Page 84 of You've Got Male

She watched as the shadow got larger and finally stepped into the center of the yard and the floodlights went on. Her heart gave a little sad tap dance. Instead of a deliciously addictive master of the man-madeOsneaking through her yard, a brunette teenager wearing wedged heels, a slip of a sundress, and enough apprehension to advertise she was up to no good froze like a deer in the headlights.

“For future reference,” Evie said. “You might want to sneak back in on the side of the house that doesn’t have motion-activated lights.”

Her daughter slowly met her gaze. Instead of being filled with guilt, Camila cocked a hip and sent Evie a bored-AF expression. “I wasn’t sneaking. I forgot my key.”

“Sorry, try again.”

“Fine, maybe I didn’t want to be left out in the sneaking around department. It seems to be a Granger way of life lately. If youknow what I mean.”

Oh, Evie knew all too well. She hadn’t just been sneaking, she’d been lying—to the people she loved the most on this planet. And if Camila was feeling even a tenth as guilty as Evie right then, maybe they needed to have a girl-to-girl talk.

She leaned back and sipped her coffee. “Then maybe we both come clean.”

“You mean, like I tell you where I was, and you rat out who I was with?”

“Or you tell me why you felt the need to sneak out in the first place.” Even though the light flickered off, plunging them into the darkness, Evie could practically see Camila roll her eyes. “Or we can both go to bed and you can lose all privileges for a month.”

“Fine. I was with Ryan,” Camila said, walking over and taking a seat on the lounger next to Evie. The light flickered back on at her movements.

Evie grabbed her cell off the patio table and the screen came to life.

“Let me guess, you’re calling yourboyfriendto rat out Ryan.”

“I’m turning off the patio lights from my phone. As for Jonah, I’m not telling him anything.”

“Thank you,” Camila said, sounding relieved.

“You’re going to tell him that you were in his house without his knowledge.”

“Why?”

“Because he has a right to know that Ryan is sneaking in after-hours friends.”

Camila let out a huge sigh and slunk down in the chair. “He didn’t know I was coming. I just kind of knocked on his window. It wasn’t his fault.”

“If you wanted to go to Ryan’s, you just needed to ask, I would have let you go over,” Evie said. “At an appropriate time.”

“You weren’t home.”

Whatever guilt Camila was trying to ignite in Evie never came. Yes, she was out. And it was about damn time she started living a little. “Not a valid excuse. You could have texted.”

“Honestly?” Camila huffed. “I didn’t want to talk to you.”

Evie’s heart painfully tightened at the realization of just how big of a divide her lie had caused between her and Camila. Her daughter might not know the extent of the lie, but instinctually she obviously knew Evie was hiding something. That was not the kind of behavior she wanted to model.

“Do you mind if I ask why?”

Camila shrugged the shrug of a little girl. Gone was the brooding sixteen-year-old and in her place was Evie’s precious daughter—who was obviously hurting.

“Because it’s about Dad and I didn’t want to talk to you about him.”

Evie’s heart sank. She’d worked tirelessly to make sure she never talked negatively about Mateo in front of Camila. Even when things had been at their worst, Evie always tried to put a positive spin on things. And when that wasn’t possible, she’d just hug Camila until the pain subsided.

“I’m sorry you feel like you can’t come to me about your dad.”

Again with the weighted shrug. “Why would I when you keep things from me and lie to me? Here you’re lecturing me about sneaking out and you’ve been blaming not going to Dad’s wedding on the cheer competition.”

Panic and disappointment made a complicated knot in her gut. Panic over what her daughter knew and disappointment that she lied to cover up for her ex once again and lied to her daughter, breaking their truth code.

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