Cocktails in Chelsea

Cocktails in Chelsea
Nikki Moore

Fun & flirty short story from the exciting new chick lit author Nikki Moore!Made in Chelsea?Nathan Black is on a mission to prove himself. His family may be upper class and his cousin Matt might be a famous music producer, but he's going to make it on his own. So as soon as he has enough money set aside, he's quitting his bar-tending job on the King's Road and opening up his own cocktail bar. He hasn't got time for love, and definitely not with the spoilt Chelsea Princesses who flirt with him shamelessly every night. But is there something a bit different about the pretty blonde who's just walked in?Bournemouth girl Sofia Gold is reluctantly visiting old childhood friends in London for Easter weekend. Keenly aware she's not part of their glamorous world, she's more comfortable riding a surfboard than wearing designer dresses and towering heels… although she's always had a soft spot for cocktails.It's never really bothered Sofia that she's 'one of the boys,' and that her romantic experiences have been amazingly unspectacular, so when she meets gorgeous Nathan, why does she find herself faking an accent and pretending to be a London socialite? It can't be anything to do with impressing him, can it? After all, she's only in the capital for a few days…But one impulsive kiss later, they both find themselves wishing for things they didn't know they wanted.Spring in Chelsea – will love blossom?

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Copyright (#ulink_de116c70-aec0-5286-9ba7-060fe5b9fdf0)

HarperImpulse an imprint of

HarperCollinsPublishers

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First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2015

Copyright © Nikki Moore 2015

Cover images © Shutterstock.com

Cover layout design © HarperColl‌insPublishers Ltd 2015

Nikki Moore asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for 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, downloaded, 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.

Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.

Ebook Edition © February 2015 ISBN: 9780008114770

Version: 2017-10-10

Dedication (#ulink_66d698bc-971e-5f0b-baf8-f162614f4d30)

This is for all the fabulous, lovely and enthusiastic bloggers, reviewers, readers and fellow authors who have supported and generally raved about the #LoveLondon series so far. Every review, rating, Tweet, Facebook mention, blog post, purchase or email is truly appreciated. You’re all stars; thank you.

Spring is a time for new beginnings so this story is also for anyone starting out on a journey, whether it’s a professional or a personal one. Be fearless, and enjoy it.

Contents

Cover (#u230bf0c2-5f79-5c77-a9d6-5b3fa5e65629)

Title Page (#u56abc725-de53-5a56-94e9-dbbbc8190c73)

Copyright (#uf6e2e33c-1661-5f16-82b7-72c164baa8ec)

Dedication (#ue6685567-6269-5231-b5c7-36b09cedc2bc)

#LoveLondon Series (#u0e30dfc7-83de-5748-9e9c-6578646a473f)

Cocktails in Chelsea (#ufc490073-54de-55fc-9604-78c510213d73)

Also by Nikki Moore (#litres_trial_promo)

Nikki Moore (#litres_trial_promo)

About HarperImpulse (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

#LoveLondon Series (#u9cd73a1a-51d0-5dc4-a1ef-320fb07901a8)

Skating at Somerset House

New Year at the Ritz

Valentine’s on Primrose Hill

Cocktails in Chelsea

Strawberries at Wimbledon

Picnics in Hyde Park

Cocktails in Chelsea (#u9cd73a1a-51d0-5dc4-a1ef-320fb07901a8)

Thursday

Sofia Gold sighed as she stepped into the trendy bar on the King’s Road. If she cared less about being polite, she’d be wearing her own clothes. Instead, she was tugging down the hem of the clinging, vibrant yellow designer dress Tori and Christie had wrestled her into and fighting the urge to pull the plunging neckline up a few inches closer to her chin.

While showing off tons of leg and cleavage wasn’t her at all, she had to admit the yellow outfit didn’t look too bad with her long golden hair, which Christie had made her straighten. It was just a shame she was being slowly crippled by towering four inch high heels. They might make her short legs look amazing, but the balls of her feet were already aching and they’d only left the girls’ exclusive white-pillared, black-gated residence twenty minutes before.

Of course she liked partying, enjoyed going out and having a laugh. After all skating ramps and riding the waves on her beloved surfboard couldn’t take up all of her spare time. She was also lucky enough to live in Bournemouth, and the coastal town had a great night life humming with stag and hen parties despite its reputation as the retirement capital of the south. The difference was, she usually went into town in tight jeans, mid-range heels at most and a cropped vest-top, not in outfits that felt designed to torture. Plus she drank at lively bars with the best, pulsing music and happiest, loudest crowd, not airy warehouse spaces with tons of lighting, exposed vintage-looking iron pipes and dark wooden floors packed with privileged and wealthy trust-funders.

But Tori and Christie were Mum’s best friend’s daughters and she’d promised to make an effort during this visit. If she offended them it’d be a giant dinosaur bone of contention with her mother for years. The idea of being on the wrong side of her mum was scarier than the thought of wearing the outfit for the evening.

‘You look lovely, Sof,’ Tori leaned close to whisper into her ear, ‘but you would look better if you stopped pulling at the dress constantly. Just try and own it.’

‘Thanks,’ Sofia murmured.