Page 4 of A Way Out (Rock Star #2)

Chapter Three

H olly’s house sitter was hot. It did not escape Maria’s notice that this was the first time she’d noticed a guy in this way since… God, college, maybe?

The guys she’d chosen to date in high school had been curated, selected as a means to attempt to win her mother’s approval. She’d spent her life until this last year trying (unsuccessfully) to please her mother.

College had opened up her options somewhat. Mom wasn’t there to judge, so Maria actually tried to date men outside her norm. But it hadn’t been comfortable.

Vic had been comfortable. Dating Vic had felt like living the exact life she’d grown up in. While he was a good-looking guy, that hadn’t really come into play when they met. Instead, she’d thought, my mother would finally approve of this one .

Watching Oz as he led her and Riley up the front steps of Holly’s house, Maria did not even think about her mother’s approval.

She admired his thick, dark hair, gelled to stand up all over his head.

Chocolaty brown eyes framed by thick lashes.

Full lips with a thin silver hoop. The man wore earrings and a lip ring, and she wasn’t running the other way.

Her mother would be so-o-o-o appalled.

He had a heavy brow and a thick coating of scruff on his face. His skin was bronze—and not tanning bed bronze. She’d bet it was his natural skin tone.

Her gaze trailed down the back of his basic white T-shirt and landed on a firm, rounded butt. The kind that should be on those charity firefighter calendars that always popped up for sale on Facebook during the holidays.

Maria could say with all honesty that she’d never been a butt girl before—which sounded dirtier in her own head than she even meant it to be—so it was taking her by surprise how attractive she found this man’s backside.

Oh, and his legs, too. All muscle and sinew. He was utterly gorgeous. She’d been around attractive men plenty of times in her life and never had such a visceral reaction before.

She felt a tug on her hand and managed to tear her gaze away to look down at her daughter, who was trying to pull her toward the house. Apparently, Maria had stopped at some point so she could simply admire Oz as he walked.

Well .

Giving herself a mental shake, she smiled at Riley and allowed herself to be led into the house behind Oz, who very politely held the door open for them.

“Thank you,” she said demurely. She wanted to know more about him. What did he do for a living? How did her sister know him? He said he’d been invited to the wedding, and as Holly and Sam were throwing a very intimate, secret wedding, that meant Oz had to be part of their inner circle.

He wasn’t part of Panic Station. Maria had met all of them at her grandmother’s funeral last year, and this guy had definitely not been there.

Was he in a different band? Or tied to the recording industry in some other way?

How intriguing.

Voices assaulted her ears. It sounded like several someones were arguing.

“—said to stay out of the pool, Daniel!”

“It’s hot. I know how to swim. I’m getting back in.”

“You’re gonna get in trouble.”

“Son of a—” Oz threw her a guilty look. “Sorry. Give me a sec. I’ll be right back.”

He hurried down the staircase, presumably to the patio she could see through the wall of windows directly in front of her.

Too curious to resist, Maria scooped Riley into her arms and followed. They entered a huge living area with a wall of windows leading out onto a patio, where a tempting pool filled with perfect aqua-colored water sat.

She paused in the doorway and stared. There were three children out here.

They appeared to range in age from teen to maybe older elementary school.

They were clustered together, all in swimsuits, towels draped over their shoulders, while Oz lectured them on the merits of water safety and obeying the rules.

Normally, Maria would have been impressed by this little scene. A father, actively involved in his kids’ lives. One who disciplined them appropriately, expected them to make smart decisions.

Except if Oz was a father, that meant there was a mother in the picture too. And that bit of information was far more crushing than it should be.

As a total aside, he didn’t look a day over thirty, and if he had teenage kids, that meant he either started in high school or he was far older than he looked.

“Mommy, I want to swim,” Riley announced, loud enough to draw the attention of Oz and all three of his children.

The youngest, a girl, abandoned her siblings and strode over Maria and Riley, just inside the open door.

“Hi,” she said, waving at Riley. “I’m Isabel. What’s your name?”

“Riley.”

“Do you want to swim with us?”

Oz jogged up and let his hands drop onto Isabel’s shoulders. “Hang on, Izzie. We don’t even know if she can swim. She’s a lot younger than you.”

