Page 6 of A Way Out (Rock Star #2)

Chapter Five

F our days before her grandmother’s funeral. That’s the last time Maria had sex. Ten months ago.

That had to be the reason her ovaries were doing a jig over the prospect of hanging out with Oz for the next few days.

Although it certainly didn’t hurt that he was almost painfully gorgeous. That thought still took her by surprise because she’d never allowed herself to speculate over what her type might be until now.

Clearly, it was hot Hispanic men who were also in a band. A band good enough to play at her sister’s wedding. After all, her sister’s band was super famous, so Maria could not imagine Holly would select a run-of-the-mill wedding cover band to play at her reception.

Maria had apparently dozed off after these thoughts, because the next thing she became aware of was being lifted into Oz’s incredibly strong and—wow!—hard, corded arms. Her eyes fluttered open, and she glanced at the empty pool.

“Where are the children?” she asked, grasping his bicep.

She curled her fingers against his smooth skin to keep from stroking up and down just to, well, make sure those muscles were hard everywhere.

And maybe to trace the outline of the colorful tattoos that reached from shoulder to wrist on both arms. She never would have imagined herself attracted to someone covered in so much body ink, yet here she was, imagining licking the man, maybe nibbling on his?—

“Inside,” he said, his voice rumbling in his chest, “getting cleaned up before dinner. Riley is with Izzie. They’re taking a shower.”

“Riley’s never taken a shower before,” she murmured absently, distracted by the fact that he was walking toward the house with her in his arms and wasn’t straining or breathing heavily.

“Should I yell up there and tell them to stop?”

Maria shook her head. Where was he taking her? Was he going to carry her all the way up to her bedroom? Good Lord, if he did that, she might very well beg him to stay. In the bed. With her.

Naked.

Who was this wanton woman she was turning into?

“Do you want me to take you upstairs?” he asked.

Maria shivered.

“Are you cold?”

She shook her head. “Um, you can put me down here.”

Was it her imagination, or did he seem reluctant as he lowered her to her feet?

She smoothed the front of her cover-up without meeting his eyes. “I’m going to, um, change. And then I can help with dinner. I’m not the greatest cook, but I’m learning to follow recipes.”

She’d not had to cook until she asked for the divorce. That had been the housekeeper’s responsibility.

Deciding it was time to learn was the only plan she’d formulated at the time.

She knew someday she would have to live on her own and, even if she could afford it, very likely would not be willing to splurge for the expense of an in-home chef.

Her mother did it because it was prestigious. Vic did it because her mother did it.

Maria was not her mother, damn it.

Oz chuckled. “There’s a rule in our house. Whoever cooks, the rest of the household has to clean up. Elana hates to clean, so she’s learned how to cook, and she is planning to make dinner tonight.”

“Wow. That’s, uh, a smart rule. How old is Elana?”

“Thirteen.”

A thirteen-year-old who could cook. Maria was feeling highly inadequate.

She pointed in the general direction of the stairs. “Um, I’m going to change now.”

She scurried from the room.

She’d replaced her swimsuit with a pair of linen shorts and a matching top and was brushing her hair out when Riley burst into the room, soaking wet and wrapped in an oversized towel.

“Mama, I took a shower!”

Maria laughed. “It looks like you brought all the water with you. Come here, let me help you dry off.”

“It was fun,” Riley proclaimed.

Maria towel dried her child’s hair and sprayed it with leave-in conditioner, as, based on the tangles, she’d not used any in her shower. Even after Maria helped her dress and combed the snarls out of Riley’s hair, her child was still smiling.

What Maria ought to do was get online right now and reschedule their flights to leave from LA instead of Seattle. Tonight.

She didn’t need to stick around here, letting Riley become attached to his kids while Maria lusted after their guardian.

Yet she didn’t grab her phone or her laptop before heading downstairs to dinner.

Maria was exhausted by the time all four children went to bed. She was half-tempted to head straight upstairs to bed herself, except she’d feel like a quitter since Oz appeared to be wide awake. So she headed into the living room and collapsed onto the couch instead.

He appeared in the doorway. “Want a beer?”

She shook her head. “A glass of wine sounds lovely though.”

A few moments later, he placed her drink on the coffee table and sank onto the cushion on the far end of the couch.

“Now that you’ve had a taste, are you ready to book the first flight out of town?” he asked, like he knew what she’d been thinking earlier.

“I’m certainly reconsidering my previous desire to birth a basketball team,” she quipped.

His eyes widened. “You seriously want five kids?”

She laughed. In truth, she had no idea what she wanted. Riley came about because Vic wanted a child. If she’d stayed on her previous path, she’d quite possibly be learning to balance life with a toddler and a newborn right now instead of hanging out here, with Oz, on her sister’s couch.

Between the two options, she preferred hanging with Oz, although as far as more kids in the future…

“I’m just teasing you,” she admitted. And didn’t add, “I have no clue what I want. Other than you.” Probably best not to tell him that part. He’d seemed attracted to her initially, but somewhere along the line, he’d managed to rein in his libido.

