Bound to Be His ( The Archer Family 2)

"Matt--"

"No, let me finish. I need you in my life. I don't care if it scares you. Hell, we don't even have to call it a commitment if that's too much for you, but I want to be near you. I want you to be my woman. Always."

She swallowed hard, and nodded. "I do, too. But you have to let me apologize. I should have trusted you with the news. I knew how strong you were with your mom and I should have trusted you to be strong with this, too. You were right. I was being selfish. I just wanted to be with you, but now I know that I'll always want that, no matter how good or bad things get. I can make the commitment. I can be yours."

"Good. Because there's something else I have to tell you."

"What?" she asked.

"I destroyed your phone."

"You..." She blinked.

"I took it accidentally and then I read your texts from your mom. It was an accident and I shouldn't have, but I thought it would be better off if she didn't think you ignored her. I even called to tell her what happened."

"You called my mother?"

"I did." He nodded. "I hope I didn't overstep."

"No, no. I mean, thank you. That was...good of you."

"Well, I got you this to make up for it." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a brand new phone complete with a case.

She looked it over, then turned it in her hand. "This case has your number on it."

"Of course it does. You're my woman, remember?"

She smiled. "I am."

He walked toward her, leaned down, but then stopped. "Oh, and one more thing."

"What's that?"

"I gave your mom my number. If she wants to bother someone about you, it should be me."

"You're asking for trouble there."

"No more than I deserve." He grinned, and then finally closed the space between their lips.

Epilogue

"At least the anniversary will be easy to remember," Shay murmured, sidling past pew after pew of relatives while making her way to her seat in the front row. Luckily, her mother had opted not to have a bridal party this time, so Shay got to sit back and enjoy the wedding the same as everyone else.

"You remembered to call your sister and congratulate her, didn't you?" Shay nudged Matt, who had apparently zoned out while taking in their surroundings.

"Yeah, I called her. This is a nice place, don't you think?"

"It's beautiful." Shay nodded.

It was simpler, too, in comparison to all the other elaborate affairs her mother had hosted over the years. The church was bare save for a small sprinkle of red rose petals on either side of the aisle and an archway of twinkle lights under which her new stepfather, Blake, was already standing.

"What do you think the over under is on this one?" Matt asked.

"I think it could work this time." Shay surveyed the man under the arch, and a slight smile tilted her lips.

This time, he really was different from the kinds of guys her mom usually chose.

He was a widower, father of two, and sturdy. Not in the way that he could take a punch (though he probably could considering his military background), but there was a dependability about him that Shay could sense even within the first few minutes of meeting him.