Anthony: Signature Sweethearts Book Seven Read online

  Anthony

  Signature Sweethearts Book Seven

  Kelsie Rae

  Contents

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek

  Dear Reader

  About the Author

  Also by Kelsie Rae

  Copyright © 2019 Kelsie Rae

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. The reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

  Cover Art by Sly Fox Cover Designs

  Editing by My Brother’s Editor

  Proofreading by Stephanie Taylor

  May 2019 Edition

  Published in the United States of America

  Blurb

  Anthony

  Being responsible hasn't gotten me anywhere in life. My girlfriend left me for another guy. My career is over. I feel like I've lost everything.

  Then I meet Sway Swenson.

  She's sexy, fun, spontaneous, has zero inhibitions, and thinks relationships are a waste of time, just like me. She's perfect for getting me back into the game without looking for anything serious. The only problem? She's hiding something, and the longer I'm around her, the more I want to uncover her secrets.

  If only she'd let me.

  Sway

  I don't do relationships. A crippling experience in high school was enough to make me avoid them like the plague.

  Then I meet Anthony Wright.

  Everything is fine until he decides to take off his stupid shirt and gives me a glimpse of his washboard abs. When he suggests hot and sweaty sex with no strings attached, I'm stupid enough to jump in with both feet. Yup. I fall for his ludicrous idea, but I refuse to fall for the man himself.

  Even if he does make me curious about what life could be like if I wasn't broken.

  Chapter One

  Anthony

  “Do you understand the severity of your actions, Mr. Wright?”

  With my gaze glued to the gavel, I nod. “Yes, Your Honor.”

  I’ve never been inside a courtroom. It’s different than I expected. Smaller maybe. Probably because they leave the giant courtrooms that I see on television open for cases that have something to do with murder and money laundering, instead of for a DUI with property damage.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” Judge Jeffers interrupts my thoughts. His tone demands my attention, so I give it to him with a look of indifference. “Your records before the incident are squeaky clean. Hell, you were even a Boy Scout. Do you have anything to say for yourself?” I pull my gaze away from the center of his forehead and look Judge Jeffers in the eyes. When I’m greeted with his all-too-familiar look of disappointment, my shoulders hunch.

  “I screwed up, Your Honor. As you can see from my records, this is very uncharacteristic of me…but still unacceptable. I deserve every punishment this court finds necessary, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right.”

  “So you plead guilty for driving under the influence and damaging the property of Ms. Swenson?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  I watch as his jaw clenches in frustration over my stupidity before he continues. “Do you understand I could have you thrown in jail for this misdemeanor? That the state of New Hampshire does not take these charges lightly? You could’ve killed someone, son––”

  “I understand, Your Honor,” I grit out. Cutting him off isn’t the brightest thing I’ve ever done, but then again, I’ve done a lot of stupid shit in my life.

  Clearing his throat, he fumbles with the sleeves of his long black robe then says, “That anger won’t do you any good, son. May I ask what brought you here? To Riverside?”

  Flashes of my previous life filter through me, and I shake my head in hopes of scattering them. There were so many times I did the wrong thing, made the wrong choice.

  Like Indie. The girl who broke my heart after a thirteen-year relationship. If that isn’t hard to swallow, I don’t know what is.

  I thought I was fine when she ended things between us. When she found the love of her life and left me in the dust to pick up the pieces of my measly existence. I want to laugh when I remember that I even stepped in and cleared up a misunderstanding between her and her new boyfriend. Then reality set in, and I realized I was alone, and the only person I had to blame for my shitty circumstances was myself.

  “Mr. Wright?” Judge Jeffers prods.

  I look up to find him staring at me. “I wanted a fresh start.”

  “And do you think this is the right way to get it? By ending up in a courtroom after losing your previous job?”

  My fists clench at my sides before I take a deep breath and release it through my mouth while counting to ten. “Probably not, Your Honor.”

  A heavy silence hangs over the room as I watch Judge Jeffers debate what the hell he’s going to do with me. I’m surprised my palms aren’t sweaty, and that my heart isn’t beating in a frantic rhythm. Then I remember I don’t give a shit anymore. About anything. So why should I care where I end up? If I go to prison? If I fork out my life savings for this mistake? Nothing matters anymore. Because everything that did matter vanished into thin air when I screwed it up. Over and over again.

  Karma’s a bitch.

  Chapter Two

  Sway

  “Well that went well,” I say sarcastically, sliding my arms into my oversized coat to keep some heat in. It’s freezing outside, and the clouds look like they’re ready to burst with fresh flakes of snow just in time for the weekend.

