Just a touch away, p.22
Just a Touch Away, page 22
Before Winter knew how it had happened, she had reluctantly nodded. “All right. I’m coming.”
Shit. Apparently, she was going to supervise a hug fest.
* * *
What the hell was wrong with Portlanders?
They had been standing in the middle of Pioneer Courthouse Square for ten minutes with Hannah holding up a cardboard sign announcing free hugs in big, colorful letters and Winter standing ready with a stack of flyers.
She still held every single one.
It wasn’t that they had picked the wrong location for their campaign. Since it was lunchtime on a Wednesday, a lot of people were crossing the square to get a cheesesteak or an egg sandwich from one of the food carts or a coffee from the nearby Starbucks. Others sat on the two dozen steps that formed a semicircle at the center of the plaza, enjoying the gorgeous end-of-June weather.
Several people had glanced over, but not one of them had taken Hannah up on her free-hug offer.
A young man looked up from his paper cup, read the sign, and slowed his steps. But then he tapped his wristwatch as if to say he didn’t have time and walked past.
Winter leveled him with a glare that should have turned his coffee into a solid block of ice.
“That doesn’t help, you know?” Hannah said quietly from behind her sign.
“What?”
“You glaring at everyone.”
“He deserved it,” Winter muttered. “What kind of clueless dipshit has the time to get a coffee but then decides he’s in too much of a hurry to stop for a free hug?”
“Would you stop for a hug if we didn’t know each other?” Hannah asked.
Winter shuddered dramatically. “Hell, no!”
“See? Be patient. Someone will stop, and then others will see them do it and get up the courage to come over for a hug too.” Hannah raised the cardboard sign over her head so passersby could see her welcoming smile. It never wavered, no matter how many people walked past.
Winter couldn’t help admiring her. Never in a million years would she have opened herself up to being judged and rejected the way Hannah did right now. In her world, vulnerability equaled weakness, yet getting to know Hannah made her question how true that really was.
She tried to follow Hannah’s example and be patient, but neither patience nor letting others take the lead were in her nature. Taking action was.
When a group of college students approached, Winter decided it was time to do something. “Pretend you don’t know me,” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth, crossed the two yards of space between them, and held out her arms for a hug.
Hannah’s eyes went wide. For a second, she didn’t move, the sign still over her head. Then she lowered it and wrapped both arms around her.
Winter stood very still. Her mind went to a weird place, where she was acutely aware that she was in public, with dozens of people watching, while at the same time being fully focused on how it felt to hug Hannah…or, more accurately, to have Hannah hug her.
It wasn’t a polite air hug or an awkward side embrace. It was a frontal full-body experience. Hannah molded intimately against her from knees to shoulders, and Winter was much too aware of the press of her thighs, her soft belly, and her full breasts.
Jesus. Winter carefully drew breath so Hannah wouldn’t think she was hyperventilating.
Hannah smelled amazing—of sun-warmed skin and lotion. One of her arms rested securely across Winter’s shoulder blades. The other was slung lower, with her fingers splayed against the small of her back, as if trying to communicate something through the fabric of Winter’s T-shirt.
Slowly, Winter exhaled and returned the hug for a moment—just so it would seem real to passersby. She kept the hand that clutched the flyers away from Hannah while resting the other flat on her back, not allowing it to move even an inch. The warmth of Hannah’s skin burned through the cotton of her T-shirt. She focused on the sensation, trying not to think about how it might feel to slide her hand beneath and touch her bare skin.
Bad idea. Horrible idea. The look on Hannah’s face when she had tried to kiss her during their cuddle session was still burned into her mind. Never again did she want to see that expression, especially not now that, as impossible as it seemed, they might be starting to become friends.
Hannah didn’t seem to be in a hurry to let go. Maybe she had needed the hug and was more discouraged by their so-far fruitless campaign than she’d let on. “Thank you,” she whispered against Winter’s shoulder.
