Page 36 of Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars (Rock Canyon, Idaho 2)

This is a sign. Him showing up here and everything that happened.

She needed to tell him now, before Charlie came home. That way, if he decided it was too much for him, Charlie wouldn’t get hurt.

Gemma, on the other hand . . . well, that ship had sailed a long time ago. Travis couldn’t hurt her again so long as she didn’t let him charm his way back into her heart.

TRAVIS STOOD OUT on the sidewalk pacing as Big George hollered into the phone, which was currently about a foot from Travis’s ear, though he could still hear him loud and clear.

“The next time you decide to have a spur-of-the-moment wedding in Vegas, how about giving me a heads up? I got a picture of you two heading into some hole-in-the-wall wedding chapel on the front page of Talking Nashville!”

Travis clenched his jaw. He had a feeling their limo driver was behind the photo, but there was no way to prove it unless they shook down the reporter who’d bought the photo.

And Big George was still going. “We have got to get ahead of this thing, Travis, before the media spins its own tale.” Big George panted into the phone for a moment before he asked, “How did this happen?”

Travis leaned against the front of Gemma’s building and smiled. “You know me, George. Go big or go home!”

“Well, shit, son, you picked a hell of a time to drink the crazy juice.”

“It’s not that crazy, George. It’s Gemma Carlson; I married Gemma.” The silence stretched on the phone, and Travis said, “George?”

“Well, hell, son, you scared the devil out of me. Gemma, that DJ’s kid who introduced us?”

“That’s her,” Travis said.

“Whew, okay, that’s an easy spin. Young lovers reunited after years apart, the old spark’s there, and they act impulsive. The media will think it’s romantic as hell.”

Except that she wants nothing to do with me now.

“How many pictures have surfaced so far?”

Big George’s breathing was labored, which meant he was either pacing or the yelling had taken its toll. The man had been a pack-a-day smoker for twentysome years and carried about a hundred extra pounds around his middle, so excitement tended to wind him. “Half a dozen or more on social media, but so far I’ve only seen one of you and her entering the chapel in the tabloids, and it’s hard to see her face.”

“Do you think you can contain it for now? I need a little bit of time with Gemma before the shitstorm hits.”

Big George’s hoarse laugh exploded. “Need a little honeymoon before you step out, huh? I imagine you’re both eager to get ‘reacquainted.’ You do what you gotta do, and I’ll try to get a handle on the rodeo circus.”

“Thanks, George.” Travis said his good-byes and went back inside to find Gemma putting books on a shelf.

“Sorry about that,” he said as she stood up to face him. Reaching out, he took her hands and squeezed them. “Why don’t we put all our problems on the back burner for a while? I have some time, and you said I didn’t know who you were, so . . . why don’t we date?”

“But,” she stammered, “we’re married already. At least technically.”

“And that means we can’t date? Come on, married couples have date nights,” he said, pulling her close to his body. “Why don’t we say three? Isn’t there a three-date rule or something, where you know after three dates whether you like someone or not?”

“I think three dates is the sex rule. Three dates before sex,” Gemma said, biting her lip, but he thought he caught a twinkle in her eye.

Smiling, he said, “Well, we’ve already gone there, but we can take it off the table if you want. Three dates; we’ll talk, we’ll have fun, we’ll share things about ourselves, and if the date goes well, maybe a little light petting.”

“I don’t know,” she said.

“I’m just asking you to give it a shot, Gem. After that, we can get down to the heavy stuff,” he said, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “What have you got to lose? You said it yourself; you’re already married to me. If things really aren’t working out, I’ll do what you want; we’ll get a divorce and I’ll never darken your doorstep again.”

“Travis—”

“Just say yes, Gem.” He brought up the palm of her hand and laid a kiss against the heart of it.

He thought for sure she would argue some more, but instead, he was pleasantly surprised.

“Okay, but if we’re doing this, it needs to start tonight,” she said. “That way if it doesn’t work, we aren’t dragging this out.”

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