Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars(68)

“Ready to go. Where’s your mom?”

“She’s outside, talking to Evan’s mom on the phone. I already told her that Evan said his mom said I could spend the night, but she always has to check up on me,” Charlie said, making a face.

Travis looked down at his son and said seriously, “You’re lucky. I wish I had been lucky enough to have a mom like yours when I was growing up.”

Charlie looked up at him in surprise. “Where was your mom?”

“She died when I was five. But even before that, she was never a good mom.”

Charlie was quiet for a while, and Travis added, “I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I just want you to appreciate that you have it pretty good. You’ve got a great mom who loves you, and you need to understand she’s just trying to protect you.”

“Sorry, Dad,” Charlie said softly.

Travis knelt down and saw the tears in his son’s eyes. Gathering him into his arms, he said, “Ah, kid, don’t be. I’m sorry.”

Charlie sniffled against his shoulder, and Travis whispered, “You know, you don’t just have a great mom. You’ve got a dad who loves you no matter what. Okay? Even if I don’t agree with something you do or say, you’ll always be my son.”

“Promise?” Charlie whispered.

Travis felt his own eyes sting. “I promise, Charlie.”



GEMMA WALKED BEHIND Travis and Charlie as they weaved through the game booths at the fair. The minute they’d walked through the gate, Charlie had hit the ground running, and Gemma was just glad he hadn’t been trying to force her onto the rides.

Charlie finally stopped in front of the Tilt-A-Whirl and hollered at her, “Hurry up, Mom!”

“I thought your dad was going with you.”

Travis’s arm snaked out to grab her waist, pulling her against his side. “Plenty of room for the three of us to ride together.”

“Just what I always wanted,” she said dryly, “to puke while being squished.”

He kissed the side of her neck and whispered, “It’ll be fun.”

She blushed as Charlie pretended to ignore them. When the ride operator opened the gate, they climbed into the car, with Charlie in the middle. As Gemma caught Travis’s gaze over the top of Charlie’s head, she smiled happily.

The ride started moving, and they spun around until Gemma felt her cheeks flattening. She tried not to look around too much, afraid she’d get sick and throw up, but when the ride ended, she felt okay.

“I want to go on the Ring of Fire next!” Charlie cried as he climbed down the stairs.

“I don’t know, Charlie,” she said, looking up at the giant loop roller coaster. Rides that stayed close to the ground didn’t worry her as much as the high ones, especially when they went upside down.

“Please, Mom?”

“I can go with him,” Travis offered, but when she looked up at him, he seemed to change his mind. “Actually, Charlie, let’s find something else. I think that ride makes your mom nervous.”

She was surprised that Charlie didn’t argue further as they walked down the midway. When Charlie spotted a photo booth, he yelled, “Let’s get our picture taken. Then I can add it to the scrapbook.”

Gemma remembered having climbed into one of them with Travis at the fair back in high school and held out her arm. “You first.”

Travis climbed onto the stool and she went in next, sitting so close she was practically on his lap, and Charlie sat in the middle, wrapping a skinny arm around each of their shoulders.

Travis put in the money and hollered, “Okay, funny faces!”

The flash went off, and Gemma offered, “Big smiles?”

They grinned at the camera, and Travis wiggled his eyebrows. “Kisses?”

Charlie made a gagging noise, and Gemma leaned closer to Travis so his lips could brush hers. After the flash went off, they had one more picture left, and they squeezed together, their cheeks pressed against one another’s.

Their pictures printed a few minutes later, and Gemma picked them up, laughing at their faces.

“Let me see!” Charlie pleaded, taking the pictures from Gemma. Charlie seemed to study them for a moment before nodding. “I knew it.”

“You knew what?” Travis asked.

Charlie handed the pictures back to Gemma, his crooked smile filled with pure joy. “That we’d look like a real family.”



TRAVIS HADN’T BEEN able to stop thinking about Charlie’s comment. He’d spent the last few hours chasing his son around while his wife laughed, and he agreed. They definitely felt like a family.

They met up with Charlie’s friend’s parents at around nine, and when Charlie had hugged first Gemma and then Travis before yelling good night as he took off after Evan, Travis shook his head.

“It’s amazing how much I love that kid,” he said, taking Gemma’s hand to lead her toward the exit.

“He is special,” she agreed, squeezing his hand tight. “I feel like he got the best of both of us.”

He kissed her temple and whispered, “You did a great job. You’re a wonderful mom.”

“And you are a wonderful father. Charlie adores you,” Gemma said.

As his eyes started to burn, he changed the subject. “So, technically, I was counting this as our second date, and I’m sorry that our third date is going to kind of bleed into this one.”