Page 42 of A Way Out
Whew. No Oz. “What about Ava?”
A flicker of sadness flashed in Holly’s eyes. “She isn’t coming. Couldn’t take the time off work. A big project, I guess.”
Impulsively, Maria pulled her sister into a hug. Holly clung to her. God, this felt good. She supposed if she could find one thing to appreciate about her short-lived relationship with Oz, it was that his family had taught her that hugging was a worthy activity.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Holly pulled away and shook her head. “It’s okay. I sort of expected it. I just thought maybe she’d changed, too, since Grandma’s funeral.”
“She’ll come around,” Maria said. “It will take longer, though. She has a lot more of Dad in her than we do. She needs to figure out that work isn’t the be-all and end-all. Then we’ll be able to form a relationship with her.”
“Wow, that’s very wise.”
Maria sipped her coffee, letting the caffeine chase away the remnants of sadness over whatever wasn’t going to happen with Oz. “I’ve spent the last year analyzing my own marriage, and I realize Vic and I basically emulated our parents. So then I analyzed our parents, and I think Dad works as much as he does so he doesn’t have to admit he doesn’t love his wife. Or maybe his life. Or maybe both.”
“Ouch. Although you aren’t wrong.”
“Okay, enough of this melancholy. It’s the eve of your wedding day. We’re supposed to be happy.”
“I am happy. All my favorite people are here for my big day.”
Maria hugged her again. She had a lot of years of not-hugging to make up for.
“Get my niece up and get ready. Oz is downstairs making breakfast. And then we are off to do all the girly things.”
“You got it.”
Holly left the room.
Hey, at least Maria knew Oz wouldn’t accidentally walk into the bathroom while she was in the shower.
Shame.
Chapter Fifteen
Oz was just sliding the last of the French toast slices off the griddle when Cash and Parker stepped inside from the deck.
“Hey, man, we’re going for a jog. Want to join us?” Parker asked.
Oz wasn’t usually a jogger; he preferred working out on the ancient weight set resting in the corner of his mother’s living room. But this morning was the perfect opportunity to change his ways. Especially since it would ensure he got the hell out of the lodge before Maria came downstairs.
“Yeah, let me just go up and change. Three minutes.”
He hustled upstairs, passing Holly as she headed down. The first thing he noticed in his bedroom was Maria’s bra, hanging from the armchair in the corner.
It took him a moment to wrestle back the swarm of images from last night that apparently wanted to drown him. Christ, he was actually having a hard time breathing.
God, he’d been such an ass to her. And after such a perfect night, too. Like, literally, every single aspect had been nothing short of utter perfection.
He wanted to do it again and again and again, for infinity. Which was just plain dangerous.
So he’d done the wussy thing and treated her like shit until she climbed out of his bed and hurried away without a backward glance.
And now he felt like an animal for two reasons. One, for letting last night happen in the first place. And two, for nipping it in the bud the way he had this morning.
Shit.
He finally realized the shower was on in the bathroom he and Maria shared. And now that he knew what her glorious body looked like naked, it wasn’t much of a stretch to imagine what it would look like with soapy water streaming down it, and son of a bitch, now he was getting hard.
