I’ll Take New York. Miranda Dickinson

       PRAISE FOR MIRANDA DICKINSON AND 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 story with massive heart.’

      Julie Cohen

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

       Closer

      MIRANDA DICKINSON

       I’ll Take New York

       Copyright

      AVON

      HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

      77–85 Fulham Palace Road

      Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 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

       Dedication

       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