Page 12 of Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars (Rock Canyon, Idaho 2)

A bit later, Gemma set down her fork with a sigh. “That was amazing.”

“It was a burrito,” Travis teased, taking the last bite of his fajitas.

“It was an amazing burrito,” she countered as she watched the server approach. The woman’s bold gaze was eating Travis alive, and Gemma wished she could send her packing with one of Gracie’s sharp quips.

“Hello, folks. Did we save room for dessert?” she asked Travis, barely glancing at Gemma.

Travis raised his eyebrow at her, and she shook her head. “I’ll explode. I swear. Like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man at the end of Ghostbusters.”

“And with that mental picture, I think we’re good,” Travis joked, reaching for his wallet and handing the server his card.

“All righty, sir, I’ll be back with your check.” The woman skipped away without asking Gemma if she wanted a box for the rest of her meal. Figured.

“When she comes back, will you ask her if I can have a box? I need to go to the ladies’ room,” she said, scooting out of the booth and smoothing down her skirt.

“Sure,” Travis said, standing like a gentleman along with her.

Moving past him toward the main dining room, she tried not to look back to see if he was watching her. She didn’t really want to think about whether her butt looked big.

Why am I worrying about this stuff? It’s just lunch with an old friend.

Ignoring the way people stared as she came out of the VIP room, she bolted into the restroom and closed the stall door with a sigh. She really hoped people weren’t snapping photos of her after having seen her come in with Travis. The last thing she needed was to be on the front page of every magazine in the world and have everyone in Rock Canyon know what she was doing.

Especially Charlie. And Michael.

She didn’t want to think about how her friend would feel. She was just giving Travis a chance for old times’ sake. Besides, going to lunch was a lot different from turning your whole life upside down for your kid, and Gemma just didn’t think Travis could do it. He had always put his music first, and with how successful he was and his lack of serious relationships, it looked like he was still doing it.

It’s not fair to judge Travis when he doesn’t even know about Charlie. Maybe he would be attentive, and . . .

She cut off her inner voice, shutting out the meddlesome ideas. Gemma had spent a little over an hour in his company, and in that time she’d been photographed and stared at. She didn’t want that for Charlie; she wanted him to have a normal, happy childhood.

After this lunch, they could shake hands and say good-bye, and she’d never have to see him again. It was perfect for everyone.

As soon as we’re done, I’ll do just that.

She couldn’t get behind the lie, though. There was too much unfinished business between them, and she couldn’t deny that she was still wildly attracted to him. Indeed, if she spent any more time with him, she was going to forget why being near him wasn’t one of her better ideas.

Walking back to the booth, her knees shook a little as Travis stood there smiling at her. God, the way he still got to her was crazy.

He handed her a little green bag that held a Styrofoam container and offered his arm. “How about I walk you back to your room?”

Chapter Three

* * *

UNABLE TO RESIST him, Gemma slipped her arm through Travis’s and let him lead her out of the VIP room. She made sure to keep her head down, aware of several camera flashes.

“Is it me you’re ashamed to be seen with, or are you afraid of what people back in Rock Canyon will say?” Travis asked.

Gemma peeked up at him. “I just don’t like people poking their noses in my business, wherever they may be.”

Travis was quiet for several beats. “It’s my life, Gemma; people taking pictures of me, selling them to magazines, writing gossip. It pretty much goes with the gig.”

Gemma didn’t respond right away. She understood the situation and didn’t hold it against him. But Rock Canyon thrived on gossip, and for years she’d been the focus of a lot of it. It had taken a while, but people had finally stopped looking at her with whispers and head shakes of disapproval. She’d created a place in her community that had nothing to do with being a teen mom and everything to do with organizing fund-raisers, helping out people in need, and just being who she’d always been.

The people of Rock Canyon used to call her a nice girl who’d made a mistake, but Charlie wasn’t a mistake. There had been rumors and speculation for years about whether Charlie was Travis’s or not. She had never confirmed it, but it was pretty damned obvious. Besides, she hadn’t been seeing anyone else.

But if people in Rock Canyon saw the pictures of she and Travis together now, it would be just a matter of time before someone desperate for money—or just being an idiot—tipped off the press about the possibility of Charlie’s paternity. And then their lives would be overrun by reporters, and Charlie would be thrust into a three-ring circus. All her sacrifices would have been for nothing.

---