Winter gave a curt nod, not trusting her voice. Finally, she disentangled herself and stepped back. Her arms hung awkwardly at her sides. For a moment, they felt weird, as if they didn’t know what to do with themselves now that she was no longer holding Hannah.
Ridiculous. Her arms knew exactly what to do—which was handing out flyers. She looked around for the group of college students, but they were nowhere to be seen.
God, how long had that hug lasted? So much for her brilliant plan.
But before either of them could say anything, a young couple walked toward them.
Hannah gave them an inviting smile. “How about a free hug?” She didn’t yet raise her arms or lean toward them. Patiently, she waited for a reply.
“I’ll never say no to that,” the woman replied, laughing.
When they embraced, the stranger’s companion took a step toward Winter and sent her a questioning look. “Are you giving out free hugs too?”
Winter backed away. “Oh, no, no, no, she’s the professional cuddler. I’m just along to hand out flyers.” She gave him one.
“Oh, so that’s really a thing?” He pointed at the flyer.
The woman ended the embrace and elbowed him. “I told you it is. Do you do gift certificates? A cuddle session would be perfect for my sister’s birthday.”
Three more people approached for a hug before Hannah could answer, and the next two hours flew by as they worked together, giving out hugs and flyers and answering questions about Hannah’s services.
As it turned out, Hannah had been right. People often approached in clusters. Once they saw someone else come over for a free hug, they worked up the courage to do it too.
Winter tried to guess who would accept a hug and who would hurry past with a skeptical look, but she soon found that it was completely random. Neither could she predict who would hug awkwardly and who would embrace Hannah as if they never wanted to let go. There was no formula for hugs. Winter could be sure of only one thing: she had watched enough of them for today.
* * *
“I think that’s enough,” Winter said.
Hannah heard her as if through a wind tunnel. “One more,” she pleaded, like a kid on a playground who wasn’t ready to go home. An endorphin high from all the hugs and the laughter rushed through her body.
Winter gave her an incredulous look. “I’m exhausted just from watching you, and you can’t get enough?”
“It’s such a great feeling to make people’s day a little better and put a smile on their faces.”
A strand of short hair that had fallen onto Winter’s forehead fluttered as she blew a breath skyward. “All right. But only one more. There’s only one flyer left anyway.”
“Wow. You handed them all out?”
Winter nodded. A gleam of pride shone in her eyes.
Hannah held back a grin. Winter might pretend to hate this entire experience, but by now, Hannah could read her better, so she knew Winter was as pleased as she was.
“Come on,” Winter said. “Pick your last victim so we can go home.”
Hannah looked around for someone who seemed as if they really needed a hug.
Two men with a little girl approached.
The girl pointed at Hannah’s colorful sign. “What does that say, Daddy?”
“They are giving out free hugs,” one of the men said.
“Can I have one, Papa?” The girl peered up at the other man.
The two men looked at each other, then at Hannah, who gave them an encouraging nod.
“All right, you—”
The little girl shot toward Hannah before her father could finish the sentence.
Smiling, Hannah knelt and gave her a tender hug.
After a second, the girl let go and turned her sights on Winter. “You too.” It sounded like a determined statement, not a question.
Winter held out both hands, palms out, to fend her off. “No, I’m not—”
The little girl threw her arms around Winter’s hips in an exuberant embrace.
“Oof.” Winter stood frozen and sent Hannah a helpless look.
Hannah pressed one hand to her mouth so as not to burst out laughing. How she wished she could capture this moment on camera, so she could remember the expression on Winter’s face later. A faint flush dusted her high cheekbones, and her brows lowered in concentration, as if she were focusing on a complex problem. Yet her movements were careful and gentle as she reached down and patted the girl’s back twice.
“There.” The girl let go and beamed up at Winter. “All better now.” Then she whirled around and ran back to her fathers.
Winter stared after her with a dazed look on her face. She had even forgotten to hand them the last flyer.
