“So I hear.”

“The good news is we’ve got fifty-one weeks left.” He reached for her hand, squeezing her fingers in a gentle grip. “How about we start over? I’m Theo Redmond, your trainer for the next year.”

Lucy steadied herself with a deep breath, aware that passing out was passe. “And I’m Lucy Cunningham, your worst nightmare.”

“Let’s think positive, shall we, Miss Cunningham?”

She pulled her hand away and huffed. “Call me Lucy. I’m not that much older than you, and when you call me ‘Miss Cunningham’ I feel like your spinster piano teacher or something.”

“I’m thirty-two.”

“I’m only twenty-nine.”

“I know.” He tapped his thigh with his clipboard and scowled a little, like he was thinking hard. “This is where I usually ask my new clients to fill out a bunch of

– forms, but I don’t feel like filling out forms this morning. How about you?“

“So we’re going out for doughnuts instead?”

Theo tossed his clipboard on the reception counter and cupped Lucy’s elbow, turning her toward the elevators as he chuckled. “How about coffee and a sunrise? We can get to know each other a little, see what approach we’re going to take, while we watch the sun come up.”

As they walked down the three flights of stairs to the lobby on Washington Avenue, Lucy checked out her trainer from the corner of her eye and, as she always did, wondered how much more she weighed than the person next to her. She knew it only made things worse, but she couldn’t seem to stop her brain from doing the calculations. Maybe it was another one of those habits she could break with Theo’s help.

“Are you originally from Miami, Lucy?” The elevator doors opened and they headed for the street and into the pleasant, saltwater-scented city air.

“Pittsburgh. I moved here about a year ago to be closer to my parents. They retired to Fort Lauderdale.”