All Chapters of Black Ties and White Lies: A Billionaire Fake Engagement: Chapter 201 - Chapter 210

PRESTON - TWO MONTHS LATERMy condo feels eerily quiet except for the sound of the TV in my living room. I used to thrive in the quiet of an empty house. It left me alone with my thoughts, and being in my head used to be all about work. Now, my mind isn’t as fun a place to be because it always drifts to Emma.So, I no longer enjoy the silence. I leave the TVs on so I can pretend this condo doesn’t feel empty without her.“And the Mambas are already off to a great season, not having lost a game yet in the seven games they’ve played so far,” Bill Silas, one of the nicest sportscasters I’ve met over the years, says on the TV.“Something’s got to give though, right? Preston Rhodes is playing lights out right now, but eventually, a defense is going to figure out how to stop him. Everyone thinks this will be their Cinderella season, but I’m not so sure,” Roger Oleman responds.I smirk at Roger’s jab. The guy has never liked me—I don’t know why—and even though he’s supposed to remain unbiase

“Is everything okay?” I ask again, my heart racing. What if something happened to Preston or Peyton? I hope nothing’s wrong with the family.Gram nods, spreading her arms wide and motioning for a hug. “Yes. I’ll explain, Emma, I promise. First, give me a hug. It’s been too long since I’ve seen you.”I gladly lean forward and pull her small frame into my arms. She smells exactly the same as she did over the summer. I didn’t realize how much I missed it—how much I missed her.“It’s so good to see you, dear,” Gram comments next to my ear. She pats my hair for a second before pulling away, a wide smile on her face. “It took me by surprise when Preston told the family the two of you went your separate ways. I thought I’d be seeing you at his games and over the holidays.”I nod, feeling incredibly guilty. It’s not that I didn’t want to be at his games or even spend the holidays with his family. I know all of that would’ve been the best time, but I needed the time and space to figure myself

PRESTONMy heart pounds as we take what will most likely be the final possession of the game. We’re down by three. All we need is a field goal to tie it, but I don’t want to tie. I want to end the game and win the Super Bowl.I look around at the men standing in the huddle, all staring at me, waiting for me to make the call. They’re tired—I can see it in their faces and by the way all of them gasp for air. The Portland Pirates had only been on the field for two minutes when they managed to get up by three points. We hadn’t had much of a break, but a break won’t be needed if we can just do one final drive and have the fairy-tale ending to our fairy-tale season.I meet the eyes of the guys, suddenly feeling choked up about this possibly being the last drive of my football career. I want it to mean something, for us to go out on top as a team. Leaning forward, I make sure to yell so all of the men looking to me for guidance can hear me. “This game with all of you has been some of the bes

PRESTONExhaustion seeps into my bones as we finally make it back to the hotel room after a night filled with celebrating our Super Bowl win. Winning the last game of my career is a surreal feeling, but what made it feel even better was having Emma by my side throughout all of tonight.When they handed me the trophy, I couldn’t look at anyone but her. The smile on her face as she watched me give a speech will be burned in my mind forever. She seemed so happy and proud to watch me succeed, to experience it with me, and I’ll forever be grateful that I got to share the moment with her. It made tonight all the better because I had the woman I love with me.I look at Emma as she sits down at the end of the king-sized bed and begins to unzip one of her knee-high boots. I stand in the doorway for a moment, taking it in that she’s really here.She looks up at me with a sleepy smile. “What are you looking at, Rhodes?”I fold my arms across my chest and lean against the doorframe. “You,” I answ

EPILOGUE - PRESTON - FOUR MONTHS LATER“Preston, I’m not so sure about this,” Emma whispers from behind me. Her fingers tighten around mine as I lead her to the tall fence.I turn around to look at her, only seeing part of her face through the darkness. The moon tries to illuminate the night, but the trees surrounding us make it hard. “Since when are you unsure about breaking and entering? If my memory serves me right, it was a year ago that I caught you hopping this same fence to crash Peyton’s party.”Emma rolls her eyes, using her free hand to give me a playful shove. “At least then the club was open. It feels wrong for everything at Pembroke to be so dark.”I nod in agreement, leading her to a spot I think would work to hop the fence. My mind goes back to a year ago when I first laid eyes on her. Even that night, I knew something was special about Emma, and I’ve known every day since in the year we’ve been together.And what a year it’s been. From the moment we won the Super Bowl,