Sarah Morgan - New York, Actually - A sparkling romantic comedy from the bestselling Queen of Romance

Praise for Sarah Morgan

‘The perfect book to curl up with’

– Heat

‘Lovers of romance will relish this tale of friendship, fun and flirting set in beautiful New York.’

– My Weekly

‘Morgan excels in balancing the sweet and sexy to create the perfect blend.’

– Booklist

‘A gorgeously sparkly romance about letting go and learning to love again.’

– Julia Williams, bestselling author of Coming Home for Christmas

‘Full of romance and sparkle’

– Lovereading

‘Morgan is a magician with words’

– RT Book Reviews

‘Definitely looking forward to more from Sarah Morgan’

– Smexy Books

‘Morgan’s novel delivers the classic sweep-you-off-your-feet romantic experience.’

– Publisher’s Weekly

‘Perfect chick-lit’

– BEST magazine

‘Her dynamic prose like narrative is eloquent, the laugh-out-loud humor lightens the load and both her big-city and small-town settings are perfect’

– RT Book Reviews

‘Another winner from Sarah’

– Annie Cooper’s Book Corner

‘I am fairly certain there will never be a Sarah Morgan book that I won’t love. This was no exception. My very favourite book of hers to date!’

– Erin’s Book Choice

‘A fun loving story with the sprinkling of magic I love in Sarah Morgan’s books.’

– Sarah Mackins

‘Simply gold! A spectacular storyline.’

– A Page of Fictional Love

‘Fresh, romantic, complexity and heart! Sleepless in Manhattan is everything you want in romance!’

– Chicks that Read

‘Sleepless in Manhattan is Sarah Morgan at her best.’

– Rachel’s Random Reads

Dear Reader,

As a child I was a voracious reader and one of my favourite books was Dodie Smith’s The Hundred and One Dalmatians . As well as the warmth and originality of the storyline, I loved the fact that each dog had a distinct personality.

I’ve often included dogs in my books (the first was Maple, from Sleigh Bells in the Snow ), but the dogs have always played a small background role until one day last winter when I came across a photo of a Dalmatian with a heart shaped nose. I knew I had to give him a central role in a book, and I knew he had to be called Valentine.

Some people find dogs easier to love than humans, and that is the case for Molly the heroine of this story. When it comes to giving advice on other people’s relationships she’s an expert, but she’s not so good when it comes to her own. She can’t imagine loving anyone more than she loves her dog Valentine, but then she meets sexy lawyer Daniel. Daniel knows more about depositions than dogs, but he’ll do whatever it takes to get Molly’s attention, even if that means borrowing a dog.

At first Molly and Daniel appear to have everything in common, but as the truth gradually reveals itself both are forced to re-examine everything they believe about themselves.

This is a story about letting go of the past, but it’s also a story of friendship and love (both human and canine!), family and community, and it takes place against the glamorous backdrop of New York City. From the leafy paths of Central Park to the glittering skyscrapers, there’s something for everyone in New York and, as Molly discovers, sometimes the city that never sleeps can be the perfect place to find love.

I hope you enjoy the book, and thank you for reading!

Love Sarah

xxx

SARAH MORGANwrites warm contemporary women’s fiction with her trademark humour which has gained her fans across the globe. Sarah lives near London with her husband and children, and when she isn’t reading or writing she loves being outdoors, preferably on holiday so she can forget the house needs tidying. You can visit Sarah online at www.sarahmorgan.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AuthorSarahMorganand on Twitter @SarahMorgan_

To the Washington Romance Writers,

a fun, fabulous group of people.

Thank you for inviting me to your retreat. xxx

“Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses.”

Elizabeth Taylor

Contents

Cover

Praise

Dear Reader

About the Author

Title Page

Dedication

Epigraph

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

Twenty-Two

Thank You

Copyright

One

Dear Aggie, I bought my girlfriend an expensive coffee machine for her birthday. First she cried, then she sold it on eBay. I don’t understand women.

Yours, Decaffeinated.

Dear Decaffeinated, the important question to ask yourself in any relationship is what does your partner want? What makes them happy? Without knowing all the details it’s impossible to know exactly why your girlfriend cried and sold the coffee machine, but the first question that comes to mind is—does your girlfriend drink coffee?

Molly stopped typing and glanced at the bed. “Are you awake? You have to listen to this one. It’s obvious he is a coffee drinker and the gift was really for him. Why do men do that? I’m so lucky to have you. Of course, if you ever sold my coffee machine on eBay, I’d have to kill you, but that won’t be the advice I’m posting online.”

The body on the bed didn’t stir, but that wasn’t surprising given the amount of exercise they’d both had the day before. The hours they’d spent in each other’s company had left her sweaty and exhausted. Her body ached, a reminder that although her fitness levels had increased since she met him, his stamina still surpassed hers. His relentless energy was one of the many things she admired about him. Whenever she was tempted to skip an exercise session, all it took was one look from him to have her reaching for her running shoes. He was the reason she’d lost weight since arriving in New York City three years earlier. Some days she looked in the mirror and barely recognized herself.

She looked slimmer and more toned.

Best of all she looked happy.

If someone from her old life walked in now, they probably wouldn’t recognize her.

Not that anyone from her old life was likely to show up on her doorstep.

Three years had passed. Three years, and she had finally rebuilt her shredded reputation. Professionally, she was back on track. Personally? She glanced at the bed again, feeling something soften inside her. She hadn’t imagined ever getting close to anyone again, certainly not close enough to let them into her life or her home, and definitely not her heart.

And yet here she was, in love.

She allowed her gaze to linger on the perfect lines of his athletic body, before returning her attention to her email. She was lucky so many men struggled to understand women. If they didn’t, she’d be out of a job.

Her blog, Ask a Girl , attracted a large volume of traffic and that, in turn, had attracted the attention of a publisher. Her first book, Mate for Life, Tools for Meeting Your Perfect Life Partner had hit the bestseller lists in both the US and the UK. That, in turn, had led to a second book deal, all under her pseudonym Aggie, which meant that she had both anonymity and financial security. She’d turned misfortune into a fortune. Well, maybe not a fortune exactly, but enough to enable her to live comfortably in New York City and not to have to limp back to London. She’d left one life and moved on to a new one, like a snake shedding its skin.