Shopaholic Takes Manhattan (Page 128)
- Page 1
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 14
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 15
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 16
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 17
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 18
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 19
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 20
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 21
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 22
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 23
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 24
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 25
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 26
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 27
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 28
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 29
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 30
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 31
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 32
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 33
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 34
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 35
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 36
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 37
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 38
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 39
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 40
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 41
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 42
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 43
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 44
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 45
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 46
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 47
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 48
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 49
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 50
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 51
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 52
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 53
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 54
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 55
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 56
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 57
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 58
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 59
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 60
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 61
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 62
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 63
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 64
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 65
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 66
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 67
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 68
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 69
- Page 69
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 70
- Page 70
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 71
- Page 71
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 72
- Page 72
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 73
- Page 73
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 74
- Page 74
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 75
- Page 75
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 76
- Page 76
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 77
- Page 77
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 78
- Page 78
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 79
- Page 79
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 80
- Page 80
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 81
- Page 81
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 82
- Page 82
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 83
- Page 83
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 84
- Page 84
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 85
- Page 85
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 86
- Page 86
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 87
- Page 87
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 88
- Page 88
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 89
- Page 89
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 90
- Page 90
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 91
- Page 91
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 92
- Page 92
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 93
- Page 93
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 94
- Page 94
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 95
- Page 95
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 96
- Page 96
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 97
- Page 97
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 98
- Page 98
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 99
- Page 99
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 100
- Page 100
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 101
- Page 101
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 102
- Page 102
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 103
- Page 103
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 104
- Page 104
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 105
- Page 105
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 106
- Page 106
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 107
- Page 107
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 108
- Page 108
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 109
- Page 109
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 110
- Page 110
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 111
- Page 111
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 112
- Page 112
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 113
- Page 113
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 114
- Page 114
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 115
- Page 115
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 116
- Page 116
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 117
- Page 117
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 118
- Page 118
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 119
- Page 119
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 120
- Page 120
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 121
- Page 121
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 122
- Page 122
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 123
- Page 123
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 124
- Page 124
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 125
- Page 125
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 126
- Page 126
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 127
- Page 127
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 128
- Page 128
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 129
- Page 129
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 130
- Page 130
- Page 130
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan (Shopaholic #2)(128)
Author: Sophie Kinsella
“Well… uh…” Her face is all shiny and excited, for some reason. “Uh… here he is.”
“Thank you very much,” comes a deep male voice.
A deep male British voice.
Oh my God.
I freeze like a rabbit, still holding the Richard Tyler dress, as Luke walks into the room.
“Hello,” he says with a small smile. “Miss Bloomwood. I’ve heard you’re the best shopper in town.”
I open my mouth and close it again. Thoughts are whizzing round my mind like fireworks. I’m trying to feel surprised, trying to feel as shocked as I know I should. Two months of absolutely nothing — and now here he is. I should be completely thrown.
But somehow — I don’t feel thrown at all.
Subconsciously, I realize, I’ve been expecting him.
“What are you doing here?” I say, trying to sound as composed as I can.
“As I said, I’ve heard you’re the best shopper in town.” He gives me a quizzical look. “I thought perhaps you could help me buy a suit. This one is looking rather tired.”
He gestures to his immaculate Jermyn Street suit, which I happen to know he’s only had for three months, and I hide a smile.
“You want a suit.”
“I want a suit.”
“Right.”
Playing for time, I put the dress back on a hanger, turn away, and place it carefully on the rail. Luke’s here.
He’s here. I want to laugh, or dance, or cry, or something. But instead I reach for my notepad and, without rushing, turn round.
“What I normally do before anything else is ask my clients to tell me a little about themselves.” My voice is a little jumpy and I take a deep breath. “Perhaps you could… do the same?”
“Right. That sounds like a good idea.” Luke thinks for a moment. “I’m a British businessman. I’m based in London.” He meets my eyes. “But I’ve recently opened an office in New York. So I’m going to be spending quite a bit of time over here.”
