Miranda Dickinson - I’ll Take New York

‘ I’ll Take New York is like meeting up with your very best friend, full of charm, warmth, wit and wonder, you’ll never want to say goodbye.’

Rowan Coleman

‘Miranda works her magic again … a sparkling, romantic, feelgood gem of a storywith massive heart.’

Julie Cohen

‘Miranda Dickinson has given us yet another wonderful warm-hearted and wisenovel with characters you can’t help but fall in love with. I’ll Take New York is the perfect treat to snuggle up withon a cold winter’s evening.’

Ali Harris

‘ Warm, feel-good and utterly enchanting, I’ll Take New York will magically transport you into a world you won’t want to leave.’

Cally Taylor

‘The characters are irresistible, the settings magical – I was transported to the New York of my dreams, for the tiniest fraction of the air fare. The perfect treat for readers who already know and love Miranda’s novels – and those who have yet to discover her fantastic story-telling.’

Kate Harrison (bestselling author of The Secret Shopper series)

‘The perfect book to curl up withon a cold winter’s eve.’

Closer

AVON

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

77–85 Fulham Palace Road

Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2014

Copyright © Miranda Dickinson 2014

Cover illustration © Eum Hayoung 2014

Miranda Dickinson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9781847562340

Ebook Edition © December 2014 ISBN: 9780007574360

Version: 2014-11-27

For my lovely friend Ebs. This isn’t quite the top of the Empire State, but it’ll have to do – Zupini Girls forever! xx

‘New York is where you prove if what you think in theory makes sense in life.’

Miuccia Prada (1949–)

Contents

Cover

Praise for Miranda Dickinson

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Epigraph

Chapter One: Stromoli’s restaurant, 11th Street, Brooklyn

Chapter Two: Departures Hall, San Francisco International Airport, California

Chapter Three: Hudson River Books, 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Four: Jake’s apartment, 826B Jefferson Street, Williamsburg

Chapter Five: Hudson River Books, 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Six: Kowalski’s, corner of West 68th and Columbus, Upper West Side

Chapter Seven: Celia and Stewart’s apartment, 91st Street Upper West Side

Chapter Eight: Private loft apartment, Upper West Side

Chapter Nine: Hudson River Books, 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Ten: Chez Henri, Upper West Side

Chapter Eleven: Hudson River Books, 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Twelve: Private loft apartment, Upper West Side

Chapter Thirteen: Private loft apartment, Upper West Side

Chapter Fourteen: Private loft apartment, Upper West Side

Chapter Fifteen: Private loft apartment, Upper West Side

Chapter Sixteen: Vacant office suite, McKevitt Buildings, Broadway

Chapter Seventeen: Beads & Beans craft and coffee store, Brooklyn

Chapter Eighteen: Jake’s new office, McKevitt Buildings, Broadway

Chapter Nineteen: Hudson River Books, 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Twenty: Jake’s practice, McKevitt Buildings, Broadway

Chapter Twenty-One: Hudson River Books, 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Twenty-Two: Jake’s practice, McKevitt Buildings, Broadway

Chapter Twenty-Three: Bea’s apartment, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

Chapter Twenty-Four: Jake’s apartment, 826B Jefferson Street, Williamsburg

Chapter Twenty-Five: Hudson River Books, 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Twenty-Six: Hudson River Books, 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Monty’s Italian restaurant, Columbus Avenue, Upper West Side

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Beads & Beans craft and coffee store, Brooklyn

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Jake’s practice, McKevitt Buildings, Broadway

Chapter Thirty: Corner of 42nd Street and Park Avenue

Chapter Thirty-One: Kowalski’s, corner of West 68th and Columbus, Upper West Side

Chapter Thirty-Two: Cheese-A-Go-Go!, SoHo

Chapter Thirty-Three: Hudson River Books, 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Comedy Cavern, 7th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Thirty-Five: Jake’s practice, McKevitt Buildings, Broadway

Chapter Thirty-Six: Hudson River Books, 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Javacious coffee shop, East 43rd Street

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Celia and Stewart’s apartment, 91st Street, Upper West Side

Chapter Thirty-Nine: W New York Hotel lobby, Lexington Avenue

Chapter Forty: Imelda’s apartment, 7th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Forty-One: Empire State Building, 5th Avenue

Chapter Forty-Two: Hudson River Books, 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Forty-Three: Harry’s Bar, Midtown Manhattan

Chapter Forty-Four: Hudson River Books, 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

Chapter Forty-Five: The Steinmann family home, Hampton Bays, Long Island

Chapter Forty-Six: The Steinmann family home, Hampton Bays, Long Island

Chapter Forty-Seven: The Steinmann family home, Hampton Bays, Long Island

Chapter Forty-Eight: Apartment 18D, 142 Allen Street, Lower East Side

Chapter Forty-Nine: Jake’s practice, McKevitt Buildings, Broadway,

Chapter Fifty: Christmas in New York

Chapter Fifty-One: Sheehan, Sheehan and Owen offices, East 43rd Street

Chapter Fifty-Two: Bea’s apartment, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

Chapter Fifty-Three: Sheehan, Sheehan and Owen offices, East 43rd Street

Chapter Fifty-Four: Central Park, Manhattan

Chapter Fifty-Five: A yellow New York taxi, travelling west, Manhattan

Chapter Fifty-Six: Kowalski’s, corner of West 68th and Columbus, Upper West Side

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Kowalski’s, corner of West 68th and Columbus, Upper West Side

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Kowalski’s, corner of West 68th and Columbus, Upper West Side

Acknowledgements

About the Author

By the Same Author

About the Publisher

‘Bea?’

Five more minutes …

‘Bea, honey, why don’t we just order? I don’t think he’s …’

‘He’s definitely not …’