Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars(65)

If only he could make Gemma see it that way.

Travis heard the pitter patter of feet above, and as gently as he could, he disentangled himself from the soft, warm body of his wife and slipped into his clothes. Sneaking out of his room, he saw Penny sitting outside the laundry room, her tail swishing as Stormy’s squeaky meow and one tiny paw came out from under the closed door. He opened the door, and Stormy flew out, a spitting ball of fluff, puffed up and sideways, causing Penny to jump into the air. Travis laughed and scooped Stormy into his hands bringing her face close to his.

“So, you think you’re bad, huh?” Travis felt the fuzzy body start to vibrate with happiness at his tone. Putting her on his shoulder, he went to the kitchen and found Charlie rummaging through the cupboards with Annie sitting at his feet.

“What are you looking for, little man?” Travis asked.

“Something good to eat. Mom usually makes breakfast before she opens the bookstore, but she wasn’t in her room.” Charlie’s eyes went wide. “Do you think she’s okay? It’s not like her not to leave a note.”

Travis tried to hide his amusement as he said, “I think your mom’s fine, just tired. She’s in the guest room, sound asleep.”

Charlie looked toward the back bedroom. “Why is Mom in your bed?”

Oh, boy. “Because most married people like to sleep together.”

Charlie looked between him and the room where his mother was sleeping with a light in his eyes. “Does that mean you guys are going to stay together?”

“I hope so, buddy. But you know what might make your mom happy?” Charlie shook his head, and Travis said, “If we brought her breakfast in bed. Is Hall’s Market open this early?” Charlie nodded enthusiastically. “What do you say we get doughnuts this morning? And stop by Aunt Gracie’s for some coffee?”

“Yes!” Charlie shouted, running for the door with Annie lumbering behind him. Leaving Gemma a note on the counter, Travis followed after his son with a grin on his face.





Chapter Twenty-One




* * *





SOMEONE WAS KNOCKING on the front door.

Groggily, Gemma lifted her head and heard it again. Knock. Knock. Knock.

Dislodging Penny and Stormy from her chest and neck, she crawled out of bed and grabbed her dress. She pulled it over her head, the incessant noise from the front door continuing as she padded out to the living room. Trying to smooth down her hair, she called, “I’m coming.”

Opening the door with a jerk, she snapped, “Yes?”

Mrs. Andrews stood on her front porch with an eyebrow raised and a newspaper in her hand. “Good morning, Gemma. Did you forget about our appointment?”

Having spent most of last night having amazing sex, yeah, I did.

“Good morning, Mrs. Andrews. Sorry, I had a rough night.” She sounded like a dying frog, all croaky and deep.

“Well, let’s get this reception planned to perfection,” Mrs. Andrews said as she handed Gemma the paper and walked past her into the living room.

Gemma glanced down briefly before doing a double take. The paper was folded over to show a picture of Travis and Gemma leaving the movie theater the night before, along with a new gossip-column entry.

AT LAST, ROCK CANYON’S ROYAL COUPLE RECONCILES

For those of you who’ve been following my column, you know that Travis Bowers has recently returned to Rock Canyon to reclaim his high-school sweetheart and the mother of his child, Gemma Carlson. Though the couple has had a rough go of it so far, last night they were seen cuddling outside of a movie theater in Twin Falls, where Travis reportedly rented out the whole place for just the two of them. Am I the only girl swooning over this? It looks like these two are getting back to where they were before Travis left town ten years ago. I know several men in town who aren’t exactly thrilled to have this hot mama off the market. Sorry, boys, this is what a real man looks like!

Gemma couldn’t believe it. There was no way anyone could know where they’d been headed last night, unless maybe Travis had told someone, but if he hadn’t, that meant they’d been followed.

“Gemma, you can read that later. We need to plan, plan, plan!” Mrs. Andrews broke through Gemma’s horror with her command.

Looking up at the older woman from the doorway, she said, “I’m sorry, plan?”

“Haven’t you been listening? If I am going to plan this reception, I need your help!” Mrs. Andrews said shrilly, her eyes narrowing with irritation.

“Mrs. Andrews, I don’t know what you’ve been told—” Gemma started.

“Now, I assume since you’re already married, you’ll want to keep things simple. I was thinking a small ceremony, just to reaffirm your vows with your family and friends watching, and then a simple dinner with a band. I’ve chosen some very easy-to-create, handmade invitations and enlisted the ladies from my book club to help make them. I have several samples and dates for you to choose from.” Mrs. Andrews looked up at Gemma over her glasses and prodded. “And since we’ll be doing all of this out of the kindness of our hearts, perhaps you wouldn’t mind increasing the senior discount at the bookstore?”

“Well, I—”

“We can get into that later. Now, I was thinking about the date. When does Travis have to go back out on tour?”