“Oh, she loves the water,” Maria assured him. “She’s been taking private swim lessons since her first birthday. Her instructor says she’s very advanced. I also thought to bring her life vest. I figured we’d stay for a while and…”

And her sister wasn’t here, so that was out of the question. When was the wedding? Next weekend. Maria needed to make a plan. She was so sick of traveling at this point, but checking flights to southern Missouri should be her next priority.

“Well, if you’re cool with it, she can play with the older kids while we talk,” Oz said.

“I don’t want to intrude. I just need to call Holly back and figure out my next steps.

” She needed a shower. She needed to eat.

She needed a good night’s sleep. She needed to figure out where she would be staying in Missouri.

If she remembered correctly—clearly questionable at this point—Holly had booked a lodge in the mountains, and all the wedding guests were staying there.

Should she let Vic know where she’d gone? And where she was heading next?

“You’re not intruding,” Oz said. “It’s your sister’s house. If anyone’s intruding, it’s us. Come on, I’ll show you to an empty bedroom.” He turned to throw the eldest two a stern look. “Stay out of the pool until I’m back.”

Once again, she followed Oz and his spectacular butt as he led her upstairs to one of what she knew were six bedrooms. This one had a Jack and Jill setup.

“I hope you don’t mind sharing a bathroom with me,” he said.

“Not at all,” she said automatically. What else was she supposed to say?

“Are you hungry? I can make sandwiches. It’s probably time to feed the kids anyway.”

“I’m hungry,” Riley announced before Maria could tell him it wasn’t necessary to feed them.

Oz chuckled. “Do you like ham and cheese?”

Riley nodded.

“Do you eat the crusts?”

Riley glanced up at Maria, clearly confused by the question.

“She eats the crust. Her nanny never gave her the option,” Maria explained, and oh God, did that sound pretentious? Add worrying about her tone to her ever-growing list of concerns.

“I ask because Izzie had a meltdown the first time I served her a sandwich with the crust on, and she was probably about Riley’s age.”

Fascinating that he hadn’t realized his youngest daughter didn’t like crusts until she was three. Vic wouldn’t be aware of a detail like that, but Oz seemed so much more involved with his kids than Vic ever had been with Riley.

Then again, toddlers were finicky little people, so it was entirely possible Izzie had developed the affinity overnight.

“I’ll go grab your luggage for you,” Oz said, but Maria shook her head.

“I’ll get it. I don’t need it all. I just have to dig out our suits.”

“Okay, well, make yourselves at home. When you’re ready, come on down to the kitchen for lunch.”

He slipped out the door, and Maria resisted the urge to sink onto the floor and maybe have herself a nice, solid cry. She hated not having a plan, and in all honesty, she hadn’t had one in almost a year.

When she and Riley made it down to the kitchen a short time later, the older three kids were already seated on stools at the island.

A platter piled with quartered sandwiches sat in front of them, along with another that was loaded with baby carrots and celery.

There was also a bowl of tortilla chips and a smaller one loaded with salsa.

“I saved you a seat, Riley,” Izzie announced, patting the stool next to her.

Maria lifted Riley onto the stool and then stood behind her to make sure she didn’t tumble off. She had Riley’s portable high chair but hadn’t thought to bring it inside.

Oz slid a plate of sandwiches in front of Maria and began devouring chips and salsa.

“Sorry, we started before you,” he said in between bites.

“It’s fine.” She was hungry, although she didn’t have much of an appetite, which didn’t make any sense at all. She forced herself to pick up a quartered sandwich and take a bite. “Thank you for this.”

“It’s no problem, really. Did you call Holly back?”

“Oh shoot, I forgot.”

“You’ll have to wait now. They’re in the air, on their way to Missouri.”

Darn it.

“So what’s your plan?” Oz asked.

She winced. “That’s my problem. I don’t have one at the moment. I was hoping to talk to Holly, see if she could help me formulate one. I function so much better when I know my next steps.”

“I’m happy to help. If you want.”

The only other person in her life who had ever offered to help her was Holly.

“If nothing else, I make a great sounding board,” he added.

She was tempted. And honestly, why not confide in him? What was the harm?