“Viv and Martin like you, Luce.”

“I like them.”

“You look lovely tonight.”

“God. Just stop, Theo.”

She pushed away enough to break his embrace, only to find her face right below his. He inclined his head enough to bring his lips too close to hers.

Her pulse kicked up to heart-attack speed. “I think we need to stay away from running tracks. We make mistakes on running tracks.”

“Damn, Lucy.” Theo’s breath was warm and sweet on her mouth, and all it would have taken was the slightest forward movement on her part and they would be kissing again. It’s what she wanted. It’s what she feared.

“Can I dance with you?”

They pulled apart to look down at the source of the request. It was a man no more than five feet tall, at least sixty years old, wearing four bronze medals around his chubby neck and a very wide grin on his elfin face. He stared at Lucy with open adoration. He drooled just a little.

“Of course,” Lucy said, feeling Theo’s hands fall away from her body. It was probably for the best. Of course it was. So she welcomed her new dance partner and put one hand on his shoulder as he put a hand on her waist and gazed up at her.

“You are so beautiful,” he said. “I’m Fred. Are you married?”

They arrived back at the house about ten thirty. Viv and Martin were already asleep and Buddy went right to bed. It had been a very long day for him.

Lucy said good night to Theo and was about to venture down the long hallway toward her guest suite when he called her.

“Wanna go for a swim?”

Of course she did. Or did not. Of course she wanted to spend more time with Theo. No she didn’t.

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit. Sorry.” She gave him a nice smile. “Good night.”

“You don’t need one.”

Her brain seized momentarily. Then she said, “Oh yes. Yes, I do. I need a suit so bad you wouldn’t freakin‘ believe it.” Theo’s laughter caused the heat of embarrassment to spread over her face. “Good night, Theo.”

“We can turn off the pool lights, Luce. And with the twenty-foot privacy fence, only NSA spy satellites could see us.”

He was serious! Theo wanted to go skinny-dipping!

“No thank you.”

“OK, fine. I give up. There’s a whole closet of swimsuits in the cabana. Let’s find one for you.”

She laughed, admiring his strategy, then found herself following Theo through the foyer and the main hallway, through the family room, and out the double doors leading to the huge screened-in lanai around the pool. She walked with him past the pool’s two elaborate fountains, trickling and bubbling in the background, along the side of the house to the cabana, where he flicked on the lights.

Inside was a large sitting room furnished in tasteful wicker and white wrought iron, and off to the side were two small changing areas. Theo opened a louvered closet near the entrance to the ladies’ room.

“Here you go.” The door swung open to reveal a bathing suit selection that rivaled that of the average Kmart. “What size do you wear?”

It was such a simple question. But her lips went numb.

Theo looked over his shoulder. “Do you want a one-piece or a two-piece?”

Lucy laughed out loud. She hadn’t worn a two-piece swimsuit since fourth grade. It had been a burnt orange color and she remembered it had an annoying habit of giving her a wedgie when she went off the high dive.

“One-piece,” she mumbled.

Theo pulled out a tankini on a hanger, the price tag still attached, and peered at the size on the side seam. “It says twelve. Will that be too big?”

Too big?

Lucy snatched it out of his hand and disappeared into the changing room.

“So I’ll meet you in the pool?” Theo asked. “Do you want a drink?”

“I want a margarita!” she shouted. “A big-ass frozen margarita with salt on the rim, and a plate of chicken nachos dripping with guacamole and sour cream!”

There were a few seconds of silence before Theo said, “One light beer coming right up.”

Lucy saw her reflection in the mirror and her eyes bugged out. Yes, the tankini fit. It fit nicely, in fact.

“A light beer would be perfect,” she answered. “And I was just kidding about the nachos. I swear.”

Theo changed into his trunks, then padded over to the fully stocked kitchen across the lanai. This was a nice way to live, he had to admit, but he wondered what Viv and Martin’s friends had sacrificed for this kind of wealth. Theo knew nothing about them, other than they were generous and had a money and taste, but he figured people who had to work hard enough to be this rich had missed out on a few of life’s simple joys. Like relaxation. Like spending time with their families.

He wondered how often they even used their own pool.

Theo popped the tops of the beers and brought them to the pool’s edge, then dived in. The water felt soothing, cascading over his hot skin, rippling coolness over the length of his body as he swam. He decided to do a few laps while Lucy got changed, hoping maybe he could clear his head a bit.

He had a problem. His problem was Lucy and his out-of-control desire for her. He was aware that holding her in his arms and nearly kissing her were the absolute wrong things to be doing, yet when she stood there in front of him tonight on the infield, her eyes so wide and pretty and all of her smelling so good, he succumbed to his lesser self. The only thing that mattered was getting her as close as he could.

They had more than six months left together. Lucy was the walking wounded, and she still wouldn’t tell him why. What he needed to do was keep things simple with her. He had no right to tease her or lead her on. He had no right to act on his attraction to her when he had no intention of starting a relationship. There was a real possibility that he could hurt her. And he would rather die than hurt her.

Theo did a flip turn at the wall and out of one watery eye he saw her standing above him. He stopped, burst up from the shallow end, and pushed the water off his face.

He hadn’t seen Lucy in a swimsuit since last November, and the sight was giving him the kind of perspective he couldn’t get from numbers alone. A transformed woman stood in front of him. She was breathtaking.

She held her head high. Her elegant arms and hands hung to her sides, and he could see the very feminine curve of her hips, the indentation of her waist, the swell of her breasts. He saw a little bit of her belly peeking through the tankini, and it was round and full and female.

Seeing her like this almost made him wish they didn’t have to keep pushing for her to lose more weight. She looked perfect to him just as she was.

She daintily dipped a toe into the water and Theo knew that if he were thinking straight he’d be focusing on her quad definition and not how he wanted to nibble on the velvet-soft inside of her thigh.

“Jump in.”

She did and barely missed his head.

He wiped the water from his eyes and laughed. “I said jump in, not on!”

“Sorry.”

She didn’t look sorry. Lucy smoothed her hair back and smiled at him, then giggled. She was a wet minx. A slippery vixen. Theo had to touch her or he’d splinter into a thousand pieces of frustration, but was there any way to make that touch appear accidental? The only thing he could think of would be to dunk her and chase her around in the pool like they were kids, but who was he fooling? That would be so transparent.

Then suddenly he was underwater, Lucy’s hands forcing his head deeper below the surface. He laughed in surprise, feeling the bubbles shoot out of his nose up through the water. In a burst of playful revenge, he grabbed her around the knees and flipped her over his shoulder, hearing her scream just before she splashed down behind him.

Lucy swam hard to get away, but he was quick. Theo pulled her by the ankles and yanked her back to him, and as she flailed in a vain attempt to escape, he realized this was fun. He hadn’t had this much fun with a woman in a long time. And it was anything but innocent.