Bound to Be His ( The Archer Family 2)

Love wasn't something she wanted to talk about. Hell, it wasn't even something she wanted to think about.

Least of all with Matt Archer.

"It's nice. People who find love. Who start fresh," Matt said quietly.

Shay blinked and looked at him, reminded with a sudden sharp pang about his mother. Her new family. Her new beginning.

"I guess so. I'm not sure some people deserve it," Shay said.

Matt's thoughtful expression shifted into something more like pensiveness. "You don't think your mom deserves a fresh start?"

"Do you think yours does?" she asked. Not that she'd meant to. Lately it seemed like nothing turned out the way she meant it to. Still, there it was, hanging between them.

"I do," Matt said. "I really do. But I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about you. And you did have the benefit of being raised with a mother, even if she was less than what you'd hoped for."

"Yeah," Shay hummed, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "People can really surprise you sometimes."

Chapter 4

For the next few days, Shay was nothing but anxious.

First were the wedding plans. Of course, being a maid of honor was never a piece of cake, but when it came to planning a wedding on an island and managing every single guest, it was practically a nightmare. Not only did she have to make sure Aunt Frieda and Uncle Joel stayed in separate (but equally nice) hotels, but she also had to take on all the business responsibilities Andy couldn't manage at the moment.

Then there was the matter of Andy herself. Lately she'd been so elusive that Shay had trouble finding her in the same room, let alone getting her cornered. Which, of course, she needed to do. Ever since her chat with Matt, she simply couldn't get the idea of the mysterious Archer mother out of her head. She needed to get Andy to spill her guts. Come clean.

Because then, Shay might just be able to tackle her biggest worry of all.

Matt.

It wasn't that his case was tricky. In fact, in the few days since their trip to the party store, he'd practically been a dream to work with. She'd heard him on the phone, charming reporters and joking around about his career-ending accident like it was just another part of his life. Which, she guessed, it was. It still baffled her, though, the ease with which he handled all the stresses of his life. When he'd spoken about his mother, he'd been so calm, so self-assured. It was almost like he was talking about someone other than himself. Something that couldn't hurt him.

Which, naturally, only made Shay all the more curious.

So, when Friday morning finally rolled around and Matt was on the phone with yet another journalist, Shay creeped into the kitchen and caught Andy unawares.

Well, Andy and Logan, that was.

The two were drinking their morning coffee and murmuring to each other in the way that newlyweds did. Like they were the only two people on the planet.

Shay cleared her throat, and they both started and then turned toward her.

"Morning," she said, and then fixed herself her own mug of joe. "You guys have plans today?"

"I've got to go do some press stuff," Logan said. "The old slave driver won't let me off because of my own wedding, if you can believe it."

"You should fire

her," Shay said, and Andy glared at her playfully.

"Don't you dare," Andy said.

"She'd deserve it. I'm telling you, I've never had to work this hard in my life."

"And you still don't work half as hard as most people," Andy shot back.

Logan offered her a deadpan stare. "Anyway, since you do mention it, I've got to get to the gym. You know if Matt's around to join?"

Shay shook her head. "He's got his own press homework to do."