Page 1 of The Temptation (Executive Suite Secrets #4)

PIERCE SUTTON

Sawyer dropped his duffel bag loaded with dirty laundry on the marble floor of the foyer with a heavy thud .

It was so tempting to do the same, but this wasn’t my house, even if I had visited the Millers numerous times over the past three years.

It had become as familiar to me as my home, and yet I still clung to the manners my mother had browbeaten into me.

But Sawyer’s noisy entrance paled in comparison to the explosion of colorful balloons and streamers that festooned every inch of the foyer and into the living room.

The family was celebrating the birthday of Sawyer’s younger brother, Simon.

He was turning thirteen. And apparently, all he’d wanted was for Sawyer to return from college and bring me along.

However, I was confident Sawyer had made up that last bit, but I couldn’t turn him down.

I’d first met Simon three years ago when Sawyer’s family had come to see him play baseball.

Sawyer was one of the team’s pitchers while I played right field.

Since that first meeting, Simon had said barely more than three words to me.

The kid with the unruly mop of blond hair and ridiculously large blue eyes kept his mouth shut and his eyes on the ground anytime he was out with others.

That shyness didn’t extend to his older brother.

The second Sawyer gave him even a shred of attention, Simon would light up like a Christmas tree in a dark room.

He would chatter on and on about every little thing he saw or did, trying so hard to impress his older brother.

Sawyer was tolerant and patient with Simon, always listening and nodding to everything he said.

We weren’t in the house long before the clack of someone approaching in heavy heels echoed through the house. Elizabeth Miller was a lovely woman with the same blond hair as her youngest son, and wide blue eyes.

“Oh, thank goodness, you didn’t miss your flight,” Mrs. Miller said as soon as she set eyes on us.

Sawyer smirked as he extended his arms to hug her. “I figured that was why you asked me to bring Pierce along. So I would be on time for once.”

She smacked her oldest child on the shoulder even as she hugged him. “That’s not true, but I consider it a bonus. I’m still hoping his sense of responsibility will rub off on you.”

Sawyer shot me a look over his mother’s shoulder, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smirking. I could imagine any number of filthy comments crossing his mind that were nothing like what his mother had meant.

Elizabeth released Sawyer and turned to me as I schooled my features into something serious.

She pulled me into a light hug and patted my back twice.

“It is always so good to see you, Pierce dear. We’re so happy you could join us this weekend for Simon’s birthday.

I hope my other son hasn’t been too much of a headache for you. ”

“Thank you so much for having me,” I replied politely, avoiding her comment.

Sawyer’s mother released me and stepped away to frown at his bag on the floor. “That’s filled with dirty clothes, isn’t it?”

Sawyer grinned proudly. “Of course.”

“Why did you bring it with you? We pay for a perfectly good service to keep up with the cleaning. Why couldn’t you have left your laundry in Boston?”

“Because I didn’t want you to miss out on the joy of doing mom things for me. Next year, I graduate, and I’m on my own. Don’t you like taking care of me?” Sawyer pushed out a pouty bottom lip and fluttered his eyelashes at her.

“Nonsense! I?—”

The front door swinging open cut off whatever scathing remark she’d been about to deliver.

A skinny boy bundled up in a heavy jacket and a knit hat stepped into the foyer.

If it hadn’t been for the violin case clenched in his left fist, I would never have guessed that it was Simon.

How the hell had he managed to grow at least three inches?

He was still an awkward boy who reminded me of a scarecrow escaped from his field, but he was more teenager than child now.

Something in the sharpness of his cheekbones and the cut of his jaw promised a hardness that would set in as he became an adult.

“Look who arrived in time for your birthday!” Elizabeth announced.

Simon moaned and slammed the door shut behind him. He walked right to Sawyer and threw his body into him. The hug was more of the boy pressing his head into Sawyer’s chest while his older brother wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“Happy birthday, brat,” Sawyer greeted with a mixture of laughter and love in his voice.

Simon grunted, but Sawyer’s chest muffled it.

“Aren’t you going to at least say hi to Pierce?” Sawyer teased.

“Happy birthday, Simon,” I said.

While he was still half pressed into his brother, Simon turned his head toward me and mumbled a quiet “Thank you” before straightening. His gaze skimmed over the decorations, and he huffed.

