TEMPTED

A Player Brother Novel

By Claire Adams

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2015 Claire Adams

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Chapter One

I couldn’t decide if I felt the most excited as I have ever been in my life, or the most nervous.

I pulled up into the parking lot of the small apartment building where I would be sharing a unit with my friend whom I had known in high school, Kelsey Anderson. I had been driving for three days from my parent’s home in Iowa. We had both decided to move out here together over the summer. She had already been here for a week, but she would have my room available whenever I got here, she had said.

Honestly, this was the first venture towards my life as an adult, having just graduated law school in Florida and college before that.

The sun beamed down on me and I felt grateful that I had heeded the advice to buy a high quality pair of sunglasses. My home state of Iowa may have been part of Big Sky Country, but the intense blue of the sky was unlike any color I had seen before. California didn’t mess around with the heat or the brightness, that much I had learned quickly. Though everyone insisted that it's a dry heat so it's not that bad.

That is yet to be seen.

I looked up the side of the building, finding the small wooden porch that would be ours. Kelsey had a small cheerful potted plant sitting on the edge of the railing. Seeing it perched in that precarious position made me nervous that it would fall.

Aside from college in Florida, I had never been this far away from my home in Iowa. What brought me to California was the once in a life time chance at joining a premier law firm specializing in my field. I had applied about halfway though my final year in law school on the recommendation of my mentor and academic adviser.

Of course that meant I had to also pass my California boards too.

I did but it wasn’t easy not confusing Florida law from California law.

Sure, it may not be the top law firm in the country or anything, but I really liked the area and the job seemed to be a good fit for starting out. They said I would start part time and then I would be eligible to compete for the full time position once it became available. One of the senior partners would be retiring soon and they wanted to fill some of the gaps with more fulltime lawyers. So if I played my cards right I could become high profile fairly quickly.

I hoped.

What new law student wouldn't jump at it?

It was literally my dream job. My mother had laughed when I received my acceptance letter, because I had jumped up and down squealing and flailing my arms. She had calmly explained that she never doubted I would be accepted.

The heat enveloped me as I opened my car door. Across the parking lot, I saw a couple of young women wearing cut off jeans and bikini tops, bedecked in flip flops and sun glasses strolling comfortably towards the Jeep in one of the other spaces. This type of sight I would eventually grow used to. The warm weather made for a different mindset in wardrobe, I discovered.

I had been lucky enough to find a parking spot right next to the open stair cases which would lead to the walk up.

Dry heat indeed.

I pulled my suitcase out of the truck, slamming shut the hatchback of my small blue Toyota, the very same car that I had purchased in high school with my summer fast-food money. It had been used when I got it, but I paid for it outright and it was mine one hundred percent. I knew that one day I would have to trade it in for a more reliable car.

Maybe once I nailed down this job at the firm.

I lugged my bag up the stairs, pulling it behind me one at a time. I had a bundle of cash with me that I planned on getting household things with. But for the time being all my personal belongings were in the suitcase.

Apartment Thirty four.

I saw the cheerful little metal numbers and tapped on the door. I hadn’t seen Kelsey since graduation other than online. I had remembered her as the stunning red head with a smattering of freckles across her nose. The butterflies in my stomach had as much to do with reconnecting with an old friend than with starting a new life.

The door opened.

"Blair!" she shrieked extending her arms out and grabbing me in a huge embrace.

"Hi, Kelsey," I mumbled into her curly auburn hair that filled my face in her firm hug. She pulled back and held me at arm’s length with her hands on my shoulders.

"You look gorgeous!" she gushed.

That was quite a compliment coming from her. She had always been pretty in high school, but she had filled out to womanhood and her bright blue eyes accented her delicate facial features.

I supposed I must have looked different than when she had seen me last. I had always been a bookish sort back in high school. But I had since gotten contacts and my once mousy brown hair had developed into a rich brunette over the years and hung in waves past my shoulders. I wore a white tee shirt, a pair of denim cut offs and flip flops.

"Are you kidding? I'm a mess,” I said with a laugh.

"Oh my gosh, come in!" she said. "What am I thinking? I set up some of the furniture in the living room. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all,” I said. "The place looks great!"

It really did.

The ramshackle couch had been covered with a hand crocheted quilt in a rainbow of colorful granny squares. A small wooden coffee table had a collection of different sized candles in various shades of purple as the center piece. In the far corner I saw a huge roll top desk with a large floor lamp next to it. That looked like the perfect study nook. I walked over to the desk and touched my fingers on the surface of the edge.

"My mom made me bring the desk,” she said. "It was mine in my room when I was a kid, but I don't think I'll be using it. I figured you could use it with your job and stuff. "

"Of course I’ll take it. I don’t have anything like that," I said.

"Let me show you your room,” she said.

We walked down the hallway and she showed me the kitchen just off the living room, the bathroom which contained far more space that I could have imagined. The large bathtub looked like almost big enough to be a spa.

Then finally we arrived at my room.

There wasn’t anything in it as of yet, but the large window let the coastal sun stream in making a small offset rectangle on the lavender carpet, giving the room a cheerful, welcoming feel.

"Thanks, Kelsey," I said as I stepped into the room.

I took a deep breath taking in the fresh scent of the clean room. This had to be my favorite feeling, standing in an empty room, as if it were welcoming me to my new home. I raised my arms, through back my head and spun around.