Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Gallagher Girls, #2)

by Ally Carter

A middle-aged man in a red jacket lingered in the center of the square. Antique cars lined the street while men with big bellies kicked the tires and sipped lemonade. We were only two miles away from school, but the Roseville town square felt like another world. The most dangerous thing I could see was a crowd of little girls in sparkly leotards pushing their way down the sidewalk. Zach pulled me around a corner and onto a quiet side street. “So, plant any good bugs lately?” Zach asked. A spark was in his eyes, but I couldn’t laugh. I couldn’t even speak. The silence pulsed between us like the beat of the retreating band. “Just so you know, Gallagher Girl,” he whispered softly, “I’m going to kiss you now.” For the first time in months I wasn’t thinking about my mission or my cover or my friends. I wasn’t thinking. His hands were warm on the back of my neck; his fingers laced through my hair, and he tilted his head as he moved in. I closed my eyes. And I heard, “Oh my gosh! Cammie, is that you?” Zach said a really bad word as he inched away from me. (But I doubt DeeDee noticed, because the bad word was in Farsi.) The noise coming from the square seemed louder than it had just seconds before, and I knew that whatever trance I’d been in was completely broken—the moment was totally over. Zach had started to kiss me. I had almost let Zach kiss me! “Hi, Cammie,” DeeDee said. She hugged me and smiled at Zach. “I’m so glad you two are here!” Josh stood five feet away, staring at m...

Bb

“Oh, and Cammie.” At the sound of his voice I spun around, expecting to hear him crack a joke or call me Gallagher Girl. The last thing I expected was to feel his arms sliding around me, to sense the whole world turning upside down as Zach dipped me in the middle of the foyer and pressed his lips to mine. Then he smiled that smile I’d come to know. “I always finish what I start.” He stepped toward the open door and the warm spring sun that was just waiting to burst into summer, a new season. Another clean slate. “So this is good-bye?” I asked. “Come on, Gallagher Girl.” Zach turned to me. He winked. “What would be the odds of that?” He walked outside and got in the van, and as far as I could tell, he never looked back— Because neither did I. I didn’t think about the rules we’d broken or the time we’d wasted. I didn’t dwell on the questions that had seemed so important once and were now fading like a long-lost note in a heavy rain. There are secrets in my world. They stack side by side like dominoes, and last September they’d started to fall—all because I’d said hello to a boy. Now I was saying good-bye to another one. But now, at least in Zach’s case, I finally knew the truth. Well…most of the truth. And it had set me free. The whole summer lay ahead of us—time to rest, time to wait. And when the future comes—no matter what comes with it—I’ll be smarter. I’ll be stronger. I’ll be ready.

Bh