A Way Out by Tami Lund

Author:Tami Lund
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tami Lund

Chapter Sixteen

First order of business: manicures, pedicures, and facials at a spa in Branson. All the ladies—including Kerry, the wife of Panic Station’s guitarist, who had been around since their college days—were treated to the pampering, courtesy of the bride.

Even Riley was set up in a massage chair, although she was offered a lollipop instead of a mimosa. And she was utterly thrilled to be considered “a big girl.”

Maria, for her part, was happy to finally be able to relax for the first time in close to a year, although, realistically, this morning had topped the high-stress list. Specifically, the part where Oz had said they needed to keep their relationship professional.

“True confession,” she said while her chair vibrated and her feet soaked in delightfully scented hot water. “The importance of having beautiful hands and feet is about the only piece of advice our mother gave us that I actually take to heart.”

Holly snorted, leaning back in her chair, her eyes closed. “You and me both.”

“Nothing else?” Lacey asked from Holly’s other side.

Holly cracked one eye and peered at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. “Have you not listened to any of the crazy stories I’ve told you? Maria, back me up here.”

Maria laughed. “Obviously, I’m backing you up. I’m the one who brought it up. I don’t even know what stories she’s told you, Lacey, but I can guarantee they are all true.”

Lacey said to her mother, “I am so glad you’re my mom.”

Stephanie gave her an indulgent smile. “So am I.”

“Will you adopt me?” Holly asked.

Stephanie chuckled. “Well, since you’re marrying my son tomorrow, I’d say the adoption papers are already in process. Maria, since you’re Holly’s sister, I’m happy to add your name to the papers.”

Everybody laughed.

Stephanie’s and Oz’s mom were very different—Cat was a no-nonsense Hispanic woman raising her own grandchildren, while Stephanie was a grunge-loving white chick whose heyday had been in the ’90s—and Maria would have been happy to be adopted by either of them.

She shouldn’t be thinking that way about Oz’s mom. Since he’d made it clear this morning that they were nothing but business associates, that did not leave room for her to develop a relationship with his mother. Or, no doubt, his kids.

She smiled back at Stephanie. “I’d like that. Although you’ll have to give me lessons on how living with an actual family works. I don’t believe I have any real-life experience.”

Except for the brief time she’d spent with Oz and his family.

“Oh, hey, Maria.” Holly touched her arm. “Would you be interested in a working vacation this weekend?”

“This feels like a loaded question,” Maria said warily.

Her sister laughed. “It’s not that bad, I promise. It’s just that our publicist is AWOL and there are going to be so many picture opportunities with the two bands together. It’ll be great publicity, especially for Demigoddess Revival.”

“I thought this wedding was top secret.”

“Oh, it is. For now. Once it’s official, we’ll announce it all over our socials. And we have a single we’re planning to surprise release on Tuesday, which, no, isn’t a coincidence.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.