Page 6 of Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars (Rock Canyon, Idaho 2)

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IT HAD BEEN almost thirty minutes since she’d bumped into Travis, and Gemma still couldn’t relax. She’d changed into a pair of soft sweats and a tank top, swiping one of her new books as she passed the table. She’d thought about calling Gracie, but that implied she would be seeing Travis again, and even if she had to hide in her hotel room all weekend, she was going to avoid Travis at all costs. She could call Michael, but . . .

Shit, Michael. She’d hardly thought about her other best friend, but if he knew she’d seen Travis, he would be Jiminy Cricketing her right now. He’d wanted her to tell Travis about Charlie long ago, but she couldn’t do it. She hadn’t needed unreliable or untrustworthy people in her son’s life. Or hers.

But it wasn’t just his feelings regarding the truth that had her worried.

Michael was in love with her.

She’d known about it for a while, and the situation would’ve been perfect if only she could reciprocate his feelings, but she couldn’t. Despite how wonderful Michael had been to her and Charlie, or how much Charlie adored him, she just couldn’t love Michael the way he deserved, and it wouldn’t be fair to lead him on.

Lying across the bed with the book, she tried to get past the first sentence, but her mind kept wandering back to Travis and that night in Phoenix.

When he’d come off the bus to find her waiting, his face had brightened with such joy, she’d felt better about announcing her pregnancy. Clearly, three weeks hadn’t changed his feelings, and once he knew, they could tackle the problem together, just like they always had.

As Travis had swept her up into his arms and spun her around, she had laughed, holding on tight. When he’d stopped the motion to kiss her, her world had spun all over again the minute his lips touched hers. That kiss had told her that their love was real, that distance hadn’t changed anything and they could do this.

And then that snide voice had crushed her dreams and brought reality crashing down.

“Isn’t this sweet?”

Gemma would never forget the way her blood had frozen when she’d looked over Travis’s shoulder to see a thin blonde standing at the bottom of the tour bus stairs.

In Travis’s Toby Keith shirt. The one she’d had signed for him for his eighteenth birthday.

Gemma lay her head on the bed, squeezing her eyes tight against the threat of tears. He shouldn’t still be able to make her cry, but there it was. She only had to bump into him for a few painful minutes and all of the hurt and betrayal came back to her as if she was seventeen again.

A knock on the door broke through her misery and she wiped her eyes. “Coming.”

Anticipating room service, she picked up her purse and opened the door with a smile that melted the moment she saw Travis standing behind a cart.

“I bribed the guy to let me deliver it.”

Gemma groaned in frustration. Why was he still here? Was he trying to torture her?

“If you think I’m tipping you, you’re crazy.”

“No tip necessary. Just agree to have lunch with me.”

His smile was infectious, just like Charlie’s, and her heart contracted as she realized how much her son really did look like his dad. Even the devilish gleam when he knew he was wearing her down was the same.

“I think I’ll just stick with my chocolate cake,” she said.

“Gemma,” he said softly, just on the edge of pleading. She wanted to cave, to give in and hear him out. His face might be older, but Travis’s effect on her sure hadn’t faded. The little age lines around his eyes and mouth made him look ruggedly handsome, and they were doing crazy things to her libido. A libido that was telling her in no uncertain terms that ignoring it had not made it go away.

Charlie. Think about Charlie.

“I know how we left things, and I could have handled them better. I should have gone after you, but instead, I let my pride make all the decisions.” He took a step forward and tucked her hair behind her ear. Gemma’s cheek tingled where his fingers had grazed her skin. “I hear there’s a great Mexican restaurant inside one of the casinos a few blocks away. I would really love it if you’d take a chance and join me for lunch.”

A lump formed in Gemma’s throat, and her sane, rational side screamed at her to say no. What were they going to talk about? The way they had left things in Phoenix? That they had a nine-year-old son and she’d failed to tell Travis about him?

She could only stand there frozen as Travis leaned down and kissed her cheek. Moving his mouth against her skin, he whispered, “I’ve missed you, Gemma.”

Her eyes closed at his touch and her stomach flipped over like a flapjack. Swallowing the lump, she whispered, “Okay.”

“I’ll come back in about an hour,” he said, and she opened her eyes just in time to catch his smile, which seemed to have a triumphant edge to it.

Without waiting for her reply, Travis turned to amble back down the hallway, and Gemma was so frazzled, she almost forgot to pull the room service cart inside. She went back to shut the door and caught Travis’s gaze one more time before the elevator dinged open. He gave her a wink as he stepped inside.

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