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Meet Me In Manhattan: A sparkling, feel-good romantic comedy to whisk you away !
Claudia Carroll
What if THE ONE isn’t who you think he is?You don’t mess with aspiring journalist Holly Johnson! The man she fell for is not all that he seems – because sometimes dating online doesn’t quite go to plan. She’s decided to fly to the Big Apple to surprise him and to get some answers. And if her plan works she’ll also get the scoop of her career …But as she steps out of her yellow taxi and the first snowflakes start to fall, it’s Holly who has the surprise of her life.What should be a dream come true is looking a little like a nightmare. But Holly is determined to get her New York happy ending!
Copyright (#u0efcab2e-9356-5e9c-b6ee-4ef8ff934147)
Published by Avon
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins 2015
Copyright © Claudia Carroll 2015
Claudia Carroll asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy 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.
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication
Source ISBN: 9780007520909
Ebook Edition © November 2015 ISBN: 9780008151201
Version: 2018–07-24
Praise for the novels of Claudia Carroll (#u0efcab2e-9356-5e9c-b6ee-4ef8ff934147)
‘An original, funny and poignant story … A very modern fairytale, full of Claudia’s trademark wit and humour’
Sheila O’Flanagan
‘Full of warmth, humour and emotion, this is a wonderfully written, unconventional love story that charms from the very first page. I adored it and didn’t want it to end. Read it – I guarantee you’ll love it’
Melissa Hill
‘It bubbles and sparkles like pink champagne. A hugely entertaining read’
Patricia Scanlan
‘An emotional roller-coaster ride … keeps the reader wondering until the very end’
Irish Independent
Readers adore the novels of Claudia Carroll – here is a glimpse of just how much! (#u0efcab2e-9356-5e9c-b6ee-4ef8ff934147)
‘I was holding my breath … the story really touched my heart’
‘Fun, breezy, and kept me guessing and oohing and aaahhhing until the end!’
‘Truly captivating’
‘Will lift your spirits’
‘If you love page-turning women’s fiction with depth then this book is for you!’
‘I so enjoyed this unusual story of friendships and love’
‘Very fresh and brilliantly plotted’
‘A total page-turner with companionship, fear, laughter, and a whole bunch of other emotions that will take you on a journey like no other’
‘Officially one of my favourite books of the year!’
‘Some sobs, but lots of laughter and joy’
Dedication (#u0efcab2e-9356-5e9c-b6ee-4ef8ff934147)
This book is warmly dedicated to Susan McHugh, Sean Murphy, Luke and of course my gorgeous godson, Oscar.
With love and thanks, always.
Table of Contents
Cover (#u23b12e37-fd68-5e3d-b54b-d138ebac7ed6)
Title Page (#u3cf4221f-f4d5-5737-8ef5-600772904e02)
Copyright (#ub8c5990f-2b1f-50e9-84e6-ebda732c4eeb)
Praise for the novels of Claudia Carroll (#u692fec85-1725-5fb0-9dff-ee5ac728d7c2)
Dedication (#u7144dffa-2719-5759-b9d2-f886049adbd1)
Chapter One (#u626f9a31-8075-56c8-8222-e214cbdcfc6a)
Chapter Two (#u8afd5251-7ef6-513f-af74-c6364e001f76)
Chapter Three (#u8427a02c-c0c5-5ca7-8e10-f9918bfa848a)
Chapter Four (#u37a68609-df85-5fb2-b621-7f96c4c7e01b)
Chapter Five (#u79808507-3ca4-5e59-8326-f195215a3cb6)
Chapter Six (#uec09841c-cea1-589f-ab7f-1d6e4a1083b2)
Chapter Seven (#udb090e6e-e84d-5e57-b34f-e31e103fb32a)
Chapter Eight (#u2009d31c-42be-5b87-b3c9-9b104d7c8ce0)
Chapter Nine (#ufbcb80a0-0df1-5656-9e91-e348a91227ff)
Chapter Ten (#u9d03b21f-a8f4-506e-bf50-a86320b60293)
Chapter Eleven (#u56d996ce-10c0-5c48-8f9b-e1503a95ab45)
Chapter Twelve (#ud5b7ac1a-e239-57d5-a236-0370b122c5b2)
