Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars(52)

Lips twitching with humor, she said, “Actually, since I’m your wife, what’s yours is mine, I think.”

“So it is.” Travis reached out to tug on a strand of her hair. “But most wives do something to earn their keep.”

Pulling her hair away, she said, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, big boy.”

His hand grabbed hers, quick as lightning, keeping her close to him. “What game are we playing here?”

Gemma’s cheeks flamed. “I’m not playing any games. I just thought we were joking around.”

“Dad, are you ready?” Charlie called from upstairs.

“Coming, bud,” Travis said, dropping Gemma’s hand and moving past her to the stairs. He caught her gaze on the first step and added, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Gemma.”


Gemma nodded, and he climbed upstairs and out of sight. Going to the cupboard, she grabbed a glass and filled it with ice. All the mixed signals, high emotions, and sexual tension were making her crazy. One minute she was filled with guilt and remorse, and the next Travis was saying or doing something outrageous, as if nothing had happened.

Suddenly, she didn’t feel like writing and closed her laptop. Her emotions were too jumbled, and honestly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be there when Travis finished reading. She just couldn’t seem to control herself around him.

She poured water into her glass and started to head upstairs to her room but paused when she heard Travis reading. Sneaking to stand just outside Charlie’s door, she listened to the deep voice change to a high-pitched falsetto as he said Hermione’s lines. Gemma leaned her head against the wall as tears filled her eyes. For so long she’d imagined what it would be like having Travis with them, and now that it was happening, it was so surreal. It was scary to think how easy it would be to get used to having him around.

Wiping her eyes, she peeked around the corner. “I just wanted to say good night.”

“Night, Mom. Love you,” Charlie said from the bed.

“Love you, too,” Gemma said, and added, “Good night, Travis.”

Travis gave her that heart-stopping, knee-jerking, melt-into-a-puddle-on-the-floor smile. “Sweet dreams, Gemma.”

Fleeing the scene, she went to her room and changed for bed. Too keyed up to sleep, she scrolled through her DVR and found an old episode of Grey’s Anatomy she’d saved, then deleted it.

She had enough drama right now. Turning on The Mindy Project, she sat back and tried not to think about how she was going to survive two weeks of this.





Chapter Sixteen




* * *





GEMMA WAS UP at six and out the door a little after seven, trying not to wake Travis or Charlie. Driving into town, her first stop was The Local Bean for a little best-friend advice.

Gracie looked up from behind the counter as she walked in and gave her a wide, friendly smile. Gemma’s attention was drawn to the frilly green apron she was wearing. It had little pies all over it and said in bold writing, MY PIES ARE HOT AND SWEET, JUST LIKE ME.

Gemma chuckled.

“What up, bestie?” Gracie said.

Gracie was sometimes outrageous, and her mouth was too big for her little body, but she was a loyal friend. “I came by for a little coffee and talk.”

“Well, I’ve got plenty of both. Trisha, I’m taking a break with Gemma,” Gracie said, pulling two cups off the stack. “One shot or two?”

“Two, please.” Gemma went over to their usual table by the window. Sitting down where she could see Gracie, she caught strange looks from several of the patrons and wondered if everyone was talking about Travis and her.

“So, everyone’s talking about you and Travis and your reception,” Gracie said as she sat down across from her and handed her a cup and a bowl of fruit salad, Gemma’s usual breakfast.

“Thanks, but I kinda figured that. They won’t stop staring at me,” Gemma said, taking a sip with a sigh. “That hits the spot.”

“Well, can you blame them? It’s not every day a small-town girl like you marries someone famous. I don’t think it’s been this gossipy since Katie Connors started dating Chase Trepasso. I think you’re gonna be the topic of conversation for a long time.”

Just what I wanted to hear. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Gee, Gracie, that’s just what I wanted to hear. Super awesome comforting skills.”

“Don’t be so sensitive. It’s not like it’s bad. It’s all good, and everyone is really excited about the reception,” Gracie said.

Gemma set down her fork and buried her face in her hands, groaning.

“What did I say?”

She looked up at Gracie and caught the gleam in her eye. “Please tell me you aren’t talking about the cockamamie reception Sam Weathers came up with?”

“Cockamamie . . . I like that. I’m going to use that today; it’s so old school.”

“Gracie . . .” Gemma growled.

Gracie shrugged. “You should feel good. People want to celebrate with you and Travis, and they’re willing to organize it. It’s like someone throwing you a party while you just have to look pretty and get gifts and cake.”

“I don’t want cake, I don’t want a party, and I don’t want to be the center of some titillating round of entertainment for the masses,” Gemma said loudly, stabbing a piece of cantaloupe in frustration.