Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars(12)

“Where are you taking me?”

The doors dinged, and Travis tried to pull her in without answering, but she held her ground. “Uh-uh. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where this elevator goes.”

“To the roof,” he said, his eyes twinkling as he raised an eyebrow. “What, are you scared?”

“No, of course not, I just have things to do, and I don’t have time to go gallivanting around—”

“I promise to have you back to your room in time to finish at least two novels today,” he said, holding out his hand. “Come on. I dare you.”

A thousand reasons rushed through her mind, and at least half of those involved Charlie, but she found herself grabbing his hand anyway and letting him pull her inside.



THE DOORS OPENED, revealing a lush greenhouse-style garden, and Travis watched Gemma’s face break into wide-eyed delight.

“Oh!”

She walked out onto the stone floor, and he followed behind to the sound of rushing water on their left. Very few people visited this place, but Callum O’Shea knew Travis liked the peace of the garden.

Gemma clapped her hands and laughed, her eyes bright as she looked at him. “This is amazing! Thank you.”

As she walked along the path in front of him, he realized she was the first woman with whom he’d shared this place. When Callum had first shown him the garden, he’d come up here to write songs and escape the constant hangers-on, but he had never used it to soften a woman’s feelings toward him. It wasn’t like he was trying to get her back, at least not consciously, but he also didn’t want their time together to end.

The realization was startling. He wasn’t the type of guy to fall hard for a girl, at least not since Gemma. He knew his memory of how things had been between them was clouding his rationality, and despite her prickliness about Phoenix, he still found himself enchanted by her.

What did that mean, though? Did he want her to forgive him so she would give him another chance? She had already mentioned half a dozen times that she was uncomfortable with his public life, but could they make something work? Some compromise?

It wasn’t just nostalgia, though. He had been with women—probably more than he should have—but the heat had faded every time. Watching Gemma bend down to smell a pink flower, her hair drifting over her cheek and her eyes closing blissfully, was hotter than all those tight-Wranglered gold diggers combined.

Coming up alongside her, he picked the flower, ignoring her protests. “Travis, you can’t do that!”

“Who’s gonna stop me?” he teased, looking around the garden to drive his point home. Smoothing back her long bangs, he slipped the flower behind her ear.

“Beautiful.”

Gemma’s cheeks were flushed, and when she raised her eyes to his, they were shiny with tears. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Use your charm on me,” she said, wiping at her eyes with a laugh. “You’ve always been able to get around me with it.”

“It’s never been charm with you, Gem,” he said, tenderly using her nickname as he brushed his fingers along her cheek. He felt her shaking and slid his finger under her chin, tipping up her face until their gazes locked. “I’m really sorry about the way things ended, Gemma. I never stopped thinking about you. But I didn’t know how to make you believe me, and part of me was angry that you didn’t trust me.”

She pulled away from him, her eyes narrowed with temper. “Before we started dating, you’d been out with half the girls in school, and don’t tell me you never dated two at the same time. I’m sorry I didn’t give you the benefit of the doubt, but honestly, can you really blame me?”

He fought down the frustration and anger her words brought rearing to the surface and said, “We were friends for two years and dated for four months. In all that time, did I ever hurt you, Gem?”

She said nothing for a few minutes, wiping away the tears on her cheeks. Finally, she breathed a soft, “No.”

“No, because I would never hurt you, Gem. Not for anything.”

He reached out for her hand and squeezed it. “Can you believe me now, Gem? Can you forgive me, so maybe we can have a do over?”

He was relieved when she didn’t pull away, but her answer was a little disheartening. “I don’t know.”

What are you so afraid of?

He could tell she was afraid, holding back a part of herself, and bit back a sharp response. Patience had never been his strong suit, but voicing his frustrations to her wasn’t going to open her up either. Gemma had always fought against people pressuring her, and he figured she most likely hadn’t changed in that regard.

When she cleared her throat and gently pulled away, he let her go.

“Come on. I want to explore.”

He let her walk away from him but followed behind closely, noting the way her shoulders tensed when his arm brushed hers. She might not like his lifestyle or believe in his innocence, but she wasn’t immune to him either.



GEMMA TRIED TO keep her focus on the beautiful scenery and off the warring guilt and panic rumbling inside her. For a second, when Travis had called her out on trusting him, part of her had wanted to believe him so badly she’d almost apologized. But if she forgave him now, what would that mean for Charlie? If she believed Travis about Phoenix, then walking away from him would have been a mistake, and everything she had done to protect Charlie since would have been for naught.