she was living in hope for her future instead of fear of her past.

“Does Japanese sound OK to you?”

“Delish.”

“So is this the end of an era?” Theo glanced around the empty office.

“Thank God,” Veronica said, popping her gum. “Let’s get out of here before he comes back.”

Theo held Lucy’s hand as they walked through the downtown lunch crowd. He kept shooting her sideways glances and smiling. But he was unusually quiet.

“You look like you got something to tell me.”

“Nope.” He squeezed her hand harder. “But I like your shoes. You’ve got the cutest little toes.”

Lucy laughed. “Yeah, and now I can look down and see them.”

“Hey, Lucy! Way to go!” A threesome of young businessmen gave her the thumbs-up as they walked by. One of them whistled. Lucy felt herself blush. It was safe to say that being on the receiving end of whistles, hoots, catcalls, and kissy noises had been a fairly recent development and that she loved every minute of it.

“Don’t you go getting a big head.”

“Ha. I think you’d be more worried about me getting a big butt.”

“Nope. Didn’t even enter my mind.”

Lucy let her head fall back and she took a deep breath of the warm Miami air. She was about to tell herself that things could not possibly be better, but she knew that was a lie. Because things were definitely about to get better with Theo.

She had big plans for the man walking next to her. In just two weeks, their yearlong venture would be done. She’d no longer be his client. He’d already given his notice, so Theo would no longer even be a trainer at the Palm Club.

They were just going to be two regular people who’d decided to become lovers.

And as soon as she and Mary Fran got back from Jamaica, the boy had better watch out.

Office of Doris Lehman, MSW, PhD

“It feels like I’m saving myself for marriage.”

Doris chuckled. “Well, in a way, you are, Lucy. You’ve had limited physical intimacy with Theo these last two months, and a deep friendship and trust had room to form. You’re both entering into this with expectations for a committed relationship.”

“He’s never really come right out and said, ‘I love you, Lucy.’ He said he’s ‘crazy’ for me. Does that count?”

Doris smiled, very nearly looking like she was suppressing a laugh.

“Did I say something funny?”

“Have a little faith, Lucy.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that some things are worth waiting for.”

While Lucy mulled that over, she let her gaze wander over to the pint-size geisha gals in their pint-size outfits. She was going to miss the little floozies. And she was really going to miss Doris but didn’t know if it was appropriate for former patients to ask their former therapists to become their friends.

“When I marry Theo, I plan to ask Isaac Olorio to design a gown for me with a kimono theme. I’ve decided that would look really good on me. You’re invited to the ceremony.”

Doris coughed and tapped her chest. “So you’re already planning your wedding, are you?”

Lucy smiled. “Have a little faith, Dr. Lehman.”

The big day arrived, and the irony was that Lucy didn’t even care what the scale said-that was just the final detail. The cameras had been with them at the Palm Club the day before as Lucy completed her fitness evaluation for aerobic capacity, flexibility, and strength, and then she happily walked around in a tankini and let Theo submerge her in the hydrostatic tank. The numbers were being kept secret, like the results of the Miss America Pageant or the Academy Awards, until today, which cracked Lucy up.

Carolina Buendia appeared particularly agitated that morning, and she grabbed Lucy’s arm before the show began and pulled her off into a corner of the set.

“I wanted you to know how remarkable you are and how much I admire you. I wish I were as brave as you… I…” Her fingers shook as she expertly blotted away tears without smudging her mascara. “It’s just that I’ve struggled so much… I’ve had… Oh God…”

“Carolina! Lucy!” one of the producers shouted for them from the front of the set. “We need you both out here-four minutes to air!”

Carolina didn’t really need to say anything more, and Lucy stopped her. “It’s OK. I had a wonderful therapist, and she does it all-compulsive eating and bulimia and anorexia, too. Do you want her number?”

Carolina nodded and took a steadying breath. “Please don’t say anything to anyone. The media would have a field day with this.”

Lucy just smiled.

It was a relaxing show, and she and Theo joked a lot and video was played of Lucy’s year of progress. When they showed a clip of Lucy’s first workout, it was a challenge for her to watch. The woman in the snug pink sweatpants was her but not her. Yes, it was obvious that she’d been a mess on the outside. But Lucy knew that mess originated on the inside, where no one could see. And it felt wonderful not to be that angry, lonely, ashamed woman anymore.

