Theo lowered his voice. “You’ll need to bring your swimsuit tomorrow, too, OK?”

No, that wasn’t OK! She’d rather die than let him see her in a bathing suit. “Are we going snorkeling?”

Theo shook his head gently, knowing this part was going to be rough on Lucy. “It’s for the hydrostatic tank-”

“The whaaa-?”

“We’ll immerse you in water and get an accurate measure of your percentage of body fat.”

Lucy’s eyes went huge.

“We have to know where we’re starting. That’s all it is-a place to start.”

“But do we have to start there?”

“I thought you agreed to a fitness evaluation.”

Lucy gulped. She blinked. She looked away for something to focus on while she got hold of herself. Her eyes landed on the blonde again, now crossing her zero-body-fat legs and batting her eyelashes at Theo.

“Couldn’t we just make a guesstimate on my body fat? Like, say, ninety-eight percent, and go from there?”

Theo tried not to laugh. He watched Lucy Cunningham swallow hard and keep her eyes on anything but him. The embarrassment pulsed off her body in waves. He felt for her, he really did, but they couldn’t start until he was sure she was a willing participant.

“Did you agree to this, Lucy? Are you aware that what we find out tomorrow and everything else we glean from lab tests, strength and cardiovascular evaluations-everything-is going to be made public?”

“I’m doing this for the cash; let’s get that straight right from the start.” Lucy took a deep breath. “I know I could stand to lose weight, but I plan to use the money to start my own company. And I do not plan to fail. It’s just that getting started sounds so…” Lucy looked down at her hands. “Hard.”

Theo pondered the slope of her neck and shoulders, how she overfilled the small cafe chair. Clearly, they’d be doing lots of cardio, adding machine and freestyle exercises over time. He was thinking Pilates for core strength. Yoga for flexibility.