Page 79 of Black Ties and White Lies

As soon as I’m in my room, I slam the door and turn the lock. I don’t know if he’ll come upstairs and look for me, but it’d be fun to see his reaction—his threats—if he were to come upstairs and find the door locked.

I’m tearing through my drawer of lingerie, when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. Pulling it out, I see a video call coming in from Winnie. I’d tried calling both her and Emma earlier to tell them the news of the engagement, but neither had answered.

I swipe to answer the call immediately. The moment I see both my best friends’ heads jammed together to fit in the camera view, my heart swells. I can’t freaking wait for our engagement party if it means I get to see them.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Emma scolds, grabbing the phone from Winnie and holding it so she’s the only one in view.

I smile. God, I missed her.

“Well, Beck and I got stuck in the middle of nowhere Colorado in a snowstorm after a business meeting. I had spotty service there.”

Emma gives me a beaming smile. “Oh my god, did you guys have to bone to stay warm?”

I bite my lip, unsure how to even begin to tell them how much has changed. At least they’ll take it as a lot changing. They don’t know it’s been the plan all along.

“Holy shit. YOU FUCKED!” Emma shouts, the screen going blurry as she jumps up and down in excitement.

I’m fighting the urge to throw up from motion sickness with how much the phone is being thrown around when Winnie’s face pops into view once again. Her and Emma fight over the phone, the two of them both coming into view finally as the phone settles.

“Is Emma being her typical dramatic self or did you really sleep with Beckham Sinclair?”

“Well…” I begin, propping them on a shelf in my closet. Taking a deep breath, I lift my hand and wiggle my fingers at the camera.

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!” Emma screams while Winnie lets out an audible gasp.

“Is that what I think it is?” Emma questions, her voice rushed as she leans so close to the camera all I can see is her eyeball.

“Mar, are you engaged?” Winnie asks, her voice full of disbelief.

I move my hand from the camera, smiling at the both of them. “Yes,” I answer smugly. “Tobothof your questions.”

They scream in unison, both of them taking turns to grab the phone to talk to me. “I’m going to fucking bow down to you queen,” Emma begins. “When one brother breaks your heart, fuck the other one and get engaged to him as payback. You’re a fucking icon.”

I shake my head. “It’s not like that, Em. It started out as us working together and then it just became…more.” Nothing of what I said is a lie. Beck and I did start working together, but now it does seem like more. I just don’t know if he sees it that way too.

“So this has nothing to do with Carter?” Emma’s question is innocent, but it catches me off guard. For the first time, I realize I could’ve taken this opportunity as a way to get back at Carter for everything he’s done to me, but never once since I moved in with Beck have I thought about it that way. It was always about Beck. It was never about Carter.

“Nothing,” I answer, lacing convention in my voice.

“Every heiress in Manhattan is going to be so pissed,” Winnie mutters, a sly smile on her face. “I think half of the Manhattan socialites have gone their entire adult life thinking they’d be the one he finally settled down with.”

They still might, I think sadly, knowing there will come a day where I won’t be his anymore.

Emma wraps her arm around Winnie’s shoulders, pulling her into her side. “Well they can all back off because of course it was our girl who got the playboy billionaire to settle.”

I laugh, wishing that would forever be the case. “Speaking of, Beck and I are going to have an engagement party soon and you bothhaveto be there.”

“Obviously!” Winnie cheers, rolling her eyes at me. “Tell us when and where and we’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

“Beck and I are still nailing down the details but it’ll be pretty soon, I think.”

“Good! I can’t wait to see that boulder on your finger in person,” Emma says proudly.

I spend another five minutes talking to them, coming up with a more acceptable story about how Beck and I ended up engaged. Eventually, I tell them I have to go, although I’d love to sit up and talk with them all night like we used to do when we lived together. Even though I’ve been engaged in a conversation with my best friends, I haven’t forgotten the reason I came up here in the first place.

I haven’t forgotten who I left waiting for me, undoubtedly getting angrier by each second that I make him wait.

After saying goodbye to my best friends and promising them I’ll tell them when the party will be, I hang up the phone and get busy getting ready for bed.

---