Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars(69)

“What do you mean?” she asked as they reached his truck.

“Trust me. I think you’re going to love it.”



“TRAVIS CHARLES BOWERS, I am not getting on that thing!”

Travis tried to smother his grin as he said, “We’ll be perfectly safe, Gem.”

“Not if we crash in the wilderness. On the off chance we don’t die from that, we might get lucky enough to be eaten by wild animals.”

Travis looked between his irrational wife and the helicopter he’d hired to fly them into Stanley. When he’d told her to pack a bag with her swim suit that afternoon, she’d pestered him to tell her why, but he had wanted her to be surprised. He hadn’t bargained for her refusing to get on the damn copter.

“I mean it, Travis!” she yelled after him as he walked away from her to hand the pilot their bags and shook his head. He knew Gemma didn’t really like flying; she’d told him so when he’d asked why she’d driven to Vegas instead of hopping on a plane, but he hadn’t expected her to be quite so stubborn.

He walked back toward her and kissed her, delving in his tongue to massage hers until she was leaning against him. Once she was sufficiently relaxed, he said, “Come on, Cinderella, your chariot awaits.”

Before she could fully recover her wits, he bent over and picked her up, carrying her toward the helicopter.

“Travis—” Her voice was so shrill it made his ear ache, and he squeezed her tight.

“Gemma, I promise we’ll be fine and you will love this,” he said, helping her into the helicopter and buckling her seat belt. He sat next to her on the bench seat in the back, and after he was strapped in, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“I hate you!” she said, and he could hear the wavering in her voice.

“It will be okay,” he said, kissing her temple as the pilot climbed in and started the engine. Bringing his arm down and behind her, he held tight to her waist as they started to take off, watching the ground as they rose. Gemma turned her face into his chest, and he tried to hide his smile. He really didn’t like to see Gemma scared, but he also believed if you didn’t face your fears, you missed out on a lot.

And he didn’t want to miss Gemma’s face when she saw what he’d done.

The ride was smooth, other than a couple of little bumps, but Gemma held on tight to him. He rubbed her back and whispered to her about the way the valley looked in the moonlight, but she barely glanced at it. By the time they were coming over the mountain into Stanley, Travis was disappointed she hadn’t been able to enjoy herself. It was too bad, because the best view of what he’d done came from above.

They traveled over the mountains, and as they dipped down into the valley, Travis prodded, “Gemma, look.”



GEMMA WAS TERRIFIED by every jostle, but Travis’s voice was so gentle and coaxing, she managed to look out of the window toward the ground and held her breath. In the darkness below, white lights like strings of Christmas lights twinkled along the ground, and a lump formed in her throat that had nothing to do with her fear of flying.

Along the valley floor, the lights had been looped and twisted to form three words: I LOVE YOU.

It was the most romantic thing she’d ever seen, and she sighed with happiness.

“I had to hire someone to set up the lights, but the words are mine,” Travis said from behind her, and she turned to face him when he touched her chin. Her gaze met his in the dim light of the helicopter, and he ran his thumb across her lips slowly. “I love you, Gem.”

The confession was just as sweet the second time around, and with a small sob, she curled her hands in his shirt and used it to pull his mouth down to hers. She couldn’t seem to stop kissing him, even when the helicopter landed with a few little lurches. She wanted to stay in Travis’s arms and never leave, but the pilot shut off the engine, and her husband broke the kiss, giving her a hug before he helped her out of the helicopter.

Her legs were shaky as she stepped down and looked around the field, bare except for the twinkling lights. When Travis’s arms wrapped around her and he turned them both around, she saw that a little inn stood across the street from where they had landed. In the dark, it took her a second to recognize it. Then she saw the sign in the window: BIG BEAR CABINS.

“This is where we were the first time we made love,” she whispered, tears spilling onto her cheeks.

“Yep,” he said, kissing her shoulder. His hand slipped into hers and he grabbed their bags, leading her toward the road. Gemma followed, amazed at how little the place had changed, and she realized that although she had gone camping at Redfish Lake up the road a few times since, she had never been back here, even just to stop.

They crossed the road, laughing as they stopped at the edge of the main house. Travis set down their bags and took both her hands. “This place was one of my favorite memories, and it didn’t feel right making a fresh start without making a new memory here.”

Gemma cupped his cheek and said, “It’s perfect.”

Travis picked their bags back up and took her hand once more. They climbed the stairs and walked in the front door. A grizzled man sat behind the front desk playing with a deck of cards, his camo hat tipped back off his forehead.

“Howdy. Bowers?”

“That’s right,” Travis said, handing him his credit card. Gemma kissed his arm, her hand rubbing up and down his back.