  “Oh, come on, Sway. You should be happy. Now you’ll finally have some help for a few months. That’s a good thing, right?”

  I sigh and give my sister, Skye, the side-eye. “You’re just trying to get out of cleaning kitty litter for the next few months and are happy to pawn it off on the guy who rammed into the sign in my front yard.”

  Skye doesn’t even have the decency to hide her mischievous smile. “Hell yes, I am. I dunno how you deal with it, Sway. There are so many cats! What number are you up to?”

  With a shrug, I do the math in my head before replying. “I think we’re at twenty-nine right now, but I found a home for two of them, so I think we’ll be down to twenty-seven by Monday. If the snow decides to let the owners come pick Tiny and Macho up, anyway.”

  With a shake of her head, my other sister, Saylor, pipes in. “Sway, you know you’re going straight to heaven, right? Opening up your home as a sanctuary for cats who overstay their welcome at the local shelter?” She nudges me playfully. �
��Definitely a reason for sainthood, my friend.”

  “And you forgot to mention donating her veterinary skills,” Skye pipes up with a smirk.

  I roll my eyes and slap a gray beanie on my pink hair before pulling my coat tighter around me for the umpteenth time in ten minutes as I prepare to step outside.

  “You guys are being ridiculous. It’s not that big of a deal. I love animals anyway, and I have the space. Why not help those who are less fortunate than me by sharing it?”

  Saylor reaches for the handle on the heavy door that will let us out of the court building, when a masculine arm covered with a fine dusting of hair beats her to it.

  My head whips to the side to find its owner, and I am gifted with an up close and personal view of Mr. Wright; the guy who was driving drunk around my house, slid into my yard, and bulldozed my Cat Sanctuary sign.

  We haven’t spoken. In fact, the entire ordeal was handled by outside authorities after I called the cops that night. But now that I know he’ll be hanging around the premises for community service, I guess it’d be a good idea to officially introduce myself.

  “Hi, I’m Sway.”

  “Anthony,” he returns, running his fingers through his brown hair. The motion brings attention to his sharp jaw and dark eyes. I can’t help but notice how defeated they look, but I don’t bother asking him why. It’s obvious his life is a little screwed up right now, and I don’t blame him for seeming a little cold and awkward.

  “Nice to meet you,” I offer. “So…umm…looks like we’ll be working together for a little while.”

  “Yup. That seems to be the case.”

  The detachment in his tone is suffocating.

  I bob my head up and down awkwardly before repeating him. “Yup.”

  “When do you want me to start? The judge said you could decide so….” His voice trails off, leaving the ball in my court––Ha! No pun intended––as the cold air seeps in through the door and makes me shiver.

  “Umm…I don’t know? Whenever is good for you, I guess. I mean, it’s not like we don’t have plenty of hours to work with.” Skye snorts at my terrible joke before Saylor shoves her out the door.

  “We’ll be in the car with the heater on full-blast,” she tosses over her shoulder as a fresh flurry of snowflakes sprinkle from the sky.

  Squeezing the back of his neck, Anthony looks up at the ceiling as we hover near the exit before he turns his attention back to me. “Yeah. I think we’ll be getting to know each other pretty well over the next few months.”

  “So do you have a job or anything that we need to work around? I think it would probably be a good thing if I had an idea of your schedule.”

  With a dry laugh, he shakes his head. “Nope. No job. No family that’s close. Just me.”

  The sadness in his statement hits me square in the chest, and I reach out to grab his forearm in a lame attempt to comfort him. “Then it looks like you’ll fit right in around my house. I do collect strays, after all.” I add a not-so-subtle wink to lighten the mood, and he scoffs in return before sliding out of my grasp.

  “Good to know. So when do I start?”

  “Maybe on Monday? If that works for you?”

  “Yup.” He pushes the door open the rest of the way, clearly dismissing me, and I take a step into the bitter cold. The strong wind makes my hair swirl into a chaotic mess, and my cheeks burn from the temperature, but I don’t head to my car. Instead, I turn on my heel and give him a cheeky grin. “See ya around, Anthony!”

  All I get is a half-wave in return as he rushes away like a bat out of hell.

  Figures.

  Chapter Three

  Sway

  Pulling into my parents’ ranch-style house with the heater on full blast, Skye jumps out before I’ve even put the car in park.

  “Why the rush?” I ask Saylor, taking the key out of the ignition.

  She slides out of the back and says, “Mom made cinnamon rolls, but only the first batch is done baking.”

  Which means if I don’t get in there soon, I’ll have to wait another fifteen minutes to eat one.

