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  Beware of Bad Boy

  Book One of

  Beware of Bad Boy

  April Brookshire

  Copyright © 2013 by April Brookshire

  ISBN 13: 9781301746453

  All right reserved

  www.aprilbrookshire.net

  PROLOGUE

  “It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.”

  -Leo Tolstoy

  Eight years ago . . .

  Please don’t say my name.

  “The judges’ results are in. . . .”

  I looked at the girl next to me to see her shaking in excitement.

  Please don’t say my name.

  “The winner of this year’s Little Miss Pageant is. . . .”

  My mom was in the front row with a weird smile on her face again.

  Please don’t say my name.

  “Gianna Hilary Thorpe!”

  Oh no.

  I wiped my hand against my dress, scraping it against the sequins. The lady who said my name put the sash around me and the tiara on my head. It looked just like the last one I got.

  My mom was taking pictures from the edge of the stage and I smiled just like she told me to. The flash made it hard to see anything else until she was done. Daddy was still sitting in the audience, looking bored. My mom always made him come to these things. I thanked the announcer lady and did what I was supposed to do when I won. Walking across the stage, I grinned big and waved at the people out there. Some of them didn’t look happy because their daughters didn’t win.

  I didn’t like them looking at me and I felt bad for the other girls the same age as me who didn’t win. Some of them didn’t like me and I think some of the moms didn’t like my mom. But she got really mad if I said I didn’t want to do pageants anymore. Last time I told her that she said if I didn’t do them, we weren’t going to Disneyland this summer. I really wanted to go.

  When the pageant was over my daddy picked me up and carried me out to the hallway. “You did a good job, baby girl.”

  “Thanks, Daddy. Now I get to go to Disneyland.”

  He made a face and asked, “Is that what your mom said?”

  “Yeah.”

  My mom was walking next to us and looked at my daddy ‘cause he sounded mad. “It’s just to motivate her.”

  Daddy still didn’t look happy. “Let’s just get her out of this dress and wash off the makeup. She’s had a long day.”

  Mom rubbed her pregnant belly. It was getting so big and I couldn’t wait for my little brother to be born. I was glad it wasn’t going to be a girl. I’d feel bad if she had to do these stupid pageants too.

  After I was cleaned up and wearing comfy clothes again, we went to eat at a restaurant. I ordered spaghetti and was glad I wasn’t wearing the fancy dress anymore when some of the sauce got on my shirt. My mom was eating chicken and rice. She always ate that when we went to restaurants. My daddy was almost done with his huge steak.

  “Mom?”

  “Yes, honey?”

  “Can I go to Cece’s birthday slumber party?”

  My mom frowned. “When is it?”

  I told her and waited for her to tell me yes or no.

  “Gianna, you have a pageant weekend.”

  I felt like I was going to cry. Best friends weren’t supposed to miss each other’s birthdays. I didn’t want to be a bad friend.

  My daddy swallowed the food in his mouth and glared at my mom. “I’m sure missing one pageant won’t be the end of the world, Julie.” My daddy always called my mom Julie. I remembered when I was little and he used to call her babe.

  “I know!” my mom said brightly. “Why don’t you invite Cece over for a slumber party the following weekend? I don’t think we have anything going on then.”

  “Or she could skip the stupid pageant and go to the damn party like a normal little girl,” my daddy argued.

  I didn’t want them to fight again, especially over me. “That’s okay. What mom said is a good idea. I can invite Cece over.” Then I decided to add, “And maybe some other girls, too?”

  My mom looked relieved. “Sure, honey, it’s a plan.”

  I leaned against the side of my daddy, sad I was going to miss the party but happy I wasn’t a horrible friend. I’d get Cece the best present ever. Daddy wrapped his arm around me and I felt good I had him to stick up for me.

  The next month, I missed Cece’s party but gave her the most awesome present ever when she came to my house for a slumber party. I invited three of the other girls from ballet class and we had lots of fun.

  When my little brother, Chance, was born, we were really happy and when I smiled for family pictures, it was a real smile.

  Daddy finished medical school and we went to the same restaurant to celebrate with grandpa and grandma. They lived in Florida now, but said no way would they miss it because his school had cost them a lot of money.

  Disneyland was so cool, my favorite place in the whole world. Chance cried a lot so I didn’t think he liked it as much.

  But everything changed soon after that trip to California. My daddy said he got a residency at a hospital in Texas and he had to move away. He said he loved me and my baby brother very much but he didn’t want to be married to mom anymore. He would visit as often as possible, but Chance and I had to live with mom in Denver because he was going to be working all the time and couldn’t take care of us.

  My mom was really mad.

  Chance didn’t even know what was going on.

  I wanted to go with Daddy to Texas so bad.