He Loves Lucy (28 page)

Lucy watched them wait for the elevator. She sighed with vicarious bliss when Keith cupped Fran’s head in his hands and kissed her mouth hard. Lucy closed the door and gave them privacy.

She’d just finished scraping the sink clean when there was another pounding at the door. She figured Fran had forgotten something. But it was Theo.

He knew the timing wasn’t perfect, but when would it ever be? Lucy had been expertly avoiding him at the gym and cleverly returned his calls when he was with clients, so it appeared she was making a good-faith effort to communicate, only he knew she wasn’t.

Theo hoped to God he wasn’t waking her up-it was after ten. And he really hoped he wasn’t walking in on some kind of date. He didn’t think he could handle that. All he knew was he had to see her, try to break through this impasse and make sure she was OK.

Because he had a feeling she wasn’t OK at all.

Theo put the gift behind his back just as Lucy opened the door. The expression on her face nearly made him laugh-she looked like a kid who’d been caught doing something
reeeeally
bad.

One quick scan revealed that she was wearing his favorite ensemble-the pink sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt.

“Hey, Luce. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

She said nothing, but her eyes got wider.

“Can I come in?”

“Of course. Sure. Sorry.” She opened the door for him and Theo looked around, smiling at how it always looked like such a girl’s place from top to bottom- green plants and nice furniture, a spotless kitchen with place mats and a centerpiece on the dinette table. Then he smelled tomato sauce.

“Italian for dinner tonight?”

Lucy’s eyes got huge. “Can I get you something to drink, Theo? What brings you downtown?”

That look in her eyes told him he was right about the Italian-maybe takeout lasagna or pizza-and he asked for some iced tea if she had it. She said she did and motioned for Theo to have a seat in an overstuffed chair.

“How’ve you been?” she asked from the kitchen. “How’d the test go? When do you find out?”

Theo stared at the back of her head-that ponytail- and the sweet, strong ledge of her shoulders, the graceful neck. He’d missed her so much that he found it hard to breathe.

“The test was eight hours long, in two four-hour sessions-anatomy and physiology, histology, pathology. I’d forgotten how it felt to think so hard my brain got sore.” She handed him a glass of iced tea and he drank gratefully.

“That’s a lot of ologies in one day.”

“Yeah, I think that was the point-they wanted to remind me what I was in for.”

Lucy snuggled up on the end of the couch and tucked her feet under her. He saw a flash of pink toe-nails before they disappeared under pink sweatpants. He smiled at her.

“When will you know, Theo?”

“Soon.”

“You’ll get back in. They’d be stupid not to let you back in.”

Theo shrugged. “Even giving me this test was an exception to the rule. I have no idea what they’ll decide.”

Lucy rested her chin in her hand and smiled at him. “So what’s up?”

“I’ve missed you, Luce. I saw you on
WakeUp Miami
last week.”

She nodded. “Ah. Not my best work.”

“You need to get back in the gym with me.”

Lucy’s eyebrows knit together and she sat up, then tucked her arms around her waist, as if protecting herself. “I am sorry about that crack I made about the money. I know that’s not the only thing that’s important to you.”

Theo laughed. He’d had a fairly amusing conversation with Tyson just the other day about how, if Lucy’s proposed formula was applied, Tyson now owed him six thousand dollars for the weight she’d gained under his tutelage. “Thanks,” he said. “So you’ll work with me again?”

Lucy sighed and grabbed herself tighter. It almost looked like she was fighting off a stomachache.

“I think I have to. Tyson is great, but it’s not the same. I need to get back in the rhythm I had with you, or I’m going to blow this completely.”

Theo set the iced tea on a glass end table and reached behind him. “I brought you something. Buddy and I thought it was just what you needed.” Theo handed her the tissue-wrapped square. “A little something to keep you focused.”

“Peanut brittle?”

“Better.”

Lucy pulled away the paper and Theo watched as she held the Special Olympics creed in her hands, reading, saying nothing. He saw a tear plop onto the shiny brass surface of the plaque.

“It was supposed to inspire you, Luce, not make you sad.”

