Page 16 of A Way Out
“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.”
Chapter Six
Maria woke in an unfamiliar bed for the second morning in a row. The night before had been in a hotel in Northern California, and she and Riley had slept in the same bed.
Except Riley wasn’t here.
Maria sat up so quickly her head swam for a moment. Meanwhile, her heart was galloping like a damn horse. Where was her child?
She scrambled out of bed, flung open the door, and rushed down the stairs, nearly skidding to a halt when she spotted Riley, snuggled into Oz’s side on the couch, a cartoon on the giant television, a bowl of what looked like scrambled eggs in her lap.
Oz glanced up, his eyes widening before he smiled.
Why the hell were her knees weak? Oh, right, because this little scenario had never ever happened in her life.
She grasped the railing and made her way downstairs, conscious of the fact that she wore a thin camisole and a pair of animal print pajama pants and her nipples were currently expressing their desire to be touched by the man who was watching her descent and very impressively keeping his gaze above her neckline.
“Morning,” he said when she stepped into the room.
“Morning,” Maria said, wrapping one arm around her chest while the other used the wall to help keep her steady.
“Mama, eggs,” Riley announced, lifting her bowl with both hands.
Oz chuckled. “I’m breaking my own rule about eating in the living room, but we both kind of got sucked into the show.”
