Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars(24)

Travis waved behind him, and Gemma squinted at the sign: QUICK WILLIE’S WEDDING CHAPEL.

“Why are we going in there?” she asked.

“You wanted something to do and this is my dare. We’re are going to people watch.”

“In a chapel?” Gemma asked doubtfully.

“Come on,” Travis said, taking her hand and pulling her inside the little white building, which looked more like a fast-food place than a wedding chapel.

Maybe they give out an order of fries with every wedding? The thought got her giggling again.

They walked into the brightly lit lobby, and an older woman with big hair, bright pink lips, and a smoker’s voice croaked, “Name?”

“Name?” Gemma asked.

“You don’t get through those doors without giving me a name and some ID, honey.”

Gemma looked at Travis, who shrugged and pulled out his wallet. Gemma followed his lead and grabbed her license from her purse.

The woman wrote down their names, but then stopped and stared at Travis’s license. Her eyes jumped up and she cried, “Land sakes, Seamus. Get your ass out here!”

An old man with red hair came running into the room with a shotgun a moment later. Gemma screamed, and Travis grabbed hold of her as Seamus yelled, “Damn it, woman, what is that caterwauling about? I thought we were being robbed again.”

“It’s him, Seamus. He sings that song I love!”

Seamus trained his eyes on them and shifted the gun over his shoulder. Gemma breathed a sigh of relief.

“Which song?” Seamus asked.

“‘A Jukebox and a Long Neck’!” The woman came around the corner and threw her arms around Travis. Gemma covered her mouth to smother her laugh.

“It’s nice to meet you, folks, but I’ve got three couples ahead of you, so you’re just gonna have to—”

“Oh no, they don’t, Seamus McGillan! You take these two first or else!”


Seamus’s face went bright red and he snapped, “Well, then, hurry it up! I don’t have all day!”

Gemma wasn’t sure what was happening with all the confusion, but she whispered, “Travis, maybe we should—”

“Oh, don’t mind him, he just hates the night shift,” the woman said, handing them each a form. “Normally we’re just here during the day, but our son is on vacation, and our front-desk clerk called in sick. Here you go. Just fill this out. When you’re done,” she waved her hand across a glass jewelry case, “come back and we’ll get you fitted for your wedding rings. As you can see, we have some beauties. The service includes a wedding video and—”

“I don’t know . . . I mean, we’re not—”

“I understand it doesn’t look like much from here, but I swear, we got the best rates in Vegas and the best videographer in the whole state!” the woman said, pushing the doors open for them. “Why don’t you head on back and have a look-see, and if it’s really not what you’re looking for, no hard feelings.”

Travis’s mouth was pressed against her ear. “Come on. We’ll watch a few ceremonies and laugh.”

His warm, coaxing tone and the soft kiss on her forehead made her lean toward him and close her eyes, contentment warming her. His lips slid down, brushing the shell of her ear, and another one of those shivers shot from her neck to her lower back and spread through her as he whispered, “I dare you.”





Chapter Six




* * *





The next morning


ROLLING AGAIN TOWARD the edge of the large bed, Gemma swung her legs over and tried to stand quietly, swaying a bit.

Oh, God, what did I do?

The room was still dark, despite the bright light outside, which meant it was probably early in the morning. Snapshots of sitting on Travis’s lap in a well-lit room and watching couples kiss under an arch of roses flashed through her mind.

“Do you, Gemma Anne Carlson, take Travis Charles Bowers, to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“Shit.” She clapped her hand over her mouth in alarm, shooting a panicked glance toward the bed, but Travis didn’t stir. Had they really done it? Was it legal if you didn’t remember? She wanted to wake him up and scream at him, but her whole body shook at the thought of facing him.

A weekend of fun. No-strings-attached-forget-him-when-he’s-gone fun. That’s all she’d wanted. She’d wanted to feel like more than just Charlie’s mom, someone daring and sexy. Now she was standing over her husband, and all she could think about was putting as much distance between herself and Travis as she could possibly get.

Searching the room for her clothes, she gathered them in her arms and quietly made her way toward the door. She opened it as gently as she could and slipped into the adjacent living room without breathing. Turning on the light in the entryway, she dressed in a hurry, her eyes darting back to the closed bedroom door. The sparkly diamond on her hand continued to draw her attention, mocking her as it twinkled.

“Will you love her, honor her, and keep her in sickness and health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?”

Seamus. She remembered Seamus. Gemma remembered laughter, and bits and pieces, but it was all a jumble.

She snapped her bra into place, but her panties were nowhere to be found. Not willing to go back in to find them and run the risk of waking him up, she pulled on the poufy dress, adjusting it as best she could. With no way to lace the corset back, she gripped the top of the dress with one hand and picked up her shoes purse and the skirt of the dress in the other, and practically ran to the suite door in her bare feet.