The Lying Game by Sara Shepard Read Free Book Online Page A

flashes ofkisses, hand-holding, and prom slow dances with Garrett flitted in and out of my brain. I distinctly heard the words
I love you.
A longing feeling struck me hard.
    “Oh, around,” Emma answered vaguely. “But someone’s got to cut the cord a little, don’t you think?” she added, poking Garrett lightly in the ribs. It was something Emma had always been dying to tell every overprotective boyfriend she’d had in the past, the kind who texted her nonstop and freaked if she didn’t immediately reply. Plus it sounded like something Sutton might say.
    Garrett pulled her close and stroked her hair. “Good thing I found you.” His hand moved from her hair to her shoulder, then dangerously close to her boob.
    “Um …” Emma jerked away.
    I was so happy she did.
    Garrett raised his palms in surrender. “Sorry, sorry.”
    Then her BlackBerry vibrated against her hip. Her heart leapt.
Sutton.
    “Be right back,” she said to Garrett. He nodded, and Emma wove through the crowds of people toward the house. When Garrett turned to talk to a tall Asian guy in a World Cup jersey, Emma crouched low and darted to the side gate.
    She turned to glance at the party once more and noticed someone staring at her from the large teak table across the patio. It was a dark-skinned girl with big eyes and a tightlydrawn mouth. She wore a yellow wrap dress and a gold cuff on her bicep. It was Nisha, from Sutton’s tennis team photo. This was her party. She stared at Emma as though she wanted to hoist her by the scruff of her neck and throw her out on her butt.
    Even though every ounce of Emma’s be-nice-and-don’t-make-trouble being wanted to wave and smile, she steeled herself, thought of Sutton, and shot Nisha a bitchy look. Outrage flashed across Nisha’s face. After a moment, she whipped her head around, her ponytail smacking the face of the girl behind her.
    A cautious feeling flitted through me. Nisha and I clearly had issues—big issues.
    Not that I had a clue what they were.

6
WHO CAN RESIST A BROODER?

    Nisha’s driveway was quiet and peaceful. Crickets chirped in the bushes, and the air was cool against Emma’s bare skin. Bluish light from a TV flickered in the window of a house a few doors down. A dog barked behind a blockwall fence. Emma’s pulse began to slow, and her shoulders slowly fell from their crunched position by her ears. She pulled out the BlackBerry and stared at the screen. The message was from Clarice: GOT YOUR NOTE. EVERYTHING OKAY? LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED ANYTHING.
    Emma deleted the message, then refreshed her inbox again.
No new messages.
Then she looked across the broad highway. A big floodlight shone across the Sabino parking lot. Emma gulped. The park bench was now empty. Had someone taken her stuff? Where was Sutton? And what was she supposed to do when this party ended? Her wallet had been in her bag. Now she had no cash. No ID.
    Swish. Emma turned around and faced Nisha’s house. No one was in the driveway. Then, a stiff
thwock
echoed through the air, a soda can opening. Emma pivoted again. A figure stood on the front porch of the house next door. There was a large telescope by his side, but he was staring straight into Emma’s eyes.
    Emma backed away. “Oh. Sorry.”
    The guy stepped forward, his prominent cheekbones catching the light. Emma took in his round eyes, thick eyebrows, and closely shorn hair. His mouth was drawn into a straight, tense line that seemed to say
back off.
He was dressed more casually than the boys at the party, wearing frayed hiking shorts and a threadbare gray T-shirt that showed every contour of his well-muscled chest.
    I recognized him, but of course—I should’ve been getting used to this by now—I didn’t know why.
    Giggles emerged from Nisha’s backyard. Emma glanced over her shoulder, then back at the boy. She was intrigued by his sullen slouch, and by the fact that he didn’t seem to care that a party was raging next door. She’d always been a