“Oh my God.” Hannah nearly melted into a puddle on the red bricks of the square. “How cute was that?” Of course, she meant Winter too, not just the little girl, but she would never tell her that. “I think that was my favorite hug of the day.”
Okay, probably her second-favorite. Her favorite had been the one Winter had given her to convince passersby to follow her example. Winter might not have much experience when it came to embraces, but something about the way she had held her had been completely different from all the other hugs Hannah had gotten today.
Or maybe it wasn’t so much something Winter had done differently. It certainly wasn’t some kind of superior hugging technique, and with how different their bodies were, she hadn’t expected it to feel that nice…and yet it had. Winter’s flat belly against her softly curved one, her smaller breasts nestled above her own… It was perfection.
She had barely kept herself from nuzzling her face into the fabric of Winter’s T-shirt and inhaling the refreshing mandarin and bergamot notes of her perfume. Hannah would have gladly tossed their stack of flyers into the nearby fountain if it meant she got to hold Winter for a few minutes longer.
That strong reaction startled her. Where on earth was it coming from? Okay, so Winter was attractive. But a hot body and a pair of startling blue eyes didn’t normally impress her that much. If she had a type, Winter wouldn’t be it. She liked people who were kind and approachable.
But then again, Winter was kind, no matter how hard she tried to hide it behind fortress-like walls of ice.
“Well, well, well,” a voice from a few yards away startled Hannah back to reality. “If it isn’t my baby sister and her temporary roommate.”
Winter whirled around and positioned herself as if to shield Hannah from the sudden intrusion.
Brooke stood in front of them. Impeccably dressed in a purple silk blouse and a black pencil skirt, with a laptop bag over one shoulder, she looked as if she had just left a business meeting.
The euphoria Hannah had felt from giving out free hugs…or maybe from receiving one from Winter…ebbed away. The tension radiating off Winter as she faced her half sister was so palpable that Hannah couldn’t help tensing up too. “Hi, Ms. Lambert.” She gave a friendly wave in an attempt to defuse the situation.
“Oh, please, call me Brooke.” Brooke’s immaculately painted lips formed a charming smile. She studied the sign Hannah still held. “Ah, free hugs. Is that the marketing strategy my little sister came up with?”
“Stop calling me that,” Winter snapped. “I have a name. Use it. Besides, what makes you think I’m doing any marketing for Hannah?”
Brooke snorted. “Please. I saw the new website. Your signature is all over it.”
“You mean that there aren’t any outdated image carousels or bland stock photos…unlike your firm’s website. If you’re stalking me online, at least learn something from it.”
“Oh, I’m learning plenty,” Brooke said in the same cool tone Winter often used when all her walls went up. “I’m finding out the most interesting things about you—like how much you enjoy head rubs. Who would have thought?”
Oh no. Apparently, Brooke had recognized her half sister in the photo they had put on the website, even from behind. A strong impulse to protect Winter and her privacy made every muscle in Hannah’s body clench. But what could she say? Denying that Winter had been the person in the photo didn’t seem right either.
“Maybe you have more in common with our father than you’d like to admit,” Brooke added.
Hannah winced. Ugh. Brooke definitely knew how to press Winter’s buttons.
“Not half as much as you do.” Winter hurled an icy glare at her. “And no, that wasn’t a compliment—unless you consider being called a manipulative liar a compliment.”
The look in Brooke’s eyes went from coolly superior to scorching. “Would you finally stop with that? I didn’t lie to you! He didn’t find out from me.”
“Right. You’re innocence personified.”
They faced each other in a silent stare-off. In her high heels, Brooke was as tall as Winter, and she matched her in intensity too. The air between them seemed to crackle.
Hannah had no idea what they were talking about. What was the lie Winter was accusing Brooke of? She took a step forward to draw Brooke’s attention to herself before the argument could escalate further. “You know, there’s one thing both of you seem to have in common with Jules…Julian.”