With a drumroll from the band, Lucy stood in between Carolina and John while Theo broke the seal of the envelope.

“In fifty-one weeks, Lucy Cunningham’s percentage of body fat has gone from sixty-nine percent to fourteen percent, from a dress size of twenty-two to a size eight.”

The audience gasped.

“Her waist was forty-two inches; now it’s twenty-eight. Her hips were fifty-one and a half inches; now they’re thirty-eight inches.”

Carolina asked the studio audience to hold their applause, and Theo continued.

“This is really amazing-her upper right thigh once measured thirty inches around, bigger than her waist is now. That same thigh is now twenty-one inches around.”

“Holy shit!” John Weaver’s hand slapped up to his mouth the instant after the words slipped out.

Lucy giggled, glad this FCC fine wouldn’t be her fault.

Theo tucked the envelope in his shorts pocket and addressed the camera. “Now, before Lucy gets on the scale, I want everyone out there to remember that if she doesn’t hit one hundred and thirty pounds today-and chances are she won’t-that does not mean she didn’t reach her goal.”

The crowd nodded and manufactured a variety of supportive sounds.

Lucy knew he’d said that for her benefit. He still planned to see her naked, no matter what the scale said.

They came pretty close. Lucy’s final weigh-in put her at 139 pounds, for a total loss of ninety-one pounds.

She’d take it.

Lucy and Mary Fran’s flight to Jamaica left Miami International the next morning at seven. Lucy had decided to surprise Theo at his house the evening before. They had agreed to wait until she got back from Jamaica, but she couldn’t do it. She wanted him now. She didn’t want to wait another second.

She pulled into the driveway of his house on DeLeon and gingerly got out of her Toyota, trying not to get her panties all twisted up. She was wearing only a trench coat tied at the waist, a pair of three-inch heels, and some very slippery and very crotchless lingerie Gia had brought her from Paris. It took Lucy several attempts to figure out which holes were intended for her legs, but once she’d done that, the effect was shocking.

At least she hoped it would shock Theo.

She’d come by this evening because she knew Buddy was at an away track meet and wouldn’t be back until late. It was the perfect opportunity.

Lucy went to the front door and knocked. There was no answer. She peered into the garage and saw Theo’s car tucked inside. Maybe he’d gone on another run, though they’d done five miles together that morning. She thought she’d check around back, just in case he was working in the yard, and she was suddenly struck by an idea-why not just ditch the coat? Why not just go for the full effect? If she was going to shock Theo, why not just go ahead and shock the man all the way?

Lucy giggled as she untied the belt. By God, she was desirable and beautiful, and she was going to flaunt it! She’d be thirty years old in a few days and she’d never flaunted jack shit! She’d worked awful hard to get this flauntable body, and soon she’d be past the flaunting age! If she didn’t do it now, when would she?

Lucy draped the trench coat over the fence, then scurried inside the gate before anyone could see her from the street.

And then Lucy halted, frozen, in her underwear-because Theo was standing in the middle of his backyard with what appeared to be a very attractive woman in his arms.

Theo must have sensed Lucy’s presence, because his head popped up, and he saw her. He blinked. Bunked again. Then his mouth gaped open and his arms fell to his sides and he took two steps away from the woman, who seemed to be a bit unsteady on her feet.

Of course, the woman noticed Theo’s shock, so naturally she looked over her shoulder to see what he was staring at with such astonishment. And logically, she did what any woman would do under the circumstances. She screamed bloody murder.

So did Lucy.

Lucy bolted out the gate and threw on her L.L. Bean trench coat and cinched the belt so tight it nearly cut off her circulation. Then she paced in the driveway, trying to get her brain to wrap around everything that had just happened and what it meant.

“Lucy. Uh. This is not exactly what you might think.”

She whipped her head around and saw Theo standing at the open gate with the woman at his side and OK, Lucy had been wrong. The woman wasn’t very attractive-she was drop-dead beautiful!

“This is Jenna Tolliver, my old friend from medical school I told you about, the one who got engaged a while back.” Theo took a step closer to Lucy. “She’s going through a rough patch and came by to talk, Luce.”

Jenna stepped forward and held out her thin, pale hand. “Hello, Lucy. It’s a pleasure to meet you in person. I’ve been watching you all year.”

