Flawless
Page 20
Rock keeps his hand in mine, then pulls me closer. I swear, we’re moving in slow motion when he leans down and lightly touches his lips to mine. There isn’t even the slightest hesitation as he moves in closer and closer to my face, no accidental bump of my nose, no sudden change of heart.
It’s a total movie moment. The only thing missing is the swell of the orchestra in the background.
And I feel like the luckiest girl in the entire world.
Because sometimes the best gift you can give yourself is a second chance.
Acknowledgments
None of this would be happening if not for the incomparable Holly Root, agent extraordinaire. You were able to see Flawless on the shelves long before anyone else and patiently answered my endless questions about what to expect in a highly unpredictable industry. I totally want to be you when I grow up.
To Caroline Abbey at Bloomsbury … thank you for taking a chance on a debut author and for making my first revision experience a dream. You somehow made every suggestion sound like a compliment. Without fail, seeing your name in my in-box makes me smile. To Donna Mark, the supremely talented cover designer … seeing the cover was like seeing my children for the first time. Thank you for bringing Flawless to life.
Caleb and Laney … there is nothing in life worth having that doesn’t include you.
Mom … if I had one wish, I’d ask to have you with me again. I miss you more than I ever thought possible. See you on the other side.
My life would be incomplete without the love and support of my family, especially my dad, Ron Christopher, and my sisters, Karen Watson and Mary Gail McCarty. And I have to add my best friends, Pam Brown and Michelle Hall. The roller coaster that became my life was bearable only because you were by my side. Kiss-kiss!
To all the people who read, critiqued, loved, and cheered for Flawless that weren’t related to me … Laura Gompertz, Joann Robisheaux, Linda Kryzwicki, Tera Lynn Childs, Sharie Kohler, Diane Holmes, Kay Cassidy, and Mary Lindsey. Thank you for believing in me when I’d given up on myself. I am proud to call you friends.
A big shout-out to West Houston RWA and Young Adult RWA … my friends, publishing experts, marketing geniuses, and cheerleaders. Your place in my life is as necessary as air.
To Kathryn Lorenzen and the River Rats … never forget … the best revenge is living well!
Janet Evanovich … you are a genius! After I’d read everything you’d published, I grabbed How I Write simply because it had your name on it. That book changed my life forever.
To the students who keep me young(ish) year after year … the promise of your laughter gets me out of bed each day. Life’s short … live large!
Finally … for anyone who isn’t sure if karma actually exists, the past fifteen months of my life prove that it does. Pay it forward … your day is coming.
LARA CHAPMAN grew up loving school, especially new school supplies (who doesn’t love the smell of new crayons?). She loved school so much, in fact, she tried to make a career out of it, but after an extended stay in college prompted her father to announce she couldn’t be a professional student, she finally declared a major and graduated with her teaching certificate. Since then, she’s been teaching various subjects at the intermediate school level—currently, fifth grade language arts—and loving every second of it. She has served as the editor of numerous professional journals and organization newsletters, distributed both in print and electronically. Lara lives with her family in Dime Box, Texas (it’s as small as it sounds), where she reads and writes daily. She’s rarely—if ever—found without her laptop and iPhone.
www.larachapman.com
Copyright © 2011 by Lara Chapman
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in the United States of America in May 2011
by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers
E-book edition published in May 2011
www.bloomsburyteens.com
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Bloomsbury BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Chapman, Lara.
Flawless / by Lara Chapman. — 1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Summary: In this modern take on the Cyrano story, brilliant and witty high school student Sarah Burke, who is cursed with an enormous nose, helps her beautiful best friend try to win the heart of a handsome and smart new student, even though Sarah wants him for herself.
ISBN 978-1-59990-596-9 (paperback) • ISBN 978-1-59990-631-7 (hardcover)
[1. Beauty, Personal—Fiction. 2. Friendship—Fiction. 3. Self-confidence—Fiction.
4. High schools—Fiction. 5. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.C3715Fl 2011 [Fic]—dc22 2010049102
ISBN 978-1-59990-632-4 (e-book)