“I told you I didn’t want a stupid kid’s party, Mom.” As soon as the words were off his lips, Simon ran up the stairs and disappeared down the hall, seeming to stomp the entire way.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and sighed heavily. “I got one out of his teen years and now the second one is entering them. It never ends.”

Sawyer slung an arm across his mother’s shoulders. “But with me you don’t have to worry anymore.” She threw him a skeptical scowl. Sawyer motioned to me with his free hand. “I’ve got Pierce to always keep an eye on me. He won’t let me do anything stupid.”

“You’re very lucky to have Pierce. I hope you realize that.”

“Maybe, but his life would be so boring without me.”

That was true. According to Sawyer, I wasn’t adventurous enough. I took the safe and easy path. Sawyer always went off road, straight into chaos every chance he got.

With some muttering and chuckling, his mother sent us to get settled in our rooms. The plans for the weekend were low key.

Tonight was dinner with the immediate family, along with cake and presents.

On Saturday, we were going to a place that had an indoor go-kart track and arcade games.

Then, that evening, we would attend the symphony.

We would have enough time on Sunday for brunch ahead of our flight to Boston.

Not my first choice for a weekend when I had an enormous pile of reading and essays ahead of me, but I’d do it for Sawyer without complaint because he really was the best friend I’d ever had.

As the night passed, Simon’s mood improved, and he got out of his grumpy sulk.

He was happy to see his brother and even dared to throw a smile or two in my direction.

Dinner was enjoyable. Sawyer took after his father with his boisterous, larger-than-life personality, while Simon was more like his mother.

However, they all knew how to sling teasing comments back and forth.

As the cake was brought out, I was reminded that Simon wasn’t a typical teenager.

Instead of a cake with pirates or superheroes, which would have fit Sawyer perfectly, Simon had gotten a cake elegantly decorated in musical notes and shaped like a violin.

Sawyer had said that Simon had started playing music at the age of two by pounding on the keys of their piano.

But as soon as he could hold a violin, he’d switched instruments.

All his energy went into the violin, almost to the detriment of his other studies.

It was only after his parents had threatened to take it away that he’d begun to pay attention in class.

Despite Simon’s groans and begging, Elizabeth led them all in singing “Happy Birthday,” which left Simon’s face beet red. He pulled his T-shirt up to cover most of his face, but when he lowered it again, he was grinning.

It was a nice time, and Simon seemed to appreciate that Sawyer had left college just to spend the weekend with him. I escaped early with the excuse of needing to get some reading done. I didn’t want to intrude on their family time.

A hall clock chimed the midnight hour, and I slipped down to the kitchen to brew a cup of coffee. I had at least another hour of reading ahead of me, but the words of the very dry book were blurring together.

The rest of the house was silent. Sawyer had poked his head into my room around eleven to announce that he was crashing.

He had a nine a.m. class on Fridays and took a nap afterward so he could party that evening.

However, our flight to North Carolina had disrupted his routine, forcing him to stay awake.

“Hey, Pierce.”

I almost jumped out of my skin at the soft sound of Simon’s voice. I spun from where I’d been leaning on the counter, my eyes on the coffeemaker, to find Simon standing on the other side of the island wearing a T-shirt that looked as if it were reserved for sleeping.

“Oh! Hey, Simon,” I said. “What are you still doing up? Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

That earned me the darkest glare Simon had ever directed at me. “I’m thirteen now. I don’t have a bedtime on weekends. My parents let me stay up as late as I want.”

“Shit,” I hissed, wincing away from him. “Sorry. My bad.”

“Whatever,” Simon mumbled under his breath, his sullen gaze dropping to the marble countertop.

“Thanks for inviting me to your house for your birthday. I had a nice time tonight.”

Simon’s head popped up so fast, I believed it was going to break off his neck and bounce across the room.

His expression brightened so that he was beaming at me.

“Really? Did you like the cake? Sawyer mentioned you were a fan of dark chocolate with raspberry filling. I asked my mom specifically for it.”

For a second, I was speechless. He was right; I had mentioned it once in front of Sawyer, but I couldn’t imagine Sawyer repeating that to his little brother unless it had been some offhand comment. Yet, Simon had gotten that for me?