All Chapters of Black Ties and White Lies: A Billionaire Fake Engagement: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

ARCHERThe apartment building is disgusting. I try not to gag as I walk past an open garbage bag, trash spilling out into the hallway. It looks like something ripped open the bag and rifled through the contents, and it is so molded and decayed I can’t even make out what they originally were. It smells, and I’m already ready to be out of this shithole.I refuse to leave until I talk to this Blake kid. As I look for the apartment number Luther swore was his, I try to imagine Winnie ever coming to this place. I fucking hope he never invited her here. It’s not a safe area, and I cannot envision her having to step over trash just to get to the apartment of the boy she liked. I’d call him a man, but his actions don’t deserve that in the slightest.My feet come to a halt in front of apartment thirty-six. The six has turned upside down on the screw, looking more like a nine but I know better. Wanting to get out of this place and never step foot anywhere near it again, I bring my knuckles to t

WINNIEHe’s late.And no matter how hard I try not to be disappointed at him not being here when he said he would, I can’t help it.There are so many reasons I shouldn’t be excited about tonight. I’ll have to face my friends and tell them I got married in secret. I’ll have to answer their numerous questions. I’ll have to speak to so many people and relay the pretend love story of Archer and me over and over again. But despite all of that, a small part of me was excited to go to an event with him. To spend more time with him since he disappeared after our long walk yesterday morning.I’ve tried not to wonder if he was avoiding me. He’s a busy man, and just because we’re in a fake marriage doesn’t mean he has to give me any of his time, but still, I was looking forward to tonight so I could see him again.But he isn’t here.I sigh, looking at the clock on the oven. The event has already started. Even if we left right now, we’d miss the red carpet beforehand. I’m never one that loves to

“I thought events like this were never your thing,” he comments, his tone questioning. He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. His wife gives him a look like she’s a little shocked by his question. Maybe he typically isn’t one to pry.“I had to come to celebrate,” I answer, putting on a smile of my own. I look over at Winnie again, finding her still focused solely on me.Her fingernails bite through the fabric of my suit jacket, but I don’t let anyone know of it. Her nerves are clearly getting to her, but she’s doing her best to hide it. She looks at me like she’s absolutely enthralled with every word that comes from my mouth.The only thing that gets me to look away from Winnie is her friend who I think is Emma. She tries to get Winnie’s attention, but Winnie is apparently pretending like she doesn’t notice.“Celebrate what, exactly?” Beck asks, looking over at Camden as if he’d have any answers.There’s no use in me dragging this out, so with a smile on my face I lift Winnie’s han

“Let’s do it,” I say through a forced smile. It might take some convincing to get Archer to do it, but I’m going to try. It’d be fun to do dinner or maybe even catch a show with them.Emma’s lip juts out in a pout. “When will it be my turn?” she whines, her eyes bouncing between me and Margo. “All I want is for a rich man to lay eyes on me and fall madly in love with me. Surely that isn’t too much to ask for.”“I thought you wanted a cowboy?” I fire back, wrapping my arm around Emma’s neck. The awkward tension has dissipated, giving me my best friends back.Emma rolls her eyes. “Honestly, right now, I’ll settle for a man that actually knows how to give me an orgasm. Bonus points if he takes me out to dinner first. I went on a date the other night with a guy who is in finance, and he bought me one drink before he was asking if we could go back to my place because his mom was staying at his.”Margo laughs. “Is that code for he’s still living with his mom?”Emma’s hands shoot up in the a

“Now, lock in the toast with a kiss,” Margo demands, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.“That isn’t a rule,” Winnie protests.“It is now!” Emma adds, leaning closer to us. She waves her hands in the air, trying to direct us to kiss. “C’mon, we want to celebrate you guys. Let us have this, and kiss already!”I look down at Winnie, trying to figure out if this is something she wants.We’d kissed at our wedding. I’d be lying to myself if I said I hadn’t thought about it a lot since it happened. It was the way her body went almost lax against me the moment her lips pressed to mine. Like she fully trusted me with the kiss.It was a chaste kiss, done in the middle of a church for very few witnesses, but it still did something to me. It left some kind of mark I didn’t really want to delve into. But if I kiss her again right now, I’m scared I might not want to stop.Winnie looks back at me, a timid smile on her lips. Her eyes move from mine to my lips, as if maybe she’s thinking about m