“I’ve nominated the Palm Club campaign for this year’s Eddies.”

“You what?”

“I just sent in the preliminary application.”

The Eddie Award was like the Academy Award of the advertising industry, and every year the professional association gave out honors for excellence in advertising, marketing, and public relations. Lucy had never been nominated for anything in her life. She’d never even gone to the awards ceremony.

This was incredible news, but the look on Stephan’s face cautioned her not to get carried away with her excitement.

“What’s the catch?”

“Well, the application process is quite detailed. You’ll have to start coming in a little early to work on it. It’s due in two months.”

“I can’t come in early, Stephan. That’s when I work with Theo.”

“Ah, right. Well, maybe you can skip a day here and there. It probably won’t matter much. I’ve managed to stay in shape with a three-day-a-week regimen, myself.”

As Stephan tapped his belly contentedly, Lucy found herself speechless. Stephan was encouraging her to slack off. Why in the world would he do that? The reputation of his company was riding on this enterprise.

“You aren’t trying to lose a hundred pounds, Stephan.” Something else was off about this. “Besides,” she pointed out, “the Eddies are for ad campaigns with quantifiable results. This campaign won’t be done for another nine months. To send it in now would make me look like I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Stephan shifted in the chair and chuckled again. “Well, let’s give it a shot anyway. You can just talk about how much you’ve lost so far. So where are we now-fifteen pounds?”

Lucy shook her head in incredulity. “I’ll be weighed on the show this morning, but it will be over thirty-five pounds, I’m sure.”

“Shit!” He jumped up from his seat and stood over her, his mouth hanging open. “You’ve managed to lose thirty-five pounds? Are you absolutely sure? Let me see you! Stand up! Turn around!”

Stephan had always been an odd bird, and Lucy had never judged him too harshly for his decidedly strange behavior since Sarah’s death. The two of them had started this agency twenty years ago, and losing her had been hard on Stephan. But today’s display had Lucy worrying about his mental stability.

“I am not your 4-H entry, Stephan.” Lucy stood up from her chair and hoisted her laptop onto her shoulder. As she made her way toward the door, she heard him say something under his breath that she swore sounded like, “You have to fail, you bitch.”

When she spun around, he looked quite innocent, a pleasant smile on his face.

“What did you just say?”

“I said, ‘You’ve really found your niche.’” Stephan motioned for her to pass ahead of him. “I’m proud of your initiative.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, taking a step forward. Under her breath she added, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Lucy knew Dan was visiting her parents, but she had no idea Mary Fran was there, so the sight of her peeling potatoes at the kitchen sink threw her.

“Frannie?”

“Hey, girl!” Mary Fran made one step toward the back door and stopped. The potato peeler fell to the floor and she gasped.

“Oh, sorry. Mary Fran, this is my friend Gia. I brought her over for her first-ever Saint Patrick’s Day party.”

Frannie’s eyes continued growing in circumference. She stood as still as a statue and said nothing. Lucy had never known her sister to be so impolite.

Gia didn’t seem bothered by the stare and moved quickly to introduce herself. “Nice to meet you.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Gia Altamonte.”

“No shit,” Frannie said, then smacked herself on the cheek. “I’m sorry. It’s just… I mean… I didn’t expect Lucy to walk in the back door with-”

“Sweet baby Jesus and Mother of God!” Dan nearly fell over his tongue when he stepped into the kitchen, and Lucy feared he would need surgery to reattach his jaw. Holden was squirming in Dan’s arms to be put down.

Lucy gestured toward Gia. “Dan, this is my friend from the gym, Gia Altamonte. Gia, this is my charming and sophisticated brother, Daniel Cunningham.”

Dan shuffled forward, bending as he eased Holden’s feet to the floor, his hand outstretched and his cheeks redder than the day their dad caught him using his Norelco to shave the heads of Lucy’s Barbies.

Dan stood in front of Gia in a hunched position, as if in deference to the queen.

“You can stand up, Dan,” Gia said, smiling down at him beneficently.

“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head as if to clear his vision. “I just keep seeing these two words: Swim suit Issue. Am I dead? Is this heaven?”

Gia laughed and patted his head, and in her rather irritating nasal voice she said, “So, we gonna drink green beer today or what, Danny boy?”

Lucy was pleased at how easily Gia slipped into the rhythm of the Cunninghams. She entertained everyone with the description of a recent photo shoot in Los Angeles, all while bouncing Holden in her lap. She explained that she had eight siblings and eleven nieces and nephews and was quite used to kids.

“Do you want children of your own?” Dan asked over dessert. Though he’d only had one beer, Dan had sported a look of drunken reverence through the entire meal. At least he’d stopped gawking, and for that Lucy was grateful. She had to admit it was cute the way Dan said their guest’s name-“Gee-ahh.”

“Sure. Someday I’d like a few kids of my own.”

A satisfied smile crept across Dan’s face. “Wanna have mine?”

“Oh Lordy,” Mary Fran mumbled.

“Daniel!” Lucy’s mother refilled Gia’s teacup and looked apologetic. “Would you like more sugar, sweetheart?”

“Thank you.” Gia wrenched her head to the side to avoid Holden’s attempt to rip out one of her hoop earrings, then smiled at Dan, “I’m not sure what would happen if a redheaded Irish dude and a Cuban girl had kids. They could turn out cute, I guess, with a little luck.”

Dan turned his twinkling eyes and a wide grin upon Lucy and shook his head in wonder. “You look marvelous, Luce. Have I told you that?”

“No, actually. You haven’t.”

“You do. Fabulous. And when was the last time I told you that you were the best sister a guy could have?”

Lucy let her eyes flick toward Mary Fran, then back to her brother. “That would be never.”

“Ah. My oversight.”

Lucy had to laugh. If she wasn’t mistaken, Gia really liked Dan, sitting over there in his chair just being who he was-an average-looking pediatrics intern in a pair of Levi’s and a nondescript cotton sweater. She had to admit Dan was funny and smart and would probably make a decent catch for somebody at some point. She just hadn’t thought it would be anytime soon or that he’d catch the attention of somebody as glamorous as Gia Altamonte.

It was almost as far-fetched as someone like her snagging someone like Theo.

• • •

Theo didn’t even recognize her at first. He walked into the green room at the TV station and took a seat near the doughnut table. He let his gaze move casually around the room to the three TV monitors bolted to the wall and to the small knot of people chatting nearby.

That’s when he saw an attractive woman seated on the edge of a table, talking on a cell phone, one leg bent, her hair falling in glossy waves of at least three different colors. Then she clicked the phone shut and looked up, tossing her hair back.

“Lucy.” Her name came out like a gasp. Theo sat very still, realizing with confusion that his pulse was tripping.

Well, of course it was. He was just surprised. That was all. He was looking at the cumulative effect of a good balance of freestyle, cardio, and core strengthening along with lean protein, complex carbs, and fruits and vegetables.

He was merely reacting to all the changes in her numbers made visible. Her body fat mass was down. Her lean muscle mass was up. She’d lost a bunch of pounds and a bunch of inches from her upper arms, chest, hips, waist, thighs, and calves.