Susan Donovan: He Loves Lucy

“There isn’t one. So that leaves Plan B.” Theo waited for her to respond, but her gray eyes bored into his, unblinking. “Aren’t you curious what Plan B is, Lucy?”

The coffees came and Lucy swore she could smell cologne over the scent of Java. She hoped it was only shampoo or soap, because she didn’t trust jocks who wore cologne. Like most of her issues surrounding men, that little quirk could be traced right back to Brad Zirkle and the Taco Bowl incident. But for this thing to work with Theo, she was going to have to at least try to trust him, cologne or no.

“Plan B? Bring it on,” she said.

Lucy watched Theo hide a smile by sipping his coffee. Then his eyes wandered over her head toward the street. She followed his gaze to a beautiful redhead strolling confidently up the sidewalk, who waved and called out, “Catch you Thursday, Theo-dorable!”

“Thursday it is!” Theo returned his gaze to Lucy, not missing a beat, and as he chatted about unrefined grains and positive thinking, Lucy wondered just how much of a ladies’ man her trainer was. With those looks and lip-locking skills, he had to be an A-lister among the single females of South Beach.

But Theo-dorable ! Puh-leeze.

“Plan B is whatever works for you. We find it and we do it everyday until it becomes a part of who you are.” Theo leaned across the small cafe table, lowered his chin, and looked directly into Lucy’s eyes. She realized the most disarming thing about the guy was that he was masculine and exquisite at the same time. His face was perfectly balanced-a strong and straight nose, widely spaced and intelligent blue eyes, smooth lips, denned cheeks, ending in a slightly squared and cleanly shaven chin.

And his body was… well, Theo’s body was solid and graceful and sun-kissed. He wasn’t some bulging, muscle-bound hulk. The man simply flowed .

Lucy wiped perspiration from her forehead as her heart thudded, wondering if the redhead on the sidewalk or Theo’s other girlfriends ever grew immune to his looks. Did they break out into a sweat just listening to him talk? She wondered if Gia Altamonte was one of those girlfriends and how many more of Miami’s supermodels belonged to that club.

“And you’ll follow Plan B until you can’t imagine life without it. Until you feel balanced and healthy, look fabulous, and have more energy than you ever thought possible. How does that sound?”

Lucy scrunched up her nose. “I still want the magic chamber.”

Just then, a pretty blonde sat down a few tables away, chatting on her cell phone while she smiled at Theo. Hey, you , she mouthed silently. Theo nodded his head in the woman’s direction and Lucy began to wonder if he was a trainer and a gigolo.

Theo described how he wanted her to keep a daily journal of her food, her feelings, and her goals. “We’ll tackle all the hard stuff tomorrow, after the TV studio, OK?”

“Yep.” Lucy eyed the blonde who eyed Theo.

“I’ll have a detailed questionnaire for you about your fitness and health history, your current food choices and lifestyle. The more thorough your answers, the faster we can hit on exactly what will work. Sound good?”

Lucy froze, slowly understanding the implications of his last comment. She had to put in writing what she’d been eating lately? Was nothing sacred? “Make sure to have extra sheets of paper handy,” Lucy said.

Theo lowered his voice. “You’ll need to bring your swimsuit tomorrow, too, OK?”

No, that wasn’t OK ! She’d rather die than let him see her in a bathing suit. “Are we going snorkeling?”

Theo shook his head gently, knowing this part was going to be rough on Lucy. “It’s for the hydrostatic tank-”

“The whaaa-?”

“We’ll immerse you in water and get an accurate measure of your percentage of body fat.”

Lucy’s eyes went huge.

“We have to know where we’re starting. That’s all it is-a place to start.”

“But do we have to start there ?”

“I thought you agreed to a fitness evaluation.”

Lucy gulped. She blinked. She looked away for something to focus on while she got hold of herself. Her eyes landed on the blonde again, now crossing her zero-body-fat legs and batting her eyelashes at Theo.

“Couldn’t we just make a guesstimate on my body fat? Like, say, ninety-eight percent, and go from there?”

Theo tried not to laugh. He watched Lucy Cunningham swallow hard and keep her eyes on anything but him. The embarrassment pulsed off her body in waves. He felt for her, he really did, but they couldn’t start until he was sure she was a willing participant.

“Did you agree to this, Lucy? Are you aware that what we find out tomorrow and everything else we glean from lab tests, strength and cardiovascular evaluations- everything -is going to be made public?”

“I’m doing this for the cash; let’s get that straight right from the start.” Lucy took a deep breath. “I know I could stand to lose weight, but I plan to use the money to start my own company. And I do not plan to fail. It’s just that getting started sounds so…” Lucy looked down at her hands. “ Hard .”

Theo pondered the slope of her neck and shoulders, how she overfilled the small cafe chair. Clearly, they’d be doing lots of cardio, adding machine and freestyle exercises over time. He was thinking Pilates for core strength. Yoga for flexibility.

He watched Lucy’s jaw clench with frustration and figured she’d benefit from a few sessions where she could beat the living shit out of a kickboxing dummy. He made a mental note of it.

But as he continued to watch her, Theo was struck with the urge to hug this woman, tell her everything would be all right. That had never happened with a client before. Yes, it was about money for him, too, but he liked Lucy Cunningham. He wanted her to be happy. And there was something about her-maybe the mix of brave girl and smart-assed woman-that tugged at him.

“I know it takes a lot of courage to do what you’re doing.” She didn’t respond, and he watched as she hid her face in her hands. Theo worried she’d choked again. “Lucy?”

“I need a minute, please.” She jumped from the chair, laced her way through the tables, and ran out onto the sidewalk. Theo watched her go-she had decent running form and seemed pretty agile-then he saw that she was crying.

He sighed, threw a ten down on the table, and went after her. Lucy had stopped at the corner. She was red-faced and out of breath as she waited for a chance to cross at the curb.

“How long’s it been since you took a nice run?” Theo stood at her side, following Lucy’s blank stare toward the entrance to Eighth Street Beach and the rising sun beyond.

“What year is this again?” The light turned and Lucy walked across Ocean Boulevard, still breathing hard.

“That long, huh?”

“I used to run. I gained fifty pounds during college, but before then I used to play softball and racquetball. I rode horses, skied, and hiked, too.” She turned to him in direct challenge.

Theo couldn’t prevent the surprise from showing on his face. He was sorry Lucy saw it, because she looked away, embarrassed. “So why did you stop?”

Lucy whipped her head around so fast her ponytail brushed his shoulder. She looked up at him with what he could only describe as dread. “No reason.”

Theo didn’t push it. He knew that tomorrow she’d cover all the details in her client questionnaire. Today was for getting her to relax. Getting her psyched up for the long haul ahead. And so far, he’d failed miserably.

The timing couldn’t be worse, but Theo saw a curvy little woman heading toward them who had once dated his best friend, Tyson. Theo couldn’t remember the woman’s name and was relieved when she strolled by with only a smile. Then he saw Lucy’s openmouthed stare.