Which begged the question: Had he had Clay investigated for the same reason?
Because he loved Brooke?
And if he did . . .
Just what the hell was she going to do about it?
Chapter Thirty-Two
ETTA HAD GOTTEN SO sick of Seth interrupting her, asking for medicine, that she’d started leaving the pill bottles on Seth’s desk as a preemptive measure. They both pretended they were for tension headaches, but they both knew better. His head hurt, yes. But the main source of tension was in his chest.
And not in the “oh shit, call 911” type of chest pain. After his father’s death, Seth had gotten acquainted real fast with his cardiologist, and so far, his ticker looked exactly as it should for a man in his early thirties.
No, Seth’s chest hurt from something even more timeless than clogged arteries.
It was women.
Women made his chest hurt.
Specifically, a blond wedding planner who was no longer his wedding planner. Or his sister’s wedding planner, if one wanted to get specific about it.
Seth understood why Brooke had passed off Maya’s wedding to Alexis. He respected the choice, even, because Brooke was a consummate professional, and the conflict of interest would have killed her.
But it didn’t make him miss her any less.
The emails he received from Alexis Morgan at the end of every business day were perfectly fine. Professional, to the point, and loaded with details of his sister’s wedding that he didn’t give a crap about. Bows. Blooms. Even the decision to use ivory candles instead of pure white, as though Seth gave a fuck.
Because yes, the wedding was still happening. Maya was still marrying a man she thought to be Neil Garrett.
Seth hadn’t told her the truth.
He wasn’t sure he’d ever experienced such acute agony as knowing something that his baby sister needed to know but also knowing that he’d come about the information in the entirely wrong way.
Seth had two options, to tell her or not to tell her, and both seemed unbearably selfish.
If he didn’t tell her, she’d enter into a relationship with an imposter, but at least she wouldn’t blame Seth when it went sideways. To Brooke’s point, he’d be letting Maya lead her own life, her way.
If he did tell her, she’d hate his guts for not telling her about the investigation he’d launched, but at least she’d be free of the dirtbag. Because much as Seth was realizing that he shouldn’t know what he knew, he couldn’t unlearn it.
Hell.
Seth reached for one of the pill bottles. Maybe he did have the ol’ tension headache after all.
It was the end of the workday, and he’d turned down all business dinner obligations, so at the very least he was spared the company of other people.
The downside?
Yet another night at home. Alone. In his hotel suite.
With no sister, since she was in bridezilla panic mode.
No best friend, since he and Grant were still chilly as all hell.
And no Brooke.
At this point, Seth was about five minutes from asking Jared the Sniveling Intern out for a beer.
Luckily, he was saved from such acts of desperation by a knock at the door and his sister’s familiar face.
“Hey,” she said quietly. “You got a minute?”
Seth swallowed and nodded, gesturing awkwardly for her to come in, feeling uncomfortably emotional that she’d come to see him. It seemed a long-ass time since she’d sought him out.
Maybe not even since that day when she’d first told him she was getting married.
Seth was on his feet, moving toward her and scooping her into a hug before his confused brain could even register his intentions. Seth was not a hugger, but as he pulled his sister close, tucking her head against his chest, whether she liked it or not, he realized just how desperately he needed her.
He’d always assumed it was the other way around. That she needed him. That Maya needed Seth to guide her and guard her and, hell, double-check her shit taste in men. And perhaps there was still a little bit of that at work. The woman had apparently lost her credit card to a gambling-addicted imposter and still didn’t know he was racking up charges. There were things he would and could do to increase Maya’s independence and awareness of the world around her.
But that wasn’t what this moment was about.
It was about him needing her. Needing to learn how to love her the right way, because he did love her. Fiercely.