Page 69 of A Way Out
“Pardon?”
The owner made a circular motion with their finger.
“I’m not here to buy anything, I just wanted to ask?—”
“Humor me, baby doll, and I’ll tell you whatever you need to know.”
Oz turned a full circle. Didn’t even hesitate.
“I thought so,” the shop owner said, nodding sagely. “That ass is hard to deny. You’re one of the rocker hotties who’s been hanging out with my girls.”
“Your girls? You mean Holly and Maria? You know Maria?”
The shop owner extended their arm, cocking their wrist like they wanted Oz to kiss the back of their hand. He awkwardly shook it instead.
“I’m Roxanne, by the way.”
Oz blew out a breath. “Ah, so a woman.”
“That is how I identify, yes. And you are…? Other than the owner of the hottest ass on Insta, I mean.”
Oz cupped the back of his neck. While he was glad for the publicity for the band, being recognized for his ass was definitely going to take some getting used to. “I’m Oz. I’m?—”
“The one who has the locals all a titter,” Roxanne finished for him. “Sweet Holly, who is a celebrity with roots here, just got married to the love of her life, and all anyone around here can gossip about is her older sister and the hot rocker she hung with at the wedding.” Roxanne tsked and shook her head.
Well, hell. Maybe coming here really was the bad idea he’d half expected it was in the first place. Whether he and Maria were meant to be, the last thing he wanted was to layer on the gossip she was already suffering.
He tugged the sleeve of his sweatshirt down over his wrist. Roxanne tracked the motion.
“Sugar cookie, don’t worry. You’re in a safe zone while you’re in my shop. I can’t make any promises once you step out onto that sidewalk, but for right now, you can relax. Now, what sort of information are you looking for? I do hope it’s something I can provide.”
Hell, Roxanne already knew enough about the situation… “I’m looking for Maria, actually. I-I don’t know where she lives.”
Where her ex lived, actually. He was more certain than he wanted to be that she was there at the moment. If not staying there—one could hope—she was probably at the house, dealing with whatever “family business” had pulled her away without so much as a reasonable explanation.
Roxanne crossed her arms. “I’m confused. I thought you and Maria were…” She waggled her finger; Oz had no idea what that little signal was supposed to mean, but he understood her half sentence.
“We were. And then she dropped everything and rushed home. I just want to talk to her, make sure…”
“She isn’t going back to what’s easy?”
He swallowed. “Um, yeah. Basically.”
Roxanne nodded like she’d been through exactly the same scenario. “It’s very difficult not to run back at the first sign of trouble.”
“But that’s the thing. There wasn’t any trouble. Everything was great. I have no idea what happened. She got a call from some guy named Tim and?—”
“Tim?” Roxanne’s eyes widened. “Oh, he’s magnificent. So beautiful. And fills out a suit in a way that should be illegal.” She rolled her eyes dramatically while pressing the back of her fingers to her forehead.
So did this mean Tim was gay? Because as much as Oz had been worried Maria was running back to her ex-husband, he was also nervous about how Tim fit into her life. And yeah, he may have wondered if Tim wasn’t some other past love interest.
Clearly, Oz had confidence issues.
“So, anyway,” he said. “I was hoping you’d give me Maria’s, uh, ex’s address, so I can go see if she’s there.”
Roxanne shook her head before swiveling on her boots and strutting over to a sleek wooden desk with muted gold trim. “If I didn’t have an appointment coming in in twenty minutes, I would drive you there myself if only to have a front row seat at the fireworks.” She handed him a piece of paper with an address scrawled across it. “Unfortunately, I’ll have to read about it in the scandal mags along with everyone else.” She pouted.
“I have no intention of causing a scene,” Oz defended himself.
