Page 112 of Playing Hard to Hate
A few minutes later, as the conversation settled, all our phones chimed at once with a flood of notifications.
I glanced down at my screen, scanning the headlines, before looking over at Griffin.
“Did you know the jewelry campaign was dropping today?” I asked, my eyes flicking back to my phone.
His brows furrowed as he pulled out his own phone. “No. It wasn’t supposed to launch for another week.”
Griffin Silver’s Insane 24 Hours: From Gunpoint Scare to Championship Glory and an Engagement Shoot That Has Fans Talking!
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Griffin Silver, it’s that he knows how to keep us on our toes, both on and off the field. Just twenty-four hours before leading the Atlanta Braves to theirchampionship victory in game 6, Silver’s world took a terrifying turn when his new girlfriend, Tate Grace, was held at knifepoint in her own home.
The harrowing incident had fans concerned, but what truly shocked everyone? Seeing Tate in the stands the very next night, cheering her man on as if nothing had happened.
And when the final out was called, the Braves’ MVP center fielder wasted no time rushing into the stands to find her. The world watched as he lifted her into his arms, kissing her like they were the only two people in the stadium. Talk about a Hollywood moment!
Even her best friend, Millie Sacs, was spotted jumping up and down in excitement beside her. But just when we thought we had enough drama for one week, the internet exploded this morning with the surprise launch of Silver and Grace’s jewelry campaign, and get this, it was an engagement-themed shoot!
The campaign, shot weeks ago for luxury jeweler Devereaux & Co., features the couple gazing lovingly at each other, Tate’s hand adorned with a massive diamond ring. With the way these two can’t keep their hands off each other, it’s no surprise fans are already speculating…some even whispering about possible baby news.
Rumors have been swirling that Tate might be pregnant, with some wondering if that’s what’s behind the flurry of engagement chatter. So are wedding bells in the air for baseball’s hottest new couple? Or is this just a case of art imitating life a little too soon?
One thing’s for sure. Griffin Silver isn’t just winning championships. He might just be winning hearts too.
“Dinner is tonight, right?” I avoided the elephant in the room.Wedding bells? Engagement?All from a fake engagement shoot.
Griffin looked up from his phone, his eyes wide, his throat working as he swallowed hard. “Yeah…and let’s hope Mom hasn’t seen this article yet. She’ll start planning immediately, and Dad—” He let out a sharp breath, dragging a hand down his face. “He’ll make some shitty comments. Ugh, fuck.”
Millie and Dustin jumped into the conversation. “You’re getting married?” they asked in unison, Millie’s voice bubbling with excitement while Dustin’s tone crackled with fury.
“It was a fake campaign.” I sighed, annoyance curling in my chest.Could they not read?“They made shit up, as usual.”
That seemed to end the conversation, thankfully. But it didn’t erase the tabloid sitting there like a ticking time bomb.
Later that evening, Griffin was driving us to his parents’ house in his sleek M3, the hum of the engine doing little to quiet the storm in my head. My stomach twisted with nerves. I hadn’t seen his mom in years. I’d barely spoken to his father ever, even when Griffin and I were just kids. And now, I had to facethe house.
The house where everything had been perfect—until it wasn’t.
The last time I saw it, I was still young enough to believe in happy endings. Back then, the windows glowed warm in the evenings, the scent of my mom’s cooking drifted through the open doors, and the sound of laughter filled every corner. But then the truth shattered it all.
Dad’s affair.The betrayal. The late-night fights that cracked through the walls like thunder.
And then, the worst part. Watching my mom pack up our lives in boxes because she couldn’t afford to stay.
It wasn’t just a house we left behind that day. It was a family. A future.
Now, I was going back.
I clenched my hands in my lap, staring out the window as the town blurred by.
Griffin glanced over, sensing my tension. “You okay?”
I forced a breath and nodded, even though my heart was pounding. “Yeah. Just…a lot of memories.”
He didn’t press, but the way his fingers tightened around the steering wheel told me he understood.
And as we turned onto that all-too-familiar street, I braced myself for the ghosts waiting for me at the end of it.
There was no Buster running around on the front porch, no familiar bark echoing through the yard. The roses my mom had spent years tending—her pride, her ritual—were gone, replaced by a bare stretch of soil that didn’t remember her touch.
