“Wanna dance?”

“I don’t think so.” She shook her head and took a sip from her straw.

“Why not?”

Lucy shrugged. “Too self-conscious, I guess.” She leaned closer to him, and thoughts of paradise clouded his mind. “I’m a little worried about what other people are thinking.”

Theo laughed. “You didn’t seem too concerned about that with Ricky Romance back there.”

Lucy laughed, too. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Let’s dance.”

“No.”

“Sorry. Not acceptable.” Theo grabbed her hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor, all the while his brain was crying, Stupid, stupid, stupid! He told himself to shut up and snuggled her tighter, feeling every inch of her feminine softness against every hard place on his body, including the parts that seemed to be getting harder by the second.

It wasn’t exactly a slow dance number, but Theo didn’t give a damn. This was what he craved.

“Are you trying to camouflage me with your entire body, Theo?”

He laughed. “I’m only here to help.”

“This is not helping anything. Let me go.” Lucy tried to shove away from him.

“Hey, relax, Luce. I’m going to say something to you and it may sound harsh, but you need to hear it.”

He let her pull away enough that she could look up into his face. She was frowning. “What? I can’t even hear you!”

Theo took her hand and led her past the bar, through the kitchen, and out the back door of the club. Lucy gasped as they entered the serene little courtyard that led to the club owners’ apartment.

Theo motioned for her to have a seat on a cushioned lounge chair next to a potted fern. He sat in the one across from her.

“You have a habit of obsessing about what people think when they look at you.”

“Not accurate.” Lucy adjusted herself so she was poised on the chair edge, as if preparing for a quick escape. “That used to be one of my habits-obsessing over the fact that people were staring at me, then being pissed off about it and eating too much, then getting more obsessed and pissed off because I ate too much and people were staring at me. Fun, huh?”

She tried to get up, but Theo grasped her hand. “You’re a different person now.”

Lucy’s face softened. She nodded her head. “I’m trying.”

“Look, Luce. What I’m getting at is there’s a lot more to life than how much you weigh and what size you wear.”

Her mouth opened. She blinked at him.

“You need to get your mind off that crap for a while. It really isn’t all about what you look like.”

‘Thanks for the pep talk.“ She stood up, and Theo stood with her.

“All I’m saying is there’s a bigger picture. Maybe you need to expand your horizons a little.”

She cocked her head to the side and smiled at him. “Since when did you become a philosopher, Theo?”

“I think about three years ago. So what are you doing two weekends from now?”

“Nothing.”

“Then I’d like to show you someplace where nobody gives a rat’s ass about your percentage of body fat. Where nobody will judge you by your appearance. A place where you can stop judging yourself for maybe the first time in your life.”

The music stopped inside the club for an instant, and it got quiet out in the courtyard, so quiet they could hear the ocean.

“I don’t know any places like that, Theo,” she whispered.

“I do.”

Lucy shrugged. “All right. So what’s a girl wear to a place like that?”

“Sensible shoes and sunscreen,” he said, smiling.

“I’m Buddy, Theo’s brother. I have mental retardation and I’m a track star.”

Lucy had barely made one pass around the University of Southern Florida stadium before she found the brothers Redmond, or they found her. She’d really had no idea what to expect-Theo had told her only that Buddy was sixteen and had Down syndrome and that Lucy should come to Tampa for the weekend to watch him compete in the Florida State Games.

And now Buddy stood very close to her, his face on fire with delight, his smile very wide and a little wet, and he was staring at her through thick glasses, waiting for her response.

“Cool. I’m Lucy,” is what she said, and they shook hands.

Theo hung back, relaxed and hunky as always, in a red polo shirt with the words Special Olympics Miami-Dade Coach stitched on the left upper chest. Theo was a Special Olympics coach? Why hadn’t he mentioned that?

“I know who you are, Lucy.” Buddy gave her a slow nod. “You’re the pretty fat lady Theo goes on TV with. Your butt looks a lot better now than it used to.” He kept going. “I weigh one hundred twenty-six pounds and I don’t eat junk, except on nights Theo’s too tired to cook, so I can win in competitions. My mom wouldn’t let me get fat like a lot of Down syndrome people.”

Lucy had no idea how to respond to all that.

Just then, a pack of four teenagers strolled by, all in different-colored T-shirts, all obviously Special Olympics athletes, and they pulled Buddy into their group with excited hugs and loud greetings.

Theo hollered after him, “Meet me at the main registration tent at four! Do not be late-we’re having dinner with Aunt Viv and Uncle Martin before the opening ceremony!”

“You got it, stud!” Buddy waved at Theo, winked at Lucy, and was swept off into a sea of people walking toward a banner that read: Olympic Village.

Theo turned to her and grinned. “He can be a little direct sometimes.”

“And you said nobody here would care about the size of my butt!”

He laughed, putting his arm around her shoulder and giving her a friendly squeeze. “So how was your drive? Did you enjoy Alligator Alley?”

There was little to enjoy on the highway from Miami to Tampa via Naples-unless you reveled in endless desolate swampland and no mobile phone coverage. “It was relaxing. I listened to some good tunes and got here in no time.”

“Great. Do you think you would be comfortable staying with us this weekend? It would be much better than a hotel.”

Lucy frowned at him. “Us who? You and Buddy? I don’t think that’s-”

“My aunt and uncle’s best friends have a winter home here but are already back in Boston. They gave us the place for the week.”

Whoa. Lucy had planned on the Red Roof Inn, not living under the same roof with Theo and his family.

“There’s more than enough room for all of us. And Viv and Martin would love to meet you.”

She shook her head. “I could never impose like that.”

Theo laughed. “Don’t be silly. I’d love your company, and that house is so big we could lose each other in it. Plus, it’s staffed, as in there’s a maid, a cook, a gardener, and a pool man. Come enjoy it with us.”

She felt her eyes go wide.

“Please say yes, Luce.”

Theo was looking down into her face with such adorable tenderness that Lucy nearly lost her breath. She couldn’t be angry at him, she supposed-he obviously had no idea what he did to her with those sea blue eyes, how he confused her with his affection, excited her with his touch, left her feeling lost when she wasn’t in his company.

The man squeezing her shoulder so tightly was her friend. Her trainer. Her business partner. Yes, she’d been ga-ga over Theo since the moment they met. But he was not her lover, and despite the sparks she felt in his presence, he seemed to be happy just being friends.

The faster she could come to grips with that, the saner she’d be. And the more she could just enjoy her next date with Tyson.

“Sure, Theo. I accept.”

Theo had led her to a big blue-and-white-striped tent where dozens of volunteers handed out badges.

“Theo!” An older lady in a hat decorated with an array of fishing lures smiled warmly at him. “What can I do you for, handsome?”

“Hi, Mimi.” Theo kissed her cheek. “This is my friend Lucy Cunningham, and we need to pick up her pass for the weekend.”