New York Valentine

Reid Carmen

Description

'I loved her then, I love her now. Annie's back and she's better than ever! Fun, feel good and feisty - Annie Valentine is the woman you want to share a cocktail with!' Portia MacIntosh

Can she make it big in the big apple?

When Annie Valentine lands her dream job in the heart of fabulous Manhattan, it’s a pinch me moment. She’s finally made it to the city that never sleeps and will look a million dollars doing it! And this time, Annie is going to make it a family affair and take her teenage daughter Lauren with her to show her the fashion highs and lows and to have a bit of mother and daughter bonding...what could possibly go wrong?

But back home in London, husband Ed faces a scandal at work and knows, in his heart, he needs Annie back.

Suddenly Annie finds herself torn between her true love in London and her new love, New York.

Does it have to be fashion or family...or can Annie Valentine have it all?

Fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and Paige Toon will love this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy from bestselling author Carmen Reid.

What readers are saying!

"If you love shopping as much as you love a great read, try this. Wonderful." Bestselling author, Katie Fforde

"Annie Valentine is a wonderful character - I want her to burst into my life and sort out my wardrobe for me!" Bestselling author, Jill Mansell

*"You will enjoy getting to know Annie Valentine; laughing with her and crying with her. You may even fall in love with her . . . I have! A fantastic read!"⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reader review

"Fantastic read, couldn't put it down" ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reader review

"Can't wait to read the next one!" ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reader review*

Sujets

• Special Interest
• Women
• Centro comercial
• Interest group (disambiguation)
• Friendship
• Contemporary history
• General officer
• Woman
• Fashion
• The Women
• General
• Shopping
• Contemporary
• Family Life
• Romance
• Mode (habillement)
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Boldwood Books
• Date de parution: 06 janvier 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781802805444
• Langue: English

Extrait

NEW YORK VALENTINE


CARMEN REID
ANNIE VALENTINE SERIES

The Personal Shopper
Late Night Shopping
How Not To Shop
Celebrity Shopper
New York Valentine
Shopping With The Enemy
For my mum with loads of love and apologies for being such a stroppy teenager!
CONTENTS



Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39


More from Carmen Reid

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also by Carmen Reid

Love Notes

About Boldwood Books
1



Lauren all set for work:
Skinny black jeans (Diesel)
Sleeveless cowl-necked, belted, complicated top (All Saints)
Skull and crossbones necklace (market stall)
White gym shoes (old PE kit)
Cloud of perfume (Gucci Floral)
Total est. cost: £215
‘Oh Muuuuuuum!’
‘Move that great big, gorgeous bum out of bed now!’
The voice in Annie’s ear was teasing but insistent.
‘Right now!’
‘Oh no,’ she protested, ‘no, no, no, no. You have got to be joking. It can’t be time. I only went to bed five minutes ago. Seriously… it can’t be time!’
But there was no mercy. The duvet was whipped off and a playful, but still surprisingly stingy, smack landed on her behind.
‘Owww!’
‘Up!’ Ed instructed. ‘Owen and I have to leave in five minutes. The twins are washed, changed, dressed and fed. The Princess of Darkness is in charge but you, my darling girl, need to get up.’
‘Yes, I’ve got that,’ Annie said huffily. Finally, she sat up, prised opened her eyes and let the room come into focus.
‘Someone should not have been out partying into the small hours when she has a full day of filming ahead. This may come as a shock, but you’re not twenty-five any more,’ Ed pointed out.
‘And thank you for reminding me,’ she croaked.
Annie’s puffy eyes were properly open now. She rubbed at eyelashes crunchy with last night’s mascara and looked at her… husband.
Husband. Husband .
They had married in June, almost exactly three months ago now, but she still wasn’t quite used to Ed, this lovely man, her boyfriend, stepdad to her older children, father to her twins… being her husband.
Her thumb moved instinctively to fiddle with the diamond-set band on her fourth finger.
Ed had understood her resistance to a traditional gold band. Annie had worn a wedding ring before, a ring which was now stored, in its leather case, along with a selection of other precious belongings, in a memory box for the husband she’d lost. So, Ed had married her in June with a delicate and sparkling ring of platinum and diamonds.
Through the crusty mascara, Annie took an appraising look at him: he had broad shoulders and a muscular build, a kind face, a teacher’s ‘firm-but-fair’ face, brought to life with the twinkle of mischief which rarely left his warm blue eyes and expressive mouth. Then there was unruly hair: sandy brown, curly and messed up, no matter what he did with it.
‘You look foxy,’ she told him.
‘You think?’ he asked modestly but gave his slim hips a little shake for her benefit.
‘Yeah, you’ve come a long way, babes. You have learned the ways of the well-dressed Annie-man.’
After a little snort, he pointed out: ‘I picked out my own clothes and put them on all by myself this morning.’
‘Yeah, but it’s taken years of living with me for you to make such good choices.’
Yes. From his sleek, indigo jeans, past the good belt, slim-fit blue shirt, nicely tailored tweed jacket up to the casually overgrown hair, he looked good. Really good.
‘Goodbye kiss,’ she said, opening her arms.
Although Ed was on a tight schedule, he knelt down in front of her, put his arms around her waist and pulled her in close. Pushing the peachy slip she’d worn to bed out of the way, he kissed her breast.
‘Good looking and feeling frisky,’ she said, pulling him in for another kiss.
‘Lucky old you,’ he replied.
They kissed long and lovingly before Ed had to break off because it really was time to go. Getting up and sliding into her dressing gown, Annie followed him out of the bedroom.
‘I’ve got to say goodbye to my mini Sir Alan Sugar.’
‘More like your tiny Tony Soprano!’
They hurried down the narrow flights of stairs to the hallway where Annie’s fourteen-year-old son, Owen, was already waiting, his heavy rucksack rumpling his blazer, his narrow trousers a little too high above scuffed black shoes.
‘Come on!’ Owen urged Ed, ‘chop, chop, chop, let’s look perky.’
He made an exaggerated movement towards his watch, slowly pulling back the cuff of his school shirt and flashing the bling golden timepiece on his wrist.
‘Owen?!’ Annie began, ‘what piece of old tat have you been lashing your cash on now?’
‘Genuine,’ Owen said, tapping at the face of his watch.
‘Yeah,’ Ed shot the watch a glance, as he scrambled his bags, guitar and violin cases together. ‘Genuine fake Swiss watch, made in China and flogged down the market by the wide boys.’
‘You don’t have to believe me,’ Owen said, replacing the cuff and shooting his mum a smug smile.
He ducked his head slightly as she approached, but still allowed her to kiss him on the cheek and run a hand through his hair.
‘That’s my boy,’ she said, realising with a pang that he was just half an inch or so shorter than her. Any week now and he would overtake. He would be her big boy and she would have to look up to him – how could this have happened?
He picked up his flashy sports bag and as he headed towards the door, gave her a wave which made the gold strap on his wrist twinkle.
For several months now, Owen had been making serious pocket money working on a market stall for his entire weekends. Just like his mum, after Owen had earned hard, there was nothing he liked to do more than spend hard.
Owen loved to work and he loved to buy and sell. Annie still found it funny, because he’d once been so shy and introverted. The kind of little boy who’d found it easier to talk to his toy trains than to his friends. But now, the market trader Owen worked for at the weekends was paying him £90 a day, plus commission, because he was so good at his job.
Yes, there was a certain amount of ear-grating, market-stall lingo that Owen’s family now had to endure. Annie could just about stand it because when Owen talked about his used computer games stall, he just lit up with excitement. And wasn’t that what you had to encourage your kids to do? Find the things in life which fired them up and made them happy to get out of bed every morning?
Annie kissed Ed one more time, waved her two boys out of the door, then headed towards the kitchen where her nearly-eighteen-year-old daughter Lauren, who had definitely not yet found the things which lit up her life, was looking after the twins.
‘Good morning, my love,’ Annie said cheerily as she entered the room, her smile widening as she spotted the freshly made pot of coffee. Ed really was too good to be true.
Lauren made a grouchy ‘umph’ in reply and carried on sipping from her mug, behind a curtain of long, dark hair. The babies, almost a year old now, began to scurry across the kitchen floor towards their mummy.
‘Hello, hello, my darlings,’ Annie cooed, squatting down and opening her arms wide to hug them both. They were far too big and heavy now to be picked up for a cuddle together.
‘Mumma!’
First to reach her was Minette with her dark, soulful eyes and creamy cheeks. Max wasn’t far behind, nappy bottom waggling busily. They buried sticky faces straight into Annie’s dressing gown, but she didn’t mind one tiny bit, just stroked their silky heads devotedly.
‘Lauren, my darlin’, can you pour me a coffee… and maybe, just because you’re extra super nice, can you make me some toast?’
Lauren let out a long sigh and dragged her slim, entirely black-clad body up from her chair.
‘Thanks, Lauren, you’re a star,’ Annie said, as generously as she could, though really she’d have liked to seriously shake Lauren or maybe even administer a little kick to her pointy, skinny-jeaned behind.
How many other teenage girls would kill, or at least donate vital organs, to be spending their gap year working in television? And did Lauren thank her mother for arranging this amazing work placement? Did Lauren look forward to her exciting day ahead at the studio? No. Lauren was pretty much in a grump from morning till night and there didn’t seem to be a thing that Annie could do about it. So, because complaining about the grumpiness hadn’t worked, Annie was currently trying to tune it out entirely and respond with relentless joy and positive vibes.
As she sat down to her coffee and toast, the babies, bored with cuddles, scuttled back to their play mat and the rolling balls, blocks and other drool-soaked objects of baby delight.
Registering the time, Annie gulped her toast and swallowed the coffee with speed.
‘Oh good grief! I’ve got to get showered, get dressed – have my usual morning melodrama at the wardrobe,’ she told Lauren. ‘Can you hold the fort for me down here just a tiny bit longer, babes? Dinah will be here in twenty minutes.’
‘Oh Muuuuuuum!’ Lauren complained, ‘I have to get ready, too, you know.’.
‘Thank you, sweetheart. You look great,’ she added, not just to try and cheer Lauren up, but also because it was true.
Lauren was rocking the funky film crew look. She was dressed practically enough for all the errands she’d be running and chores she’d be doing today. But the look came with dark eyeliner, a thick black fringe and just enough edge.
Annie had worried that maybe she was molly coddling her daughter by arranging a job f