She looked up at him and grinned. ‘Thank you, and please tell Buddy I said thank you.“

“Will do. It was his idea. He misses you almost as much as I do. Even Norton seems out-of-sorts.”

Lucy laughed. “And you, Theo? How are you?”

Theo just loved this. The cadence of this whole conversation with Lucy felt so damn good it amazed him. Being with her felt like home, like peace, like where he was meant to be. “I’m nothing without you, Luce.”

“Clearly just a shell of a man.”

“I’m even having trouble with my hair gel.”

Lucy placed the plaque on the coffee table and curled back up in a ball, chuckling. Theo reached his hand toward her. Tentatively, she took it.

Lucy shook her head slowly, her ponytail gently swooshing over her shoulder. “I’ve really dropped the ball these last few weeks, Theo. All our hard work-”

“We’ll just start from here. It’s just a place to start.”

Lucy’s beautiful face twisted with disappointment. “With my gain last month, I’ve got thirty-four pounds to go in twelve weeks. We’re probably not going to make our goal.”

“Hey, sweetie…” Theo moved to the edge of his chair and leaned closer, cradling her hand in both of his now. “If you don’t lose another pound from now until December, you still would have made it.”

She nodded, giving him a brave smile.

“That goal was just a gimmick, Luce. An even number that sounded good. You don’t have to go there if you don’t want. You are healthy and fit and beautiful right now. You’re ready to take on the world.”

Lucy nodded. “I rock.”

“You do.” Theo wanted to put his arms around her and smell her hair and feel her warm skin against his. He wanted to love her, soothe her, make her laugh. He wanted to kiss her.

“The important thing is we make the most of the time we’ve got.”

Lucy laughed softly. “Is this Theo-the-Trainer or Theo-the-Philosopher talking?”

He grinned. “Both, Luce.”

“I’m in.”

He was up out of the chair and on the couch before he realized he was moving.

“Theo-”

“Look, I’ve got to tell you something. Will you hear me out?”

Lucy giggled. “I think I should charge a per-confession fee this evening.”

“A what?”

“Nothing.” She smiled at him. “I’m all ears, Theo.”

“No, you’re not.” Theo’s gaze strayed to Lucy’s pretty forearms, wrists, and hands, then to the hollow at the base of her slim throat, to her shoulders, breasts, thighs, hips…

“Does your confession have to do with lust?”

“No.” Theo looked up quickly. “I mean yes! I mean-” Theo brought his arm up over the back of the sofa and stroked her shoulder. “That night at the Mandarin-”

“Theo, look. I’m aware my feelings for you don’t come at a great time, and I also know women have this annoying habit of falling for you-”

“Are you done yet?” Theo brushed his fingertip down the curve of that beautiful, sweet face.

Lucy swallowed and nodded.

“I don’t care about any other woman. Just you. Only you.”

Lucy’s lips parted and her eyes became huge. “What exactly are you saying?”

“The night of the party wasn’t
my
best work, Lucy. I blew it. I wanted to tell you I loved you, but I was so screwed up in my head that I couldn’t. It was a disaster and I apologize.”

Theo drew his thumb along her bottom lip and watched her turn in to his touch. “I saw you standing there in the ballroom and the force of your beauty and strength just about knocked me over. It was like everything had come to the surface for both of us, right at that instant, and I was in awe of you, so crazy about you, and so afraid.”

“I scared you? I hadn’t even had my first margarita at that point.”

“I’m walking toward you, ready to strip bare my soul to you, and Tyson picks that moment to tell me that you deserve to be savored, enjoyed, and spoiled. Do you know he goes around talking about you like that?”

Lucy beamed. “That’s really nice of him.”

“He was right, you know. And all I could think was that I wouldn’t have time to spoil and enjoy you and if that’s what you deserved, you’d be better off with someone who could.”

Lucy shook her head. “That’s why you acted so weird all night?”

“I didn’t want to let you in and then lose you. I’m sick of losing people, you know? When my parents died, the only thing that kept me going was how angry I was, and how much Buddy needed me. When Jenna left me last year, it was the same shit all over again.”