“Really?” I feel a jolt of surprise, which I try to conceal. “You’ve opened in New York? That’s… that’s very interesting. Because I had the impression that certain British businessmen were finding it tough to do deals with New York investors. Just… something I heard.”
“They were.” Luke nods. “They were finding it tough. But then they downscaled their plans. They decided to open on a much smaller scale.”
“A smaller scale?” I stare at him. “And they didn’t mind that?”
“Perhaps,” says Luke after a pause, “they realized that they’d been overambitious the first time round. Perhaps they realized that they’d become obsessed to the point where they’d let everything else suffer. Perhaps they realized they needed to swallow their pride and put away their grand plans — and slow down a little.”
“That… that makes a lot of sense,” I say.
“So they put together a new proposal, found a backer who agreed with them, and this time nothing stood in the way. They’re already up and running.”
His face is gleaming with a suppressed delight, and I find myself beaming back.
“That’s great!” I say. “I mean…” I clear my throat. “Right. I see.” I scribble some nonsense in my notepad. “So — how much time are you going to be spending in New York, exactly?” I add in a businesslike manner. “For my notes, you understand.”
“Absolutely,” says Luke, matching my tone. “Well, I’ll be wanting to keep a significant presence in Britain. So I’ll be here for two weeks a month. At least, that’s the idea at the moment. It may be more, it may be less.” There’s a long pause and his dark eyes meet mine. “It all depends.”
“On… on what?” I say, scarcely able to breathe.
“On… various things.”
There’s a still silence between us.
“You seem very settled, Becky,” says Luke quietly. “Very… together.”
“I’m enjoying it, yes.”
“You look as though you’re flourishing.” He looks around with a little smile. “This environment suits you. Which I suppose comes as no great surprise…”
“Do you think I took this job just because I like shopping?” I say, raising my eyebrows. “Do you think this is just about… shoes and nice clothes? Because if that’s really what you think, then I’m afraid you’re sadly misguided.”
“That’s not what I—”
- Page 1
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 14
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 15
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 16
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 17
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 18
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 19
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 20
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 21
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 22
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 23
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 24
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 25
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 26
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 27
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 28
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 29
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 30
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 31
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 32
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 33
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 34
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 35
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 36
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 37
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 38
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 39
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 40
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 41
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 42
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 43
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 44
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 45
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 46
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 47
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 48
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 49
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 50
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 51
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 52
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 53
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 54
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 55
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 56
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 57
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 58
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 59
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 60
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 61
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 62
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 63
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 64
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 65
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 66
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 67
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 68
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 69
- Page 69
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 70
- Page 70
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 71
- Page 71
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 72
- Page 72
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 73
- Page 73
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 74
- Page 74
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 75
- Page 75
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 76
- Page 76
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 77
- Page 77
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 78
- Page 78
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 79
- Page 79
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 80
- Page 80
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 81
- Page 81
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 82
- Page 82
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 83
- Page 83
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 84
- Page 84
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 85
- Page 85
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 86
- Page 86
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 87
- Page 87
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 88
- Page 88
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 89
- Page 89
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 90
- Page 90
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 91
- Page 91
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 92
- Page 92
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 93
- Page 93
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 94
- Page 94
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 95
- Page 95
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 96
- Page 96
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 97
- Page 97
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 98
- Page 98
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 99
- Page 99
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 100
- Page 100
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 101
- Page 101
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 102
- Page 102
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 103
- Page 103
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 104
- Page 104
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 105
- Page 105
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 106
- Page 106
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 107
- Page 107
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 108
- Page 108
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 109
- Page 109
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 110
- Page 110
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 111
- Page 111
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 112
- Page 112
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 113
- Page 113
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 114
- Page 114
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 115
- Page 115
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 116
- Page 116
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 117
- Page 117
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 118
- Page 118
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 119
- Page 119
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 120
- Page 120
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 121
- Page 121
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 122
- Page 122
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 123
- Page 123
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 124
- Page 124
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 125
- Page 125
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 126
- Page 126
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 127
- Page 127
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 128
- Page 128
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 129
- Page 129
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 130
- Page 130
- Page 130