Lies I Told by Michelle Zink Read Free Book Online

it when I left the classroom. I pulled it out now and discovered three texts from Parker.
    In the parking lot.
    Where are you?
    Assume you have a ride? Text if you need me to come back.
    Sighing, I sat down on the curb. I was texting Parker when a car approached from the left. It was almost in front of me when I recognized the black BMW.
    The car stopped, the passenger side window retracting with an electronic hum.
    â€œHey!” Logan smiled through the open window. “Grace, right?”
    I nodded. “Right.”
    â€œNeed a ride?”
    â€œMy brother ditched me, but I can text him to come back.”
    â€œDon’t bother,” Logan said. “I can give you a lift.”
    I bit my lip, wondering if my heart was beating faster because of the unexpected opportunity to work Logan or because he had such a nice smile.
    â€œI live at the top of Camino Jardin,” I finally said. “Is that too far?”
    He laughed. “Nothing’s too far on the peninsula. Get in.”
    â€œThanks.” I slid into the front seat and fastened my seat belt.
    Logan maneuvered through the parking lot and pulled onto the main road. Then we were winding our way up the peninsula, the wind blowing my hair around, the late afternoon sun warm on my shoulders as the ocean shimmered on our right.
    â€œDid you move here for your parents’ work?” Loganasked over the wind.
    I nodded. “My dad was part of a big IPO. Now he owns a venture capital firm. There are some start-ups down here he wants to invest in or something.”
    It was vague, but I wasn’t worried. Nobody my age was interested in what their parents did for a living. It was probably even more true in Playa Hermosa, where, as long as the new cars, trips to Europe, and credit cards kept coming, no one seemed to care where they came from.
    â€œSounds interesting,” he said.
    â€œI don’t really know that much about it,” I laughed. “What about you? Have you lived here long?”
    He made a tight turn around one of the road’s switchbacks. “Born and raised.”
    Was I imagining the note of regret in his voice? I filed the observation away for later.
    â€œIt seems like a nice place to be born and raised.”
    He glanced over, nodding. “I think you’ll like it.”
    â€œYeah?”
    His smile was slow, even a little sexy, in a totally-unaware-of-how-cute-I-am way. “Yeah.”
    We turned onto Camino Jardin, the air suddenly cooler as we entered the shade of the thick foliage overhead. We were almost to the corner when I spotted something in the middle of the street.
    Logan slammed on the brakes, and I flew forward, stopped only by my seat belt. I braced myself against the dash as I tried to steady my racing heart.
    Logan looked over at me. “You okay?”
    â€œFine.” I trained my eyes on the animal in the road. “Is that . . . ?”
    â€œA peacock,” he confirmed.
    â€œWhat’s it doing here?”
    He raised his eyebrows. “You haven’t seen them yet?”
    I shook my head, and the bird suddenly fanned its tail feathers in an iridescent display of blue and green. It stood straighter, elongating its neck as if on alert.
    â€œApparently, some explorer brought them here in the 1920s,” Logan explained.
    â€œIt’s beautiful,” I murmured.
    â€œIt is,” Logan said thoughtfully. “Although there are people in Playa Hermosa who would disagree with you.”
    I looked over at him. “Why?”
    â€œWell, they block traffic for one thing, and squawk like you wouldn’t believe. There’s a big fight about it.”
    â€œWhat kind of fight?”
    Logan inched forward, edging around the animal. “There’s an ordinance that says you can’t hurt them, but some of the neighborhoods want to opt out of it because the peacocks are so out of control.”
    â€œIt’s that one, with the Saab out front.” I