Bound to Be His ( The Archer Family 2)

Andy let out a long breath. "I'm just saying you could do worse. And if you think I don't see the way you look at him, then you're really fooling yourself."

"I think you mean the way he looks at me," Shay shot back, mostly because it was all she could grasp hold of to say. Andy couldn't be serious. After all this time, all the careful planning and avoidance—Andy knew?

"The way you look at each other, more like."

"What happened to my shy, lovesick friend?" Shay asked.

Andy's mouth tilted into a smile as she sipped her beer, and then she said, "She got tired of watching you avoid the one thing you've always been meant for."

"That's a little dramatic, don't you think?"

"No," Andy said simply. "But if you think it is, that's fine."

"So... you're what? Giving me your blessing?"

"Honestly, I can't think of what else to do. I tried to foist his case on you to get you two to realize—"

"You what?" Shay nearly sprayed her beer across the stage.

Andy only rolled her eyes. "Don't be so shocked. I only did it because I asked myself what you would do in my shoes. Remember how you were with Logan?"

"I remember saying you should give it a try, but I never—"

"You forced me to go to that photoshoot. You forced me to face the facts," Andy cut her off.

"What if the facts are that I don't want anything serious? Did you ever think of that?"

"Fine, then don't do anything serious. Just do something."

Shay surveyed her friend for a long minute and then thought over the way Matt had been for the past few days. The way he ignored her. The way he barely looked at her.

"What if he's not interested anymore?" she nearly whispered.

"Only one way to find out." Andy waggled her eyebrows.

* * *

Logan's bachelor party was not the usual fare.

Then again, Logan wasn't a usual kind of guy. Instead of the crowd of men chugging back drinks and sticking dollar bills down G-strings, Matt had opted to take his friend to the one place his sister had insisted he'd like. It had taken a lot of doing, of course, but to see the way Logan's face lit up when they walked through the stadium doors had totally been worth it.

Now, an hour later, Matt was huddled in the dugout with his older brother and Logan, shooting the shit while they all stared out into the lit-up field. It was perfectly green, just like the rest of the state, but had the benefit of hardly ever being used, and each of the men looked at the AstroTurf like a country desperately in need of conquest.

Logan slugged down the last of his beer and then rubbed his hands together. "When are you two finally going to join me on the field? Or are you scared?"

Derrick guffawed. "How do you plan on scaring me?"

Matt smiled. His brother was wearing his best Army-of-One scowl as he surveyed Logan, and Logan said tentatively, "Okay, well, maybe not you. But how about you, Matt? You game?"

"Damn straight." He grabbed his mitt and a ball from the crate they'd brought along, and then jogged onto the mound. "How about some batting practice? I'll pitch, you hit, Derrick catches."

"I don't know. Can Derrick run that far?" Logan offered them a cocky smile, and Derrick's jaw ticked.

Logan cleared his throat. "Right, good. I'm sure you'll be great. I tend toward the right, so—"

"Tend?" Matt guffawed.

"Hey, nobody asked for input from the peanut gallery," Logan called over his shoulder while all three men took their places on the green. As he walked, Matt popped the ball into the air and caught it over and over again, just like he'd done in physical therapy. Just like before...