Well now, wasn’t that pleasant of her? But all Lucy could wonder was how does a woman greet a potential rival when the rival knows her body fat percentage and the circumference of her thighs and had just seen her in a pair of baby pink crotchless French-cut boy shorts trimmed in black lace with a matching demi-bra? What was the appropriate response in this situation? Lucy was fairly certain it didn’t involve shaking the woman’s hand!

“He’s mine. Hit the road,” was the response Lucy settled on, which she could not believe. The awkward silence that followed was cut short by Theo’s snort, followed by his loud laughter. Jenna began to giggle.

Norton chose that moment to exit the backyard and sit next to Lucy’s feet, which were planted wide apart on the driveway. It was as if the cat was choosing sides, and Lucy decided she’d never forget his loyalty to her at this crucial moment.

Jenna came closer to Lucy, which sent Norton spitting and skittering away. Then the beautiful woman invaded Lucy’s personal space by kissing her on the cheek. She gave her a stiff smile. “Good luck to you,” Jenna said, walking by. “Have fun in Jamaica.”

Lucy watched Jenna get into the Acura parked at the curb, then drive away. She turned her attention to Theo.

He didn’t look a bit guilty. Of course, he was busy staring down the deep vee in her raincoat while a crooked smile spread across his face. Lucy adjusted the lapels and sniffed. “So? Tell me what I’m misinterpreting here.”

Theo’s smile grew wider. “Can I see those underpants again?”

“No!” Lucy hugged herself and made sure the coat was closed from shin to chin. “The moment has been ruined.”

“Her fiance dumped her, Luce.” Theo shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “He strung her along for nine months, told her he was getting a divorce, then didn’t follow through. She was pretty devastated.”

Lucy nodded. “And she came to you for advice?”

“Yeah. And a shoulder to cry on.”

“I saw that part.”

“Jenna doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. She hasn’t for a long time. You are what matters to me.”

“That’s good to hear. Well, I need to go home and get packed. I just wanted to say good-bye.”

Theo moved close and caressed the side of Lucy’s face. She felt the heat of his touch warm her skin and she automatically turned her mouth into his hand. It was a reflex. Theo’s pinkie stroked along her bottom lip.

“You know, Luce, that outfit you’re wearing is the way a woman says hello, not good-bye.”

“Ha. Well, maybe it was a see-you-later. Just try to be good while I’m gone, OK?” Lucy kissed Theo hard on the mouth and turned to get in her car.

“Are you going to pack those undies for Jamaica?”

Lucy laughed. “I don’t think Mary Fran would be as appreciative as you.”

“Right.” Theo held open the car door for her. “Is she at your place now?”

Lucy scowled at him. “Yeah. She’s packing. Why?”

“Just tell her I said to have a nice trip.”

Lucy shook her head, then looked up at Theo, leaning on the car window, relaxed and long and handsome and sweet and smiling at her like he loved her.

She knew he loved her-even if he couldn’t say it. It was all over his face. She was so sure of it, it didn’t even bother her that she’d just seen him hugging his ex-girlfriend.

Well, not much anyway.

“You’re going to miss me, aren’t you?”

“So much, Lucy.” Theo leaned down and kissed her one last time. “Until then, baby.”

Theo watched Lucy drive down his street, and as soon as she made the corner he pulled out his cell phone.

“Mary Fran? You’ve got to make sure she packs the bra and panties she’s wearing tonight. This is critical. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“What bra and panties? Where is she? I don’t have any idea what she’s even wearing-and how do you know?”

“Just do it, Fran. Stick them into her bag when she’s not looking. Did all my stuff fit in your suitcase?”

“Good Lord. Yes, Theo.”

“Just do this one little thing for me, and I swear I’ll owe you for the rest of my life.”

He heard Mary Fran sigh. “All right! Jeesh! What I won’t do for my sister!”

Theo clicked his phone shut and smiled. This was going to be so much fun.

The check-in line at the airline counter snaked through a three-tiered maze, and Lucy was getting impatient. It wasn’t like they were going to miss their flight, but she hated waiting.

“Do you have to use the ladies’ room?” Mary Fran asked for the second time. “Because I can stay here with our luggage if you want to run to the ladies’ room.”

“Not particularly. Do you need to go?”