  As soon as the words slip past her lips, Saylor follows in Skye’s footsteps, booking it to the kitchen while I trail behind.

  The girls are a bunch of Hoovers when it comes to my mom’s cooking, so I doubt there will be any left by the time I hit the front porch. Even if Saylor likes to pretend she’s the only kid with manners, we all know those rules don’t apply when cinnamon rolls are on the table.

  When I see my dad bundled up in his chair with a hot cup of coffee, the steam swirling in the bitter cold, I smile. “Hey, Daddy.”

  “Hey, Swayze Girl. How’d it go?”

  With a sigh, I pull out the seat next to him and plop right down before folding my arms to keep a little more of the heat in.

  “It was okay. He has to pay for the damage to my property and will be working at the sanctuary until he finishes his community service hours, so I’ll have some help around the place for a little while.”

  Resting his elbows on his knees, he offers me his cup of coffee, and I take a long sip, letting the heat warm me from the inside out.

  “That sounds like a heck of a deal, Swayze Girl. Why do you sound hesitant?”

  I shrug before offering his cup back to him. “Because I feel bad.”

  “Why on earth would you feel bad?”

  “I don’t know. Skye has run into that sign in the past while she was sober, and the streets were clear. Is it really this guy’s fault for ramming into it in the dead of night, on an unfamiliar road after a snowstorm, when it was icy as hell?”

  Grabbing my knee, my dad squeezes it gently. “He was intoxicated, Swayze Girl. I don’t care what the driving conditions were. He made a mistake when he got behind that wheel, and he needs to deal with the consequences. Understand?”

  “Yeah. I understand. Doesn’t make me feel any less guilty, though.”

  “Why? For accepting court-mandated help?” He laughs dryly, and the sound is so contagious, I join in.

  “Yeah, something like that.”

  “It’ll be fine. But I want to meet him. If he’s going to be at your place alone with you, then I want to make sure it’s safe.”

  I purse my lips, refusing to admit that I love how much he cares. After I take another sip of coffee, I remind him, “Dad. I’m a big girl, remember? I can take care of myself. And do you really think the judge would set this up if he didn’t think I’d be safe?”

  Grudgingly, my dad concedes, but not without giving me the side-eye first. “Good point. Just be careful. I don’t want my baby girl getting hurt.”

  “Meh.” I wave him off before handing him his cup of coffee. “You’ve got two more for backups, so I’m sure you’ll be fine.” After nudging him in the shoulder, I stand to my full height. “Now, come inside. It’s freezing out here, and I heard there are fresh cinnamon rolls waiting for me.”

  “That there are, Swayze Girl. Let’s go get some.” With the pace of a turtle, my dad pushes off from the wooden chair and guides me inside as I smile at the man he is.

  If there was an award for Greatest Dad Ever, Brock Swenson would win. It wouldn’t even be a competition. He’s the best cheerleader, monster killer, and story reader you’ve ever met, and I know without a doubt that my family wouldn’t be the same without him.

  He might be a little brash and overprotective, but he’s also my hero and was never afraid to play Barbies with me when I was a kid, or sit front and center at every ballet recital for us girls. He’s even been supportive of my no relationship policy, which is saying something because the rest of my family love giving me crap for it.

  Stepping into my childhood home, I breathe in the familiar scent of cinnamon and warm vanilla sugar before making my way down the hall to the kitchen. My parents moved onto the ranch after my grandma died and used the inheritance money to pay for it outright. A few years later, my sister Saylor came along, followed by me, then Skye.

  It’s been
redecorated to look like a classic farmhouse with white walls, soft maple-colored floors, and second-hand furniture that’s been restored to look cute and quaint. The place is my home and holds so many warm memories, I can’t help but smile every time I enter it.

  “Hey, Mama!” I greet as I step into the kitchen and wrap her in a hug.

  “Hey, Swayze Girl! How’d it go?”

  “Good. He’s going to pay for the damage and help around the place until his community service hours are taken care of.”

  “That’s great! I’m so happy everything worked out, and no one got hurt. I hope he’ll remember the consequences of his actions the next time he gets behind a wheel. Now come get a cinnamon roll before your sisters scarf them all down.” She lifts a plate with a freshly-baked cinnamon roll placed in the center before Skye screeches, “Hey! I thought you said that one was off limits!”

  “It was,” my mom replies. “I was saving it for Sway. Now, stop pouting and check on the tray in the oven.”

  She does as she’s told with a dramatic, “Yes, Mama,” tacked on at the end.

  “So tell me about this boy who’ll be hanging around you,” Mama probes as she sits down on a barstool at the center island in the kitchen.