Page 64 of A Way Out
Movement caught her eye. Travis and Sam both step onto the stage and make their way to the drum kit, without a spotlight to let the audience know what was happening. It was all part of the plan, as was the way the drum kit had been set up, so that both men could play at the same time.
Oz’s guitar carried that last note on and on and on, and Maria held her breath, until the slap of a stick against a drum broke the tension and Oz lifted both arms, accepting the praise the fans rained on him.
After Sam and Travis did their own solo—er, duo—the rest of the band, as well as the members of Panic Station, all rushed onto the stage, and together they hammered out “Drum Me Away,” another Panic Station hit.
When that song faded away, the bands began bantering back and forth, teasing about releasing new music, joking about going on the road together—the deafening roar of the crowd suggested they loved the idea—and right on cue, the screen behind Travis’s drum kit lit up with a picture from last night’s double wedding.
It was a shot of both bands, with Holly and Lacey in the middle in their wedding dresses.
Parker thrummed the opening chords of “Why Can’t We Be.”
Everybody loved a good rock ballad, and this one was ten levels above whatever these fans may have been expecting.
Holly moved out of the way so Parker could share the mic with Lacey. While Oz and Lacey normally sang the duets, their producer had convinced them that Parker should sing this one.
The guy was right.
Parker and Lacey sang beautifully together, and all the emotion they must have felt while in the early days of their relationship poured out in that song, in the lyrics, in the heaviness of the bass, in the way they stared at each other as they sang.
Lacey’s eyes filled with tears. Maria swiped at her cheek, unsurprised when her finger came away wet.
Such a beautiful song.
Lacey carried the last note far longer than Maria would have thought possible, and with the spotlight still trained on them, Parker threw his arm around her neck and pulled her close, their lips crashing together like there weren’t 3,000 people all watching their make out session.
Bonus that the slideshow on the screen was still showing snapshots of their wedding. The kiss had not been part of the plan, but Maria would suggest they do it as part of their set moving forward. She could practically see the band’s bank account growing as fans scrambled to download this song.
They should release it tomorrow instead of waiting until Tuesday. Or maybe even tonight, at midnight. Keep the momentum going. It would be a nice touch, since they were playing this venue again tomorrow night—and that show, too, was now sold out. Holly and Sam wouldn’t be there, as they were heading to their honeymoon in the morning, but the rest of Panic Station had agreed to hang out for one more night, and Maria knew they’d rock it as hard as they were tonight.
It didn’t occur to her until the wee hours of the morning, as she was about to drift off in Oz’s arms, sated, happier than she could ever recall feeling, that she hadn’t reached out to Vic like she’d promised.
Tomorrow. She’d call him tomorrow.
Chapter Twenty-Three
As soon as they returned to the lodge after the show, they profusely thanked Stephanie’s neighbor for watching Riley, sent the woman on her way, and Oz ushered Maria upstairs.
They checked in on Riley, who was sound asleep, spread- eagle in the king-sized bed. Without a word, Oz turned Maria around and led her to the bathroom, closing the door so the light wouldn’t wake her daughter.
She hadn’t sweated out a gallon of water like he had while he’d been performing, but she didn’t protest when he stripped her and invited her into the shower with him.
Oz dropping to his knees and shoving his face between her legs, eagerly lapping at her like she was a Tootsie Pop and he couldn’t wait to get to the delicious core, clearly wasn’t a hardship. For either of them.
After quickly soaping up and rinsing off, he used a towel to ensure she was patted exceedingly dry, and then he lifted her off her feet and carried her to bed.
His bed.
Where they made love while whispering nonsensical words about how well they fit together, how he never wanted to sleep alone again, how much he liked everything about her…until they both fell into an exhausted sleep.
Oz spooning her.
Oz’s eyes blinked open when something patted his shoulder. He glanced over to see Riley standing next to the bed, tapping him with her chubby little hand.
Oh shit. A swift glance at the bed reassured him that all their sexy bits were fully covered by the sheet.
“Hey,” he whispered, so as not to wake Maria, who would probably freak that her daughter had caught them in bed together.
“I’m hungry,” Riley said. She briefly looked over at her sleeping mother before focusing her gaze back on him. He didn’t see any indication that she cared one way or another about their sleeping arrangements.