Winter pressed one hand to her belly as if Hannah had stabbed her.
Maybe pointing out that they both were as stubborn as their father, never giving in first, wasn’t the best strategy, even though it might stop them cold for a second. Hannah quickly thought of something else because she didn’t want to hurt Winter. “You are both very successful in your chosen profession.”
A knowing glint entered Brooke’s eyes. “Ah, so you stalked me online too.”
“No.” Hannah held her gaze. “But your silk blouse looks like it cost more than my entire wardrobe did.”
“Which isn’t that hard because yours consists mostly of sweatpants,” Winter said quietly, as if her words were meant only for Hannah. There was no edge to her voice. She sounded as if she were teasing a friend.
The thought that Winter might really start to consider her a friend warmed Hannah’s body almost as much as the hug between them had.
The fine muscles in Brooke’s face seemed to be in constant motion as she surveyed their interaction with an analytical gaze, making Hannah wonder what she was thinking.
“What about your chosen profession?” Brooke finally asked. “Was this”—she pointed at the free hugs sign Hannah clutched—“a success?”
“Oh yeah, very much so. Winter came up with the best marketing strategy ever. Two people booked a cuddle session right away, and several took a second flyer home for a friend or a family member. I bet I’ll get half a dozen new clients from today’s campaign.” Hannah looked at Winter, trying to relay her gratefulness with a genuine smile instead of squeezing her hand. They made a great team.
Brooke tilted her head to one side, exposing the arc of her graceful neck. “Your free hugs must be pretty spectacular, then. Is there one left for me?”
A low growl came from Winter. “Sorry, we’re fresh out of hugs.” She shoved the last flyer into the back pocket of her jeans.
Oh no. She would not allow Winter to speak for her. Hannah was a professional cuddler, which meant cuddling with anyone who requested her services, no matter if she liked them or not. Besides, she had to admit that she was curious to find out more about Winter’s half sister. Would she react to a hug the same way Winter had?
Hannah pressed the sign into Winter’s hands and spread her arms wide in a silent invitation.
“What…?” Winter looked as if she wanted to smash the cardboard sign over Brooke’s head, but Hannah forced herself to ignore her and focus on Brooke.
For all of her bravado when asking for a hug, Brooke now took her time stepping forward. The expression on her face reminded Hannah of a person who had boldly climbed up the ladder to the highest diving board, then realized that she was actually expected to jump.
Clearly, she had assumed Hannah would not agree to a hug, or she had only asked for one to provoke Winter.
That flicker of hesitation lasted for only a second, then the mask of control settled back into place.
Brooke was like Winter in that regard, Hannah realized—there was a lot going on beneath the surface, hidden away from the world.
With two decisive clickety-clacks of her heels, Brooke crossed the space between them and drew Hannah into her arms.
Okay, this felt very different from hugging Winter. Brooke hugged with confidence, as if she held women on a daily basis. Yet, somehow, Hannah found Winter’s reluctant embrace, the careful, almost stunned way she had held her, so much sweeter.
After a moment, when she realized Brooke wasn’t trying to press too close to show off in front of Winter, Hannah relaxed against her.
She still couldn’t believe how different this felt. For one thing, Brooke felt smaller than Winter, even though she could have sworn they were almost the same height, at least with Brooke wearing high heels. Authority radiated off her, making her appear taller, but she didn’t have Winter’s wiry strength. Her powerful presence wasn’t based on her physical stature at all.
What a fascinating woman.
“If this goes on any longer, Hannah’s going to charge you her hourly rate,” Winter muttered next to them.
Brooke let go to send her a cool glare, and Hannah marveled at how much more imposing she looked than she felt. “Oh, so you’re her business manager as well as her marketer now. How about you butt out and hand me that last flyer?”
“Sorry, that’s the display copy,” Winter said, not looking sorry at all. “Besides, booking a cuddle session was my part of the dare. Yours is hiring an assistant.”
