So did Lucy.

Lucy bolted out the gate and threw on her L.L. Bean trench coat and cinched the belt so tight it nearly cut off her circulation. Then she paced in the driveway, trying to get her brain to wrap around everything that had just happened and what it meant.

“Lucy. Uh. This is not exactly what you might think.”

She whipped her head around and saw Theo standing at the open gate with the woman at his side and OK, Lucy had been wrong. The woman wasn’t very attractive-she was drop-dead beautiful!

“This is Jenna Tolliver, my old friend from medical school I told you about, the one who got engaged a while back.” Theo took a step closer to Lucy. “She’s going through a rough patch and came by to talk, Luce.”

Jenna stepped forward and held out her thin, pale hand. “Hello, Lucy. It’s a pleasure to meet you in person. I’ve been watching you all year.”

Well now, wasn’t that pleasant of her? But all Lucy could wonder was how does a woman greet a potential rival when the rival knows her body fat percentage and the circumference of her thighs and had just seen her in a pair of baby pink crotchless French-cut boy shorts trimmed in black lace with a matching demi-bra? What was the appropriate response in this situation? Lucy was fairly certain it didn’t involve shaking the woman’s hand!

“He’s mine. Hit the road,” was the response Lucy settled on, which she could not believe. The awkward silence that followed was cut short by Theo’s snort, followed by his loud laughter. Jenna began to giggle.

Norton chose that moment to exit the backyard and sit next to Lucy’s feet, which were planted wide apart on the driveway. It was as if the cat was choosing sides, and Lucy decided she’d never forget his loyalty to her at this crucial moment.

Jenna came closer to Lucy, which sent Norton spitting and skittering away. Then the beautiful woman invaded Lucy’s personal space by kissing her on the cheek. She gave her a stiff smile. “Good luck to you,” Jenna said, walking by. “Have fun in Jamaica.”

Lucy watched Jenna get into the Acura parked at the curb, then drive away. She turned her attention to Theo.

He didn’t look a bit guilty. Of course, he was busy staring down the deep vee in her raincoat while a crooked smile spread across his face. Lucy adjusted the lapels and sniffed. “So? Tell me what I’m misinterpreting here.”

Theo’s smile grew wider. “Can I see those underpants again?”

“No!” Lucy hugged herself and made sure the coat was closed from shin to chin. “The moment has been ruined.”

“Her fiance dumped her, Luce.” Theo shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “He strung her along for nine months, told her he was getting a divorce, then didn’t follow through. She was pretty devastated.”

Lucy nodded. “And she came to you for advice?”

“Yeah. And a shoulder to cry on.”

“I saw that part.”

“Jenna doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. She hasn’t for a long time. You are what matters to me.”

“That’s good to hear. Well, I need to go home and get packed. I just wanted to say good-bye.”

Theo moved close and caressed the side of Lucy’s face. She felt the heat of his touch warm her skin and she automatically turned her mouth into his hand. It was a reflex. Theo’s pinkie stroked along her bottom lip.

“You know, Luce, that outfit you’re wearing is the way a woman says hello, not good-bye.”

“Ha. Well, maybe it was a see-you-later. Just try to be good while I’m gone, OK?” Lucy kissed Theo hard on the mouth and turned to get in her car.

“Are you going to pack those undies for Jamaica?”

Lucy laughed. “I don’t think Mary Fran would be as appreciative as you.”

“Right.” Theo held open the car door for her. “Is she at your place now?”

Lucy scowled at him. “Yeah. She’s packing. Why?”

“Just tell her I said to have a nice trip.”

Lucy shook her head, then looked up at Theo, leaning on the car window, relaxed and long and handsome and sweet and smiling at her like he loved her.

She knew he loved her-even if he couldn’t say it. It was all over his face. She was so sure of it, it didn’t even bother her that she’d just seen him hugging his ex-girlfriend.

Well, not much anyway.

“You’re going to miss me, aren’t you?”

“So much, Lucy.” Theo leaned down and kissed her one last time. “Until then, baby.”

Theo watched Lucy drive down his street, and as soon as she made the corner he pulled out his cell phone.

“Mary Fran? You’ve got to make sure she packs the bra and panties she’s wearing tonight. This is critical. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“What bra and panties? Where is she? I don’t have any idea what she’s even wearing-and how do you know?”

“Just do it, Fran. Stick them into her bag when she’s not looking. Did all my stuff fit in your suitcase?”

“Good Lord. Yes, Theo.”

“Just do this one little thing for me, and I swear I’ll owe you for the rest of my life.”

He heard Mary Fran sigh. “All right! Jeesh! What I won’t do for my sister!”

Theo clicked his phone shut and smiled. This was going to be so much fun.

The check-in line at the airline counter snaked through a three-tiered maze, and Lucy was getting impatient. It wasn’t like they were going to miss their flight, but she hated waiting.

“Do you have to use the ladies’ room?” Mary Fran asked for the second time. “Because I can stay here with our luggage if you want to run to the ladies’ room.”

“Not particularly. Do you need to go?”

“No. But you go on ahead.”

“I don’t need to.”

“But you might by the time we get to the front of the line, right?”

Lucy had never known her sister to be so concerned about her bladder habits. Mary Fran was acting weird all around this morning. Downright anxious. “Have you suddenly developed a fear of flying or something?” Lucy asked.

“What? No. Of course not. But I think you should use the ladies’ room.”

So Lucy did, and when she returned a few minutes later it didn’t seem they’d made much progress in the line, but Lucy did notice her luggage was partially unzipped and Mary Fran seemed much less antsy.

About a half hour later, they finally made it to the counter, and as a matter of course, the ticket agent asked Lucy if her bags had been in her possession the entire time she’d been in the airport. Before Lucy could respond, Mary Fran shouted, “Yes! Of course!” and Lucy decided that as soon as they were in their first-class seats, she was ordering her sister a big-ass Bloody Mary.

They chatted amicably all the way through security and began their walk toward their gate. Lucy noticed quite a clamor up ahead and wondered if someone famous might be on their flight that morning. The closer they got to the gate, the more familiar some of the faces became.

“Is that Mom I see up there?” Lucy turned toward Mary Fran, who had suddenly become Theo. “What the-?”

Theo grabbed her and kissed her hard and that’s when the camera lights clicked on and Lucy realized that they were the famous people and that everyone there-Mary Fran, Dan, her parents, Buddy, Uncle Martin and Aunt Viv, John Weaver and Carolina Buendia, Tyson, Barry, and Maria and Veronica, and even Doris Lehman and her husband (God was he good-looking for an old guy!)-had all been in on the surprise.

And the surprise was that Theo was going to Jamaica with Lucy.

Lucy and Theo finished their interview with Carolina, signed autographs for other passengers, and hugged everyone good-bye. Just as they were about to head down the gangway, Doris Lehman handed Lucy a small plastic Baggie, and inside was a solitary homemade biscuit.

“Bon appetit,” was all she said.

Theo didn’t think he’d ever be able to move again. His exhaustion began deep in his solar plexus and radiated to the very last hair on his head and the small nail on his small toe. He was soaked in sweat, breathing hard, and happier than he’d ever been in his whole life.