Maya for confirmation as she said this, knowing that if Maya were to put her foot down and say the venue had to be this one, both men would concede.
But as Brooke expected, Maya’s delicate features flashed in relief at having someone else make the decision for her.
“Agreed.” She nodded her head enthusiastically. “I want some place that I fall in love with the first minute. Not one where I have to squint my eyes and tilt my head to the side in order to see the magic, you know what I mean?”
“Not really,” Seth muttered under his breath.
Maya and Neil clearly missed his sarcasm as they pulled in for another of those dreamy, mildly nauseating kisses, but Brooke leveled Seth with a gaze that, she hoped, could not be clearer: Knock it off. Be nice. Seth quirked an eyebrow and offered up an innocent smile, which made her all the more infuriated. God, this guy was a pain.
“So what’s next?” Maya asked, pulling herself away from Neil.
Brooke opened her notebook. “I’ve got four more options today. If you didn’t love this one, I think I’ll cross one off the list. Another skyscraper on a high floor, but a bit more intimate, and if you thought this one was too small, the next one definitely is not going to work—”
“Who said it was too small?” Seth interrupted.
There was a moment of awkward silence. Maya nervously glanced between her brother and fiancé, and once again, Brooke was the one to speak up. “Neil mentioned that perhaps the guest list might be more than what this venue can handle.”
Brooke was braced for a snide comment, but Seth didn’t say anything at all, and that was somehow much worse. There was no question about it—in order for any of them to enjoy this planning process, she’d have to get rid of the brother. Still, they were stuck with him for today, so maybe if she could just keep Seth and Neil separated as much as possible, nobody would lose an eye or a limb.
“I think we’ll head uptown,” she said. “The Miller Museum can be rented out, and it’s beautiful. It could be just the thing.”
“How do you know? Didn’t you just move here?” Seth asked snidely.
“Seth!” Maya gave her brother an exasperated glance, but Brooke just ignored him altogether and turned to Maya, her wide smile feeling painted on. She would not let this grade-A jerk get to her, no matter what. “What do you think, Maya?” she asked brightly. “Shall we check that one out next?”
“Absolutely,” Maya said. “I’ve never been, but I’ve heard great things.”
“Fine,” Seth said, already moving toward the door. “Maya, you have your car?”
“Yes, of course. We all—”
“Excellent. You and Neil take that. I’ll take Ms. Baldwin in mine. There are some budget details I’d like to discuss with her.”
Brooke refused to let her footsteps falter as they stepped into the elevator. “You have a car?”
He glanced at her. “Yes. Why?”
Oh, nothing. Just that it’s very Mr. Big and I might swoon.
One of her favorite parts of the Sex and the City fantasy was when Carrie’s mysterious Mr. Big would arrive in that sexy town car with his personal driver. One of the ultimate status symbols in New York.
Or any city, for that matter.
Too bad the car’s owner was a super-douche who she had no desire to spend time with.
“I really should ride with Maya and Neil,” she protested as they exited the fancy lobby out into the brisk New York afternoon. “There are a few things to discuss and—”
“There definitely are,” he said smoothly before wrapping strong fingers around her bicep and pulling her gently to him. “And we can all discuss them together, once we get to the museum.”
Brooke shot a desperate look toward Maya, but the younger woman gave her a happy, oblivious wave as she preceded Neil into her waiting town car. “Text me the address!”
“This way, Ms. Baldwin,” Seth said.
Brooke jerked her arm free and glared, making it clear that she didn’t appreciate being manhandled any more than she liked being manipulated.
He lifted his eyebrows in challenge, and in answer, she lifted her chin and walked toward the sleek black car he indicated, smiling in thanks as the waiting chauffeur opened the door for them.
Then Seth slid in, his warm hip subtly brushing against hers as he got situated beside her.
The door closed.
They were alone.
Chapter Seven
SETH REALIZED HIS ERROR in judgment the second his hand had locked around Brooke’s arm to usher