“I’ll watch anything.” She cuddled under his arm, inhaling his clean scent. The shower had been amazing.
The entire night was amazing. There was a new kind of peace that wrapped around her. She had found contentment where she least expected it.
Cole typed furiously on his laptop at the dining room table.
“What’s going on over there, man? Why don’t you take a break?” Deacon asked.
Cole’s brow furrowed. “Because the wording is off on the announcement. It sounds amateurish. I need to fix it.”
“Can I help?” Abby offered. She pushed off the couch and stood behind Cole.
“If you have a suggestion for this.” He pointed to the two lines of the opening statement. He was right. Whoever had written, had misdirected the speech.
“Can I try something?”
Cole rose from his seat, giving her the laptop. Abby deleted what was on the screen and started over. Members of the media might only stay for the opening comments. Social media would grab the first seconds and run with them. Cole needed something that would set the agenda for their meeting. The punch needed to come from the beginning, not ten minutes into his talk. And she had a soft spot for the foundation. She wanted it to be their beacon of hope. She wanted other people to see what she saw in them.
“What do you think about something like this instead?” She gave him his seat back so he could read the new introduction she composed.
“Brilliant. Fucking brilliant, baby.”
He had a wide grin on his face.
“Really?”
He stood and kissed her. “It’s exactly what we needed.”
She reeled from the kiss. She was starting to feel like a pinball, bouncing from Deacon to Cole, jolted by passion from each one. She liked how she reacted differently to them. It heightened everything around her.
The elevator buzzed. Deacon hopped over the back of the couch. “About time. I’m fucking starving.”
He pressed the button to let the waiter into the secure suite.
He wheeled in two carts of food. Abby looked at Cole. “You two are going to eat all of that?”
He shrugged. “I might have ordered a few things for you to try.”
She pressed her lips in a straight line, but she wasn’t angry. It was sweet. He wanted to do something special for her.
“Thank you.” She reached on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I’ll try all of it.”
He laughed. “You’ve been so adventurous tonight I didn’t think you’d want to stop.”
27
Cole
He stood on the stage, looking at the audience. Deacon was next to him. Cole looked over his shoulder. Abby was standing in the wings beyond the view from everyone else.
It had t
aken years for this moment. They were about to announce the creation of Soar. And it was crazy, but he felt as if Abby had brought it all together. Deacon had chosen her design for the branding because she was supposed to be a part of the project. Yes, she had the best concept. Yes, he saw something in her art. Cole had no doubt she was the missing link they had been searching for.
He smiled at her before turning toward the audience. She gave him a thumbs-up and a soft smile. Last night was extraordinary. They were bonded in a way that could take him to his knees.
The words to the speech she had helped with started at the top of the teleprompter. Deacon nudged him. It was time for the announcement.
The cameras in the front row began to flash and Cole heard the constant click and snapping sounds the photographers made as they adjusted their shots.