“Oh, Theo-”

“I thought I could keep my heart safe if I crammed my life so full that there was no room for anyone new to squeeze in. But you squeezed in anyway.” Theo smiled. “You found a crack and you pushed through. Does this make any sense to you?”

She nodded softly. “It does.”

“I never meant to play games with you, Lucy. But when I’m with you, I seem to lose my head. Plus I have a hard time keeping my hands to myself.”

At that, her head popped up and her eyes widened further.

Theo stroked her cheek again and put his mouth to her ear, whispering, “I want to feel you and bury my nose in you and kiss you all over. You draw me in, make me weak.”

Lucy looked to her left and then to her right and said, “You talkin‘ to me?”

“Yes, you,” he said, laughing. “And ever since you started ignoring me, I haven’t been able to remember the reasons why I shouldn’t be with you, just the reasons why I should.”

“What reasons are those?”

Theo got to his knees in front of the sofa. He smoothed her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair. “That you’re everything I’ve ever wanted. I need you in my life.”

Her reaction wasn’t what he expected. Lucy winced and leaned over, clutching her sides. “Are you all right?”

She peered up from her crouch and nodded.

“Was it something you ate?”

“You might say that.”

Theo opened his arms, and Lucy fell in to him, pressing against his chest and sighing in contentment. He sighed, too. She was back where she belonged, in his arms and in his life.

Theo put his lips on her hair and held her tight. “Now that you know how I feel, I want you to take off your clothes and make me glad I’m a man.”

She giggled and brought her lips to his throat, flicking her tongue across his skin. “You’re so suave, Theo. No wonder the women throw themselves at you.”

“So it worked?”

Lucy laughed. “Will this disrobing be for professional assessment purposes only?”

Theo reveled in the feel of her warm and soft kisses on his throat and face. He closed his eyes and wallowed in the scent of Lucy. “This is all horribly unprofessional.”

“Good. Then kiss me.”

He obliged, grabbing her with one arm and pulling himself up to the couch, falling over her, pressing his body down into her, cradling her head as he kissed and nibbled and probed and generally lapped her up.

“You taste so good, Luce. You feel so damn good to me-” Theo’s hands moved along her back and onto her hip and up into the front of that T-shirt, and all he could think about was getting his palm on a breast- one of those round, warm female breasts that he’d missed desperately.

Lucy had her hands inside his shirt as well, up underneath the cotton, her fingers splayed over his chest, her mouth meeting his and giving back every bit of what she received. Lucy was hot and sweet and Theo knew he had waited far too long and made far too much of a very simple reality-this woman was what he wanted. He loved her.

“Let me love you, Lucy.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” She pushed up to a sitting position, then threw herself at him and knocked him back into the couch cushions, covering him with her heat and her smell and the silky sweet kisses and sexy little moans he didn’t think he’d ever be able to live without.

He yanked on her T-shirt and pulled it over her head. He grabbed the waistband of those revolting pink sweatpants and pushed down until they cleared the mounds of her butt, which he then grabbed onto with both hands.

“Let me feel you. Let me look at you. God, yes, I need you so much, Luce.”

Lucy popped up and sat on his thighs. She smiled down at him as she reached around and unhooked her bra, shrugged out of it, and tossed it to the floor. Then she reached up and dragged the ponytail holder out of her hair.

And there she was, naked from the hips up, all pink and soft and sexy, and those eyes were sparkling and daring him and Theo wanted this woman so much he thought he’d bust.

He brought his hands up and cradled her breasts, watching with fascination how the large dark pink nipples puckered and elongated from the gentle touch. He stroked his fingers across the pale freckles on her chest, then across the beat of her blood as it pulsed through her carotid artery, thinking such a profoundly simple thought-that a human body could be exercised and molded and trained, but it was the spirit inside that made a person who she was.

And he’d always loved the person inside this body.

Theo rose up and brought his mouth to her left breast and suckled on her, felt her move back and forth on his thighs, heard her moans grow deeper and louder.

“Do you think we could possibly ditch these butt-ugly pink sweatpants, Luce?”