“No. But you go on ahead.”

“I don’t need to.”

“But you might by the time we get to the front of the line, right?”

Lucy had never known her sister to be so concerned about her bladder habits. Mary Fran was acting weird all around this morning. Downright anxious. “Have you suddenly developed a fear of flying or something?” Lucy asked.

“What? No. Of course not. But I think you should use the ladies’ room.”

So Lucy did, and when she returned a few minutes later it didn’t seem they’d made much progress in the line, but Lucy did notice her luggage was partially unzipped and Mary Fran seemed much less antsy.

About a half hour later, they finally made it to the counter, and as a matter of course, the ticket agent asked Lucy if her bags had been in her possession the entire time she’d been in the airport. Before Lucy could respond, Mary Fran shouted, “Yes! Of course!” and Lucy decided that as soon as they were in their first-class seats, she was ordering her sister a big-ass Bloody Mary.

They chatted amicably all the way through security and began their walk toward their gate. Lucy noticed quite a clamor up ahead and wondered if someone famous might be on their flight that morning. The closer they got to the gate, the more familiar some of the faces became.

“Is that Mom I see up there?” Lucy turned toward Mary Fran, who had suddenly become Theo. “What the-?”

Theo grabbed her and kissed her hard and that’s when the camera lights clicked on and Lucy realized that they were the famous people and that everyone there-Mary Fran, Dan, her parents, Buddy, Uncle Martin and Aunt Viv, John Weaver and Carolina Buendia, Tyson, Barry, and Maria and Veronica, and even Doris Lehman and her husband (God was he good-looking for an old guy!)-had all been in on the surprise.

And the surprise was that Theo was going to Jamaica with Lucy.

Lucy and Theo finished their interview with Carolina, signed autographs for other passengers, and hugged everyone good-bye. Just as they were about to head down the gangway, Doris Lehman handed Lucy a small plastic Baggie, and inside was a solitary homemade biscuit.

“Bon appetit,” was all she said.

Theo didn’t think he’d ever be able to move again. His exhaustion began deep in his solar plexus and radiated to the very last hair on his head and the small nail on his small toe. He was soaked in sweat, breathing hard, and happier than he’d ever been in his whole life.

All because of Lucy, the not-quite-naked nymph now sprawled out right next to him on the king-size bed, a luxurious canopy of white gauze overhead.

“You rock, Cunningham,” he said in between gulps of air. He let his head roll to the side, laying a cheek on the mangled bedsheets so he could look right in those beautiful eyes.

“Tired yet, coach?”

“Hell no. I’m not even warmed up.”

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that.” Lucy jumped on top of him again and started kissing him some more, and Theo wrapped his arms around her and squeezed so tight he heard something pop.

“Hey! I’m not choking on Milk Duds at the moment! Lighten up!”

Theo laughed and rolled with her until their intertwined feet brushed the floor and they were nearly falling off the bed.

“I want to see you completely naked.”

“I’m working up to it.”

Theo laughed. “You swore, Lucy. And I’ve been naked for at least two hours. Or maybe you haven’t noticed.” He loved how Lucy’s eyes flashed and her cheeks flushed.

“Oh, I’ve noticed.”

Her sweet, soft hand stroked his cock, and Theo could hardly believe it, but he was already responding to her again. Maybe there was something to be said for going without sex for months at a time, though he hoped to God that period of his life was gone for good.

“Do you like this?” Lucy whispered, looking into his eyes as her hand caressed him to full length and breadth once more, then dragged her tongue along the underside of him.

“I love it-I love everything about being with you.” Theo arched his head back and groaned with pleasure, and suddenly her hand was gone and so was her tongue.

Lucy had gotten up. She stood on the floor over him, wearing a little blue tank top thing and nothing else.

Her hair was messed up and her skin was pink and her lips were wet and she was a vision-a vision of lus-ciousness and lust and paradise. It was a good look on her.

Lucy reached over and flicked on the bedside lamp. Theo had no idea what time it was-probably about seven in the evening-but the shadows had already started to fill their comfortable bungalow. The light flowed over Lucy and showered her skin in gold.

Without a word, Lucy reached for the hem of the tank top and pulled it up over her head, then dropped it to the floor. There she was-this woman he knew almost as well as he knew himself-and she was giving him the ultimate gift.

