Tempting the Crown (The Crown 1)

Cole laughed. “Son of a bitch. One more weekend with her.”

Deacon felt the burden lift. It wasn’t much, but if he did choose Abby’s design she would have to debut it at the conference. If he didn’t, she was required to be their travel companion. It was a win-win.

“Get out of here and let me study these proposals. I’ll let you know the finalist.”

Cole nodded. “I’ll wait for you call.” He stepped in the elevator and disappeared.

Deacon opened the flap to the first design. He sat back in his chair and studied the lines. This might be one of the biggest decisions he made, but at least he knew he had one more weekend to spend with Abby. One more weekend to convince her to become theirs. One last chance to make her realize she was where she needed to be.

11

Abby

She paced back and forth in front of the large windows in her office. This was agonizing. She had delivered her design over three hours ago. How long was it going to take Deacon to make a decision? What if he already had and she wasn’t the choice? He had gone with someone else and she had two more weeks with the bachelors.

She closed her eyes, exhaling a long breath. The past two weeks had changed her. She hadn’t had any contact with Cal. She had a new kind of freedom, even though it was under the constraints Deacon and Cole set.

She felt free from the Mantelli world. No more doing Cal’s bidding. No more schemes to make money. She didn’t like to think about the ways she had helped him over the years. Something about her two weeks with Deacon and Cole had taught her the past could really be the past.

She had moved into a new home. Was given a new office. Had a new career, using her passion for art. And every night she dined with the sexiest most eligible bachelors in Chicago. As much as she had hated how it came to be, she had started to wake up with a smile on her face.

She went to bed feeling safe. She awoke feeling as if she had a purpose. Deacon and Cole had given that to her.

What happened if she did win the bet? Would Deacon throw her out of the office? She won and her freedom was instantaneous? She shook with nerves, rubbing her arms. Was that really what she wanted? Did she want to leave them and not look back?

Abby jumped when her phone buzzed.

“Abby, Deacon would like you to meet him in his office.” Abby rushed to press the button on her intercom.

“All right. Please tell him I’ll be there in a minute.”

“He asked that you use his private elevator. Do you know where that entrance is?” Annette, her assistant asked.

Abby nodded. “I do.” The butterflies attacked her stomach. She didn’t know if she could walk. This was it. The moment of truth was about to hit her.

***

It was a different experience riding in the elevator without being slung over someone’s shoulder. She watched as the numbers rose higher about the doors. The carriage finally arrived at the top floor and the doors retracted.

Deacon leaned against the front of his desk, his arms crossed. She almost lost her breath. He shouldn’t look so edible.

She cleared her throat and took her first step into his office.

“I heard you’ve made a decision.”

He nodded. “I have.”

She didn’t know how much longer she could wait. She bit her lip. “Well?”

Deacon’s broad chest rose. “It’s you, Abby. Only you.”

Her eyes widened. “Me? I won?”

He bowed her head in her direction. “Your design was impressive. Unique. Inspired. It was the only one I even considered.”

Her palm flattened over her heart. She tried to stop it from beating out of control. “I-I don’t know what to say.”

Deacon broke his stance and walked toward her. “Why don’t you take a seat? We have to discuss your obligations to the project at this point.”