Although maybe that had been temporary while they attacked the task of ensuring four kids ate dinner and cleaned up the kitchen afterward and were tucked into bed at a reasonable hour. Because now he was watching her with hooded eyes, and she was fighting the urge to shiver—and no, she wasn’t cold.

“Do you…have a date? For the wedding?” she asked, and two seconds later wondered what in the world she was doing and why she was asking. She didn’t want to know.

He snorted. “Nope.”

Why did he say it like that? She’d known him only a few hours and she was convinced he was a catch.

“Me neither,” she said.

He didn’t respond. With her mind now on the wedding, she began to catalog all the things she needed to get done before next weekend.

She needed to reach out to her sister, make sure there was a place near the wedding venue where Maria could schedule an appointment for an updo. And get her nails done. And she needed a dress. She’d forgotten about the wedding, so she’d not packed anything appropriate.

And, oh God, she was falling back into Old Maria mode.

She’d made a pact with herself when she asked for the divorce.

She wouldn’t continue trying to emulate her mother.

To try to fit in with Roma, Washington, high society.

Those people didn’t care about her, and she didn’t care about them, so why bother trying to impress them?

Except, this worry was for her sister’s wedding, so that made it okay, didn’t it?

Lord, figuring out her new lot in life was hard.

Her phone vibrated, startling her. Holly’s name flashed on the screen. “Oh, there she is.” She showed the screen to Oz, then stood and grabbed her wine. “I’m going to step outside.”

Pushing the button as she hurried away, she said, “Hello, whatever your name will soon be.”

Holly laughed. “I’m not changing my name, but hello to you too.

Sorry I didn’t call you back until now. We were in the air when you left your message, and when we arrived at the airport, it was chaotic there for a minute because some fans recognized us.

We’re finally at Sam’s parents’ house, and I can talk now. ”

It was still shocking and exciting that her sister was a rock star, even though she’d been one for nearly a decade now. Although, according to her, they’d only truly broken out about four years ago.

“I’m better now,” Maria said. “I was a little panicked when I called, though.”

“Sounded like it. Did Oz take care of you?”

It was just like Maria’s butt comment. Not intended to be dirty, but apparently she had become a dirty, dirty girl. At least in her own head.

Instead of saying I wish , she said, “He has been a perfect host.” She paused. “He offered to let me stay.”

“Of course he did. Why wouldn’t he?”

“I don’t know. You aren’t here, and I didn’t want to intrude.”

“Maria, that house is so big, even with the kids, you’ll be able to carve out whatever alone time you need.”

Alone time was the last thing she needed. She’d had enough alone time to last two lifetimes. “Tell me about the kids. Or rather, their mother. He said she died.”

“Yeah. It’s pretty amazing how he’s stepped up to take care of them. He’s working three jobs to make ends meet, too. I really hope Demigoddess Revival breaks out soon. He deserves a break more than anyone else I know.”

“Demigoddess what?” Also, three jobs? Maria could not imagine working three separate jobs. When did the man sleep?

Holly laughed again. “Demigoddess Revival. That’s the name of his band. They just released their first EP a few months ago. It’s doing well. Now they need to get out on tour. It’s all coming together—I just wish it were faster, for Oz’s sake.”

Maria had never heard of them, but then again, she’d listened to KIDZBOP all the way to LA, and she doubted very much that was the type of music Oz’s band played.

Mental note: download Demigoddess Revival’s EP to her phone.

“So what’s your plan?” Holly asked. “I know you have one.”

Maria blew a raspberry. If her mother were here, she’d have scolded Maria for making such a noise. “That’s my problem. I don’t have one. I…the divorce is final.”

Holly sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, even though her sister couldn’t see the action. “I am. I mean, I’m not, but if you’re asking if I regret divorcing Vic, no, I don’t.” She sank onto the lounger she’d been sitting on earlier. “I just don’t know where to go from here.”

“Take your time,” Holly suggested. “There’s no hurry to figure out the next phase of your life.

Why don’t you just focus on coming to the wedding, having fun?

You can stay at our place in LA for as long as you need to.

Oz and his family will be there for a couple weeks, but they’ll stay out of your hair.

Oz is the only one who knows this, but after the honeymoon, Sam and I are going to look for a house here in Missouri.

This is where we ultimately want to settle.

We want to record our next album here instead of in LA. ”

“Wow, that’s exciting.” It was a huge change for her sister, who had spent her entire adult life avoiding her own family. Now she was embracing her fiancé’s, and yes, Maria was jealous. Vic’s family had been just like hers, which meant she’d not bonded with any of them.

“Why don’t you book flights for you and Riley and come out tomorrow? You can help me with all the last-minute wedding stuff,” Holly suggested.

Maria glanced over her shoulder at the wall of windows, through which she could see Oz, sitting on the couch, his head tilted down toward his lap, probably looking at his phone.

She cleared her throat. “I think I’ll stay here for a few days.”