Her trust.

Theo sat up on the edge of the bed and let his eyes travel over Lucy. She was curvy and firm and ripe. Yes, it was obvious her body had been through a dramatic transformation, and there were marks on her skin, especially on her belly and hips, like road markers from her journey. He loved those marks. He’d been to every one of those places with her. He remembered every day.

“I’ve always known you were beautiful.” Theo reached out and put his palms on the front of her hips, his fingers splayed open.

She gasped.

Theo had to say his favorite part of Lucy’s body was still her neck-it was elegant, perfectly designed-but now that he was allowed to do more than window-shop, there were several other specifics he appreciated as well.

He loved the delicate curve of the inside of each of her thighs and the tiny vee of space-between her legs, just under her sweet pussy.

He loved the graceful curve of her strong upper arms, the faint arch of her eyebrows, the delicate twist of her wrists, the tapered strength of her ankles.

“Please turn around for me, Luce.”

She did, and he loved her gorgeous ass and the two little dimples at her base of her spine, and her shoulders-so straight and strong-and the way her waist curved in just at the flare of her hips. He loved the tender skin at the back of her knees.

He stood up from the bed and embraced her from behind, then walked with her to the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the dressing room of their suite. On the way he flipped on the overhead light.

“This is new and different,” Lucy said, smiling as she leaned her head back against his chest.

“Do you see how good we fit together? How good we look with each other?”

One of Lucy’s eyebrows arched high.

“Lucy, do you see the woman I have in my arms?”

She gave him a little nod and a nervous smile.

“What do you see?”

She paused, and Theo watched her consider his question carefully. “I see a pretty woman who is physically strong and who owns her own business and is very much in love-for the first time in her life.”

Theo nodded, and kissed the top of her head.

“Do you see a slump buster looking back at you?”

She frowned. “I do not.”

He squeezed her tight and held her gaze in the mirror.

“You’re my slump buster, Luce. My own personal slump buster.”

Her mouth fell open and he felt her body go rigid.

“And this is a very good thing-let me tell you all about it.”

In a flash, Theo had one arm under the back of her knees and one arm around her waist and he’d lifted her off the floor. Theo walked with her to the front door of their little cave retreat by the ocean. “Can you grab the doorknob?” Lucy did, still glaring at him, and he walked with her onto the deck.

The sea breeze was warm and wet and the sun was setting behind them, and Theo was glad this haven was designed for total privacy. It’s why people came here.

“You saved me from my slump, Lucy.” Theo sat down in a comfortable canvas chair and held her in his lap, stroking the smooth skin of her naked back.

“When exactly were you in this slump, Theo? I must have been napping.”

He chuckled. “My heart was in a slump. I’d turned it off, set it aside. I was in the biggest, baddest love slump a man could be in, until you walked in my door.”

A little smile curved at her succulent lips. “And I changed all that?”

“You absolutely did.”

“I’m glad.” Lucy nodded, her hair slipping down over half of her face. “I am not perfect, Theo.”

“I’m not, either.”

“Tell me about it. You have a temper. You’re a workaholic and overly responsible. You don’t tell the woman you love that you actually love her. Those are all significant shortcomings.”

“Yeah. And I’ve got a scar over my left eyebrow, too. Someday I’ll tell you how I got it. It’s a pretty romantic story.”

“I bet.”

Theo cupped that beautiful face in his hands. “I love you, Lucy Cunningham. I love you so much that sometimes I wonder if I’m dreaming, and how I got lucky enough to have you in my life, and I suppose I’ve avoided saying this to you because it’s a little terrifying for me.”

“Terrifying? Why?”

“Because I’m afraid if I start telling you how much I love you, I’ll never be able to stop.”

She gave him a little closemouthed smile and whispered, “I’m eating this up, you know. Please go on.”

“I love you. I want you to be my lover and my best friend and live with me and Buddy. And someday soon we’ll get married.”

“We will?”

“Yes. And we’ll have kids, OK?”

Lucy scooted around on his lap and puckered her lips in thought. “I have this one nagging question…”

“I bet I have the answer.”

“Maybe you don’t, Theo.” Lucy looked out over the water and the breeze blew into her face and she closed her eyes. He knew what was coming, and he was ready for it.

“How will I ever know for sure that it’s the real me you love-not just the one-hundred-thirty-nine-pound Frankenstein of fitness?”