Chapter Thirteen (#u07ae0925-9d38-5e1e-bd6b-eb2e5dd693a6)
Chapter Fourteen (#uc542f29f-802a-596c-9ecd-bc6d14f10789)
Chapter Fifteen (#ue13b9509-0594-5428-b608-fb8dd5686e28)
Chapter Sixteen (#u9a99a19b-ddbb-515f-b985-35875d7b0375)
Chapter Seventeen (#uf7b20ebc-7786-5729-8010-2b92888cf875)
Chapter Eighteen (#u5068535d-c8e4-5b6d-85c1-d6e5690f04c0)
Chapter Nineteen (#u42522df0-418d-54bd-9ccf-685ebc631f45)
Chapter Twenty (#ud923b04d-ec4e-5025-9865-57c2711d78f2)
Chapter Twenty-One (#ufabfc15c-e1d5-550c-9239-7119f4363bac)
Chapter Twenty-Two (#ucaf9b986-d633-5dcf-a9d3-ae6cc368b747)
Chapter Twenty-Three (#uf6f1c1a8-4b19-5180-81bc-837623dee0ef)
Chapter Twenty-Four (#u522eea74-9e4b-58b6-9a05-4bf676badeca)
Chapter Twenty-Five (#uab5b848a-3cba-5b02-bbd7-94303e033925)
Chapter Twenty-Six (#u3225a51d-fbf2-548f-9ab4-4b953baf9abe)
Chapter Twenty-Seven (#u937d04d9-b5f1-50a9-bffd-8105ae4254af)
Chapter Twenty-Eight (#uee367525-03ba-50e1-bc0b-2c5b5507b474)
Chapter Twenty-Nine (#u471f98b9-991d-5194-8da3-eea08ee97939)
Chapter Thirty (#uc3c5df6c-f3ab-5743-b9b2-cf401b4800bd)
Chapter Thirty-One (#u17b76eea-5fde-5d80-9ca9-5e4cac59ce60)
Chapter Thirty-Two (#ue6f519ae-3667-5ffd-9774-9a3a5cada21f)
Chapter Thirty-Three (#u0d438f74-895f-5cb1-a944-2a90d3f35383)
Chapter Thirty-Four (#u9dda45b1-a337-507c-b370-c4c55e41f651)
Chapter Thirty-Five (#u8526f778-cd57-5db4-93e3-2b1d204ff365)
Chapter Thirty-Six (#uf7fbee6c-04a0-509e-8858-119c3699016f)
Chapter Thirty-Seven (#ue1b41697-6b34-5256-90f5-7321da1a80a7)
Chapter Thirty-Eight (#u50a42424-4e56-5738-80df-df520176fa00)
Epilogue (#ub0cbced6-44b8-5894-85cf-131479602573)
Acknowledgements (#u40b4959c-5a2f-5a0d-9b63-548f3dc67f99)
About the Author (#ua102d8d1-0c0f-551e-a3cc-047ff7109313)
By the Same Author (#u57dbdeac-13b9-500b-9ded-40c252babf21)
About the Publisher (#uc3aef44a-3a86-5372-b8d5-c32fe12d9aed)
Chapter One (#u0efcab2e-9356-5e9c-b6ee-4ef8ff934147)
Exactly 8 p.m. on a Saturday night and here I am. Sitting all alone at a table for two in Fade Street Social, only one of the swishiest restaurants in town, primped and preened to within an inch of my life.
Peppering with nervous tension of course, but we’ll come back to that.
It’s a perfect table too – if I’d planned it, I couldn’t have chosen any better. I’m right in the middle of the restaurant at a gorgeous table facing the door, so that every time it opens, I get a clear view of exactly who’s just arrived. And more importantly, so that when my date gets here, he can’t miss me.
Can he? I think, a tad anxiously.
No, course he can’t.
Now there’s the slightish concern that he hasn’t the first clue what I look like in the flesh, or I him. But then we did exchange photos via the Two’s Company website, and although mine is a slight bit of a cheat – taken ten years ago at twilight and with the light behind me so as to minimize the wrinkles, and come on, who of us hasn’t done it? Point is though, if his photo is even halfway accurate, then I’m seriously onto a winner here.
Every time the door opens, my neck automatically pings upwards as I look hopefully over, but so far, there’s no sign of him or anyone who remotely resembles him. At least, not yet. But then it’s barely turned eight, I remind myself, and I was here early. We won’t split hairs over a few minutes’ minor delay.
Deep, calm, soothing breaths. The waiting will all be over soon.
Just about every stitch I’m standing up in tonight is borrowed; I’m shoehorned into my flatmate Joy’s ‘serial result’ LBD – a lacy Pippa Middleton-esque clingy number in Joy’s customary black, sexy in that it’s shortish, yet still demure enough around the neckline to look like I’m not trying too hard.
