Tempted (A Player Brother Romance Book) (A Standalone Novel) (Player Brothers Book 1)

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.

I turned to her. "This place is great."

"Isn't it?" she said with a twinkling grin.

"You know what I'm going to do next?"

"What?"

"I’m exhausted from traveling, so I’m going to
take a bath in that fabulous bathtub. I have a week before my job starts, so
maybe tomorrow I can go shopping."

"That sounds awesome,” she said, hugging me. We
wondered back to the kitchen and she handed me a soda, grabbing one for
herself. "Are you excited about your new job?"

"Well,” I said, swallowing the hesitation I felt.
"When I was driving across the border into California. I couldn't decide
if I wanted to leap for joy or run away. But now that I’m here... I guess it's
just a little bit overwhelming. I can tell you one thing though. I'm going to
get that job. Game on."

Kelsey laughed and raised her soda can. "To new
beginnings," she said. I clicked my can against hers feeling a grin break
across my face.

"To new beginnings,” I said.

The following week consisted of getting furniture for
my room and mentally preparing for the first day of my upcoming job. I had
settled on a futon so I would have both a sleeping area and a place to sit if I
decided to do any work in my room. Even though Kelsey had offered me the use of
the desk, I liked to have my options open. I also invested in a cute bean bag
chair and a fun colorful throw rug to give the place a homey vibe. I placed a
few pictures of me with my parents from my college graduation on the top of my
bookshelf. I felt pretty good about how it turned out, as I collapsed on the
futon, having spent the day putting it together.

I glanced over at my closet ruminating on what to wear
next week when I would meet my competition.

I wanted to wear something professional, slick and
maybe even a little intimidating.

I could do that.

I stood up and stepped over to the closet, pulling
open the sliding door to reveal my wardrobe. As I slid the hangers across the
metal bar, I wondered if I needed to go shopping again except with an eye for
clothing this time. I had plenty of casual items as my life up to this point
had consisted of college classes and high school before that.

I wondered briefly if there would be any significant
drawback to being a female competing against a male.

I hoped not.

My closet was filled with tops, blouses that could be
dressed up, but I needed a few more skirts and pairs of pants to do so. Maybe I
could ask Kelsey if she wanted to go shopping tomorrow. She had wanted to show
me the neighborhood since she had already been here for a few days before me.

It felt pretty good to have a friend here, otherwise I
would have been battling loneliness along with the butterflies of the new situation.

Kelsey and I had known each other in high school, but
ran in different circles. She had been one of the charismatic and popular kids,
always with the starring role in the school play. I was more of a book worm, an
introvert who liked to keep to myself. I didn’t speak to many people while at
school except for my best friend Aiden, who also lived a few houses down from
me.

Oddly enough, Kelsey and I didn’t become close until
after high school, when we stayed in touch through social media. It had started
just as a social nicety on my part, with a few comments on various posts that
we both liked.

Then one day I had gotten trolled and she defended my
argument with panache. She messaged me and the conversation had never really
ended. We had stayed in touch through college, and when circumstances revealed
that we were both coming to California, albeit for different reasons, we
decided that it only made sense for us to get a place together.