He Loves Lucy Read Free

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