Page 57

“What’s wrong? Are you afraid I’ll mess up your hair?”
I wanted to put my arms around her and tell her that wasn’t it at all. Instead, they hung at my sides like two logs, weighing me down emotionally.
“We could always find a barber in Zurich to do it.”
“I’m not concerned about my hair.”
“What are you worried about?” That she whispered told me she was feeling as uncomfortable as I was. Yet I had no idea how to break the tension between us so we could become the two people who’d connected so easily again.
“You and me,” I whispered like she had.
“I don’t know how to make it better.”
“Neither do I. Maybe in time?”
“I have one idea.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m willing to try just about anything. I hate this awkward feeling.”
“What if we were to hug? You know, touch. Get it over with, so to speak. Then, the next time we do, either accidentally or on purpose, it will feel more natural.” Schön opened her arms.
“I have a question first.”
She raised a brow.
“Am I hugging you the same way I’d hugged Aunt Gertrude or the way I’d hug you if I didn’t have to worry about how I was doing it?”
Schön smiled. “You already know the answer, Magnet. Just hug me.”
I snaked my arm around her waist and pulled her close to me. Her outstretched arms wrapped around my neck, her cheek rested against my chest, and I pressed mine against her hair. No hug I’d ever given or received felt as good as this one. There were so many things I wanted to say. Like, how perfectly our bodies fit together. Or how much I wished our embrace could lead to a kiss. Mostly, though, I wanted to tell her I never wanted to let her go.
It was a couple of minutes before either of us moved. Schön was first, raising her head. “Better?”
“Not yet,” I said, tightening my grip around her waist. “A few more minutes.”
She giggled, and my heart soared.
At that very moment, the aircraft hit a patch of turbulence, Hawk announced we should return to our seats, and Schön and I lost our footing before landing on the bed.
“I don’t suppose this has seat belts,” she said, holding onto me, more because the plane was jostling us than the affection we’d shared a minute ago.
“We’re better off here instead of trying to get to the seats now. I’m sure we’ll be beyond the rough air soon.”
She lowered her head to my chest and wrapped one arm around my waist. Biting my tongue wouldn’t have helped; the words I had to say would’ve forced their way out no matter what I tried. “I always want it to be like this between us,” I said, leaning down to kiss her forehead.
“I do too.”
When she raised her head, our lips met. The kiss we shared was nothing like earlier. This was soft and gentle, languid, and sweet. And while I still felt a pulse-quickening passion, I reined it in.
When, a few minutes later, Hawk announced we should be steady for quite a while, I didn’t want to move.
“I think we should wait until after we land to trim your hair and beard.”
“Yeah?”
She giggled again. “Can you imagine if I’d had clippers in my hand when the plane jerked? I might’ve cut your ear off.”
“You’re right. We best not risk it.”