Theo choked and laughed simultaneously. “Frankenstein of fitness, huh?”

“You know what I mean.” Lucy adjusted herself so she faced him, and placed her hands on his shoulders. “You didn’t love me when I weighed two hundred and thirty pounds, did you?”

“No, I did not. But that’s not exactly a fair question, Lucy. I liked you back then. You intrigued me. You made me laugh. But I didn’t know you well enough to love you, and you changed so fast that for me to love you at your starting weight it would have to have been love at first sight.”

“Hey, it worked for me.”

Theo chuckled and stroked her back some more. “I was in a slump, remember?”

Lucy fiddled with his earring. “What if I gain twenty pounds? Will you still love me? Are you going to be following me around the house to make sure I don’t eat any more than a half cup of cottage cheese and that it’s the one-percent milk fat kind at that?”

Theo shrugged. “You’ll probably gain more than twenty pounds when you get pregnant, Lucy.”

“Oh, so you’ll wait until I blow up all pregnant and then you’ll leave me?”

“I’m trying to make a point here.”

“Then do it before I start to panic.”

“Luce, I just love you. You have to trust me on this. I mean, hey, how would it sound if I told you I was worried that you’d leave me if I started going bald? Or when hair started to grow out of my ears like with Uncle Martin?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Lucy said. Then she frowned. “That ear hair thing isn’t going to happen right away, is it?”

Theo laughed. “Look, Lucy. I’ve made my living as a personal trainer for the last few years, but that’s not why I love you-it just happens to be how I met you.”

Lucy’s eyes were beginning to sparkle again. Her hands were in his hair.

“I want to spend my life with you, Lucy, and that means we’ll both change physically, but we can still keep our hearts happy and full of love. We can always stay young inside.”

“I want to believe you love me for who I am. I want that more than anything in the world.”

“Then do.”

“I’m trying.”

“Would it help if I had proof?”

“Proof?” She laughed. “You mean like hard evidence?”

“Exactly. Wait here just a minute, baby.”

“I’m a little chilly, Theo.”

“No problem. I’ll bring you something to put on.”

Theo came back to the deck a few moments later with all the tools he needed for the job at hand-the registered letter, the surprise inside, the baby pink crotchless underwear and bra. “Here you go, Luce.”

Lucy held the slippery little pieces of satin and lace in her hand and laughed. “Too hilarious,” she said. “Now I know why Mary Fran was so hot for me to go to the bathroom back at the airport.”

“Yeah. She told me it was a close call. She snagged them out of the hamper on your way out of the apartment.”

Lucy slipped the panties up her thighs and snapped the bra in place, adjusting the rather skimpy cups.

“And this is supposed to be proof that you’d love me even if I wasn’t a size eight?”

“No.” Theo held out the letter. “This is.”

“What’s this?”

He returned to the chair and brought her back down onto his lap. “Why don’t you open it and find out.”

Lucy sat on his lap and crossed her shapely legs, working her finger into the adhesive of the light green postal seal. “Am I being subpoenaed?”

“Nope. You’re being proposed to.”

Lucy’s lips fell apart and she stared at him for a moment, then frantically tore open the envelope.

“Careful-”

First she pulled out the folded photo paper and opened it. She giggled. “Oh my.” Lucy stared at the picture for a while, then turned to Theo. “You really did love me that night.”

“Way before then, actually. But that night was such a nightmare-”

“No kidding.”

“I just figured I’d better start documenting things. You can never be too prepared.”

“Thank you for doing that.”

“No problem. What else did you find in there?”

Lucy pulled apart the envelope and peered inside. She removed a small jade green silk pouch no larger than a playing card, the name of an exclusive Miami jeweler on the outside. Theo watched a little frown pucker her brow.

“What in the world-?”

She unsnapped the pouch and pulled out the note-card, which Theo remembered writing that morning after the party. He’d gone in search of a ring but couldn’t seem to choose. The only thing he knew for sure that morning was that he loved this woman and had to have her. He’d written:

Would you mind designing your own engagement ring? I want it to be as unique and beautiful as the woman who wears it.

I love you, Lucy.

– Theo

She was going to cry, but that was all right with him, because she’d just buried her lips against his neck and whispered, “I thought you’d never ask.”