Page 35 of Love Loathe Devotion (Tightrope #3)

The spa smells like eucalyptus and heaven. Warm, humid air wraps around me the second we walk in, and the receptionist greets Cherry by name, which immediately makes me suspicious.

“This is your first time, huh?” I whisper as we check in.

Cherry smirks. “Please. I’ve been bribing them with overpriced body scrubs for years. These people would hide a body for me.”

Lexi rolls her eyes. “They’d help her hide a body.”

“I tip well,” Cherry says sweetly.

Frankie tosses his faux-fur-trimmed robe over one shoulder like he’s about to be interviewed by Vogue Scandinavia. “Tell them we want the steam room, the scrub room, the divine truth, and snacks. In that order.”

The attendant eyes Cherry’s baby bump. “We’ve got a special prenatal suite set up.”

“Oh, thank God,” she groans. “You have no idea how bad I want to lie down somewhere quiet and have someone rub hot oil on my back without trying to sell me baby socks.”

“You’re glowing,” I tell her, trying not to laugh.

She side-eyes me. “I’m glowing with rage and Tums.”

We’re led into a private suite—muted lighting, plush loungers, a tray of spa snacks (cucumber water, fresh berries, lavender shortbread), and enough fluffy robes to make us feel like pampered royalty. Some kind of soft acoustic playlist hums in the background and, for a second, I just breathe.

Then Frankie drops onto his lounge chair, eyes fixed on me. “Okay, so before I launch into my tragic-but-fabulous love life, I need you to tell me why Cherry keeps giving me dagger eyes every time I bring up our love life. What am I missing?”

I sigh and settle onto a lounger, curling into my robe. “He’s my ex. And he’s… persistent. Calling from blocked numbers, leaving voicemails, flipping between begging and being downright abusive. I didn’t take it seriously at first, but it’s escalated lately.”

Frankie’s brows knit, the sparkle in his tone softening. “Ugh. No. That’s not okay. At all.”

Lexi leans forward slightly, voice quieter now. “Can I say something that might sound a little heavy?”

“Of course,” I say, straightening.

She exchanges a glance with Cherry, who nods once.

“My ex-husband was charming. Smart. Smooth. Until he wasn’t,” Lexi says evenly.

“I ignored a lot of red flags. I told myself he was just angry. Just emotional. Until one day, he snapped and almost killed me. I was already pregnant with Theo at the time and it was bad. But the next time he came for me, he took Theo and almost succeeded in killing me. They found me in time but he disappeared for two days with mine and Hunter’s infant son. ”

My heart freezes in my chest.

“It took every ounce of power, legal and otherwise, to get him back. And I carry the weight of not seeing the danger sooner. So…” Her eyes meet mine. “Don’t assume Randy is just running his mouth. You don’t know where that line is until he’s already crossed it.”

My throat goes dry. “Thank you. I mean it.”

She nods, and the room goes quiet for a beat. Not awkward—real. Grounded. One woman gently giving another permission to protect herself, without guilt.

Frankie lets out a breath. “Okay. Now I definitely need to book a group therapy session for us. With snacks.”

Lexi smiles and leans back. “Back to the fun stuff. Couples’ gossip. Laney asked how we all manage to look so disgustingly in love.”

“Oh yeah,” Cherry snorts. “Tell her the proposal story.”

Lexi groans. “You’re ridiculous.”

Frankie perks up immediately. “Oh, oh, oh—yes. I want every detail.”

Lexi rolls her eyes, cheeks flushing with color.

“Fine. Hunter proposed in this little French restaurant. Low lighting, candles, this piano player in the corner. He waited until dessert and then slid the ring across the table and told me seeing me as a mother to his son made him fall in love with me all over again.”

“That man has restraint,” Cherry mutters. “If I had that ring, I’d have thrown it at your face by the time the appetizers landed.”

“And then,” Lexi continues, her voice softer now, “he stood up, pulled me out of the booth, and we danced. Right there. Just us.”

My heart practically lurches. “That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”

Frankie wipes an imaginary tear. “I’m so single it physically hurts.”

We all laugh, the tension gently lifting again.

“So, what about you?” Lexi asks me next, eyes warm. “What’s your favorite Eddie moment?”

I smile without even thinking. “The first time he played for me. Just him and a guitar, no spotlight. I think I forgot how to breathe.”

Lexi’s smile deepens. “He talks about you like he already knows. Like he’s not hoping—it’s already decided.”

“You think?”

“I know,” Cherry says, her voice gentler than I’ve ever heard it.

And for the first time in days, that sharp ache of missing him softens into something else. Something warm. Hopeful.

