“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 her toward his town car. An error that became even more prominent when he’d climbed into the car beside her, and his leg had pressed against hers.
Now his hand and his leg burned just from simple contact with the woman, through their clothes. God knew what would happen if he ever got his hands on her for real.
He’d probably combust.
As for the effect those grazing touches had had on her . . .
Seth glanced out of the corner of his eye at Brooke’s profile. Noted the way her cheeks were a touch pinker than before, her breath a bit shallow.
Brooke cleared her throat and glanced down at the minimal space between them. “You’re on my coat.”
Seth glanced down, and sure enough he was sitting on her coat, which in turn was holding her captive against his side. “Right,” he said gruffly. “Sorry.”
Even as he said it, they both stayed perfectly still. Seth had to order his body to cooperate, shifting slightly so she could pull away, and the second she did, he felt the urge to yank her back again. To pull her to him, to kiss that full bottom lip, maybe pull her up and over him so she was straddling him, and just—
The privacy screen separating them from Dex, his longtime driver, came down slightly. “Pardon the interruption, Mr. Tyler. I didn’t get the address of where we were heading.”
“Oh!” Brooke said, fumbling with her book. “Let me get that for you.”
“The Miller Museum,” Seth interrupted.
Dex nodded. “Very good, sir. Traffic’s especially bad today. A concert at Times Square, some rally in the park, plus construction on Third. Might take us a while.”
“Wonderful,” Brooke muttered as she typed something on her phone.
Dex slid the privacy screen back into place, and Seth almost wished he’d asked the chauffeur to leave it as is so he wouldn’t be tempted by the blonde beside him.
His grand plan of getting close to her with the hope of talking her into doing some digging on Neil and Maya may not have been one of his best. He could barely think around the woman, much less speak coherently.
Hardly like him.
Seth tapped his fingers slowly on the leather seat beside him, forcing himself to look out the window instead of at her.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her slide her phone into her bag, and was surprised when she shifted her body around to face him. She didn’t even try to hide the fact that she was studying him. He half expected her to start jotting notes about him in her little book.
Uptight.
Control freak.
Unlikable.
He clenched his jaw, staring out at the slowly passing city before he gave in and looked over at her. “You’re staring.”