Little White Lies

LITTLE WHITE LIES

Other books in the
CANTERWOOD CREST SERIES
:

TAKE THE REINS

CHASING BLUE

BEHIND THE BIT

TRIPLE FAULT

BEST ENEMIES

C
ANTERWOOD
C
REST

JESSICA BURKHART

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

ALADDIN M!X

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

First Aladdin M!X edition December 2009

Text copyright © 2009 by Jessica Burkhart

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

ALADDIN is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and related logo is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

ALADDIN M!X and related logo are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].

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.

Designed by Jessica Handelman

The text of this book was set in Venetian 301 BT.

Manufactured in the United States of America

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

Library of Congress Control Number 2009937541

ISBN 978-4169-9038-3

ISBN 978-1-4169-9831-0 (eBook)

To the photo shoot crew—
Jessica Handelman, Karin Paprocki,
Russell Gordon, Monica Stevenson, and her assistants;
Kate Angelella; and the Canterwood models.
Thank you for creating this gorgeous cover!

Kate Angelella, you're a supertalented editor who makes every book better than I even imagined it could be. And I'm not saying that just because we did this book's edit letter over manis and pedis. Nope.

Alyssa Henkin, thank you for working hard on all things Canterwood.

Thanks doesn't begin to cover it to the amazing team at Simon & Schuster. Thank you, Mara Anastas, Fiona Simpson, and Bethany Buck for backing Canterwood. Thanks to Bess Braswell, Lucille Rettino, and Venessa Williams for their marketing genius. Nicole Russo, I still feel superimportant when I tell people you're my publicist. Thank you to Brenna Franzitta, production editor extraordinaire. Thanks to Jessica Handelman, Russell Gordon, Monica Stevenson, and the models.

Thanks to my friends who have welcomed me to the city, especially Aly Heller and Liesa Abrams. Mandy Morgan, come visit already! Lauren Barnholdt, “Team Barnhart,” FTW!

Ross, you're the coolest guy I know and just thinking about our neighborhood adventures makes me smile.

Kate, a better BFF doesn't exist. Life would be
so
sparklefree without you. LYSMB!

Finally, to the reader girlies who chat on the forums, e-mail me, send pics, and create videos—I heart you all! Team Canterwood!

LITTLE WHITE LIES

I'D BEEN BACK ON THE CANTERWOOD CREST
Academy campus for an hour and I already felt trapped. Not a feeling I'd imagined experiencing on my first day of eighth grade.

But it was true. If I left my dorm, I could get caught between Jacob—my ex–almost-boyfriend who suddenly wanted me back—and Eric—my amazing boyfriend who still didn't know that Jacob had confessed his feelings to me the day before summer break.

I sat at the edge of my still-unmade bed and took a deep breath, wanting to stay in the safety of my room. I wished my BFF and roommate, Paige Parker, would hurry through her parental good-byes. I needed girl advice stat!

I considered the possibilities:

Out There—I might run into Jacob. That was not good. But I
also
wanted to see Eric, and with the “no boys allowed in Winchester Hall—ever!” rule, running into him here was highly unlikely. Unless he wanted to risk death by Livvie, my dorm monitor.

Plus, even though I didn't want to leave, I kind of had to. My riding coach, Mr. Conner, was holding a team meeting at the stable in half an hour. I couldn't risk being late—it was the first meeting for the Youth Equestrian National Team. After spending most of my summer riding at YENT camp, there was no way I could be late to the first meeting.

I stepped around my matching pink suitcases and checked my reflection in the full-length mirror, wanting to look pretty but casual when I saw Eric for the first time since before summer vacay. I ran my fingers through my light brown hair and flicked a stray eyelash off my cheek. A coat of Cherry Blossom gloss was all I needed—it was so hot outside that any more makeup would run.

I peeled off the wrinkled shirt I'd worn on the two-hour drive from home and pulled a new one from my open suitcase. The cotton-candy pink “I
New York” baby tee looked cute with my jean skirt. I'd gotten the T-shirt when I spent a couple of weeks this summer in NYC with Paige.