Maybe even mine.

By the time our massages are over, I feel like I’m floating.

I don’t know what enchanted oils the masseuse used or how she found every knot I didn’t know I had, but my limbs are liquid, my head is clear, and, for the first time in days, the grief of missing Eddie doesn’t feel like it’s pressing a cinder block against my chest.

We’re back in the lounge area, wrapped in robes, lounging on overstuffed chairs with our feet propped up and our hair messily piled on top of our heads. Frankie has stolen the lavender-scented eye mask from Cherry’s tray and is wearing it on his forehead like a tiara.

“You look like royalty in a silent breakdown,” Cherry mutters, sipping herbal tea like it’s a shot of whiskey.

“I’m reclaiming my calm,” Frankie says. “Do not interrupt the process.”

Lexi chuckles softly and reaches for a handful of dried mango slices. “Honestly, he’s earned it. That facial nearly turned him into a new man.”

“My pores are tighter than my last situationship,” he replies, completely deadpan.

I laugh and lean back, letting my head sink into the cushion. Everything feels soft. Safe.

Until Cherry reaches across and takes my hand.

Her grip is warm, steady.

“It’s going to be okay, Laney.”

Her voice isn’t loud or forceful—it’s low, full of something deeper than reassurance. A quiet certainty that lands right in the center of my chest.

“You have to trust what you and Eddie have.”

I nod, eyes stinging a little. “I do. I just… sometimes it’s hard to believe something that feels that good could actually be real.”

Cherry nods like she’s been there. “I get that. Jake and I? We weren’t always… this. We’ve loved each other forever, but we hurt each other a lot before we finally got it right.”

I look at her, surprised. “You two seem so solid. So… unshakable.”

She lets out a dry laugh. “We are now. But we had years of wrong timing, wrong choices, stupid pride, stupid people... everything in between. There were times I thought we were done for good.”

“What changed?”

Her gaze softens. “We grew up. We stopped listening to fear. And we chose each other. Even when it was hard.”

I swallow against the lump in my throat.

Lexi reaches over and rests her hand lightly over ours. “I didn’t even know Hunter’s real name when I got pregnant. I thought I would never see him again.”

My eyes snap to hers.

“It was meant to be one night of fun,” she says softly. “But fate had other ideas and she delivered the man of my dreams, my absolute soulmate, to me when I least expected it.”

Frankie quiets instantly. Cherry doesn’t even blink. They already know the story.

“One night and I was done. And for a long time, I felt like I was just barely surviving. Then we found our way through all the drama. One night. I didn’t even mean it to be forever and it ended up being everything I could ever dream of.

” She smiles gently. “When I got pregnant, it scared the hell out of me. But that man… he didn’t run.

He stepped into the storm and never left.

And now we have Theo. And peace. And a home I never thought I’d feel safe in again. ”

The breath I take is sharp. Real.

I stare at them—these women I’ve admired all day. Who’ve made me laugh and fed me fruit and talked about their husbands like gods—and I realize… I never would’ve guessed. That beneath all the love and strength was once fear. Pain. Chaos.

“I don’t know what to say,” I whisper.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Lexi says. “Just know that we see you.”

“Even if Eddie is halfway around the world being a rockstar with amazing arms,” Frankie chimes in, lifting the mood.

We all chuckle, but there’s something tender in his eyes as he sits up and looks around the circle.

“I’m still waiting for Prince Charming,” he says with a wink.

“But I found my princesses in you guys. When my parents couldn’t accept who I was and told me I’d be alone forever…

Cherry brought me home for Christmas and introduced me as family.

Lexi threatened to key a guy who ghosted me.

And Jake let me cry into a cashmere throw blanket while he made French toast.”

I reach across and squeeze his hand. “I’m so glad I met you,” I whisper.

Frankie blinks fast, then sniffs and fans his eyes. “Don’t make me ruin my dewy spa glow, girl.”

We all laugh again, but the tears are real. The kind that feel good. Cleansing.

I pull my phone out of the robe pocket and lean into the group.

“Let’s take a picture.”

Cherry groans. “God, I’m puffy.”

“You’re stunning,” I tell her. “Shut up and smile.”

Lexi leans into me, Frankie clutches his eye mask to his heart, and Cherry flips the camera off with her pinky up.

I snap the photo and smile down at it like it’s treasure.

Then I send it to Eddie with a short message:

Me + your favorite chaos crew. Miss you. Wish you were here. ??

And as I tuck the phone away and sink back into the cushions, I realize I feel lighter.

Not because everything’s fixed.

But because now I believe it can be.