The expanse was broken up by cozy seating areas and potted plants. Over the murmur of hotel guests—arriving, leaving or just people-watching—was the muted lash of a fountain, complete with palm trees and pond. It was like walking into a movie set, and she found herself gawking shamelessly, wanting to see everything at once. Seeing her wide-eyed pleasure, Neill chuckled, but he was aware of a slow-burning anger at the thought that she'd lived her whole life just a few hours away, yet this was the first time she'd made the trip into the city. If she'd had no interest, that would have been one thing. But the open delight she took in everything she saw, her fascination with things that should have been commonplace, left him torn between anger that her life had been so restricted and a guilty pleasure that he was the one to show her what she'd been missing. He'd brought her here because he'd been sure she would enjoy it, but also because he thought it might be a good idea to be on neutral ground when he told her that he knew about Brooke and explained that his career was not exactly what she thought it was.
