Sunrise in New York
The smart second novel in the Starlight Diner series‘Fresh, original and addictive’ PHILLIPA ASHLEYWhat brings Bonnie Brooks to The Starlight Diner? And why is she on the run?As the front-woman in a band, Bonnie is used to being in the spotlight, but now she must hide in the shadows.Bonnie only has one person who she can turn to: her friend Esther Knight, who waitresses at the Fifties-themed diner. There, retro songs play on the jukebox as fries and sundaes are served to satisfied customers. But where has Esther gone?Alone in New York City, Bonnie breaks down in front of arrogant news reporter, and diner regular, Jimmy Boyle. Jimmy offers to help her. Can she trust him?When the kindly owner of the Starlight Diner offers Bonnie work, and she meets charming security officer Nick Moloney, she dares to hope that her luck has changed. Is there a blossoming romance on the cards? And can Bonnie rebuild her life with the help of her Starlight Diner friends?
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Sunrise in New York
HELEN COX
Published by AVON
A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins 2017
Copyright © Helen Cox 2017
Cover design © Becky Glibbery 2018
Cover illustration © Shutterstock
Helen Cox 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 authorâs 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.
Ebook Edition © March 2018 ISBN: 9780008197018
Version 2018-03-13
For everybody who has chased a dream, even when somebody told you not to.
Table of Contents
Across the decades, people from all over the world have found a home in New York City. The same can be said about the Starlight Diner, a 1950s-themed eatery not far from where East Houston Street meets Clinton. Its blue neon signage lights up the sky on grey days and dark nights. All day, every day, between eight in the morning and midnight, the diner doors are open. A fact regulars from the East Village can count upon, and so many of them do.
Of course, when your doors are open, anyone can walk into your life â someone besides the local cops on their lunch break or the old lady who always asks for the corner table and orders ice cream in December and soup in August. The next person could just as easy be a stranger with a story youâll never get to hear and secrets best left untold.
No matter who walks through the doors at the Starlight Diner, no matter how far theyâve travelled or how theyâre feeling about their life just then, theyâre all welcomed with the same warmth. All of them are invited to sink into the soft, red leather of the booths, smile along to the fifties ditties playing out on the jukebox and order themselves a milkshake.
But itâs the folks who work there and eat there that make the Starlight Diner really special. They may not always want you to know it, but theyâve got good hearts. Big hearts, too. And when youâre surrounded by people like that, itâs impossible not to feel at home.
New York, 26 December 1990
The sultry notes of âEarth Angelâ by Marvin Berry and the Starlighters floated all around me as I pushed open the door of the diner. The song oozed out of a Wurlitzer jukebox standing in the far corner and a warm rush of relief swept through me as I realised Iâd made it.
To New York.
To the Starlight Diner.
To Esther.
Before stepping inside, I glanced one last time over my shoulder, just to be sure nobody was out there. Watching or waiting.
Snowflakes danced in the pale glow of street lamps and steam blew out of the subway vents, but people were few, and hurrying home out of the cold. The coast seemed to be clear.
For now.
I didnât know what kind of reception Iâd get from Esther, not after what had happened between us. When she found out what was going on, the parts it was safe to tell, Iâd at least be subjected to a tut and an eyebrow raise. That much was certain. Both were almost patented gestures for her. Still, I needed a friendly face and she was the closest thing I had.
âHi there, honey,â said a soft, inviting voice, which was accompanied by the rich flurry of the saxophone playing in the background. Turning, I saw who had spoken: a waitress standing just behind the counter.
Looking at her, my shoulders tightened. They were already sore from three days and two nights sleeping on buses and hostel beds and I winced at the sting.
It wasnât Esther.
God damn it, where was she? Why couldnât she have just put her home address on those letters she sent? Well, I had my suspicions about why. But I couldnât think about that. Esther was pretty much the only person I had to turn to and the only lead I had on her was this restaurant.
