Road bike help for petite female

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I'm a little taller at 5'2" and have read this thread with interest. I struggle with the reach for the brake levers when on the tops. I have a 48cm Cannondale Synapse and to reach the brake levers with a decent amount of pressure I have to rotate my hands outwards so my thumb is on the tops rather than the 'v' of my thumb and hard. Does that make sense?? Not exactly ideal and can be a bit nerve wracking at times lol. Can't face the thought of the cross brake levers (think it's vanity to be honest!!) On the drops it's the 'two finger grab' for the levers!

'fraid I ditched vanity a very long time ago in exchange for safety. It seems to work very well as far as I have been able to tell. The issue I now have with the cross levers is that I can outbrake my husband on my bike by such a margin, that even if I yell stop at him, to get his attention, he still can not stop without running into me, coming alongside me or even passing me despite ride 5-10m behind me. (he stayed with the standard setup on his identical road bike, has long fingers and no issues reaching the brakes - that says a lot to me)