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“Jesus, Fiona. You look like you just ran through a tornado. I like the leggings, though.” She lifted the hem of my shirt and raised her eyebrows. “Bold.”
I pulled my hair back in a messy bun and grabbed my purse. “Where are we going?”
She pulled me into a tight hug and rubbed my back. “Someplace I think you’ll like.”
No matter how much I tried to make her tell me, she wouldn’t. Avery pretended to be in on the secret as Mallory drove us out of the city. It took me until Mallory pulled into the driveway to realize that she’d taken me back to the Bending Branches Mindfulness Retreat.
A dark feeling crept over me and I turned to my sister, full of anger. “Why would you bring me here?”
She frowned and took a deep breath. “Don’t bite my head off, Fi. Just wait a minute. Okay?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head. “I don’t want to be here. This place is where it all happened, Mal. Why would I want to come here? If Carl is waiting to tell me that I’m getting fat, I’m going to murder him and you.”
“Just take a breather, Fifi.” Mallory stopped the car and nodded towards the cabins. “And look.”
I did a double take out the front window and saw Sebastian, Ryder, and Jake all standing there, watching me. My heart sped up at the sight of them. “Mal?”
Avery, excited to see the guys he’d grown attached to so quickly and easily, unbuckled himself and jumped out of the car. I watched with my heart in my throat as he launched himself at them. Ryder caught him first and hugged him tight before passing him off to Jake. Before Sebastian took him, I looked over at Mallory with my hand on the door handle. Her eyes were bright and her smile was wide.
“Go on. They have a whole thing set up for you.”
I opened my mouth to…argue, maybe? I wasn’t sure. I was cut off by my door opening, though. I didn’t get much time to consider what I wanted to do before Sebastian was there, pulling me out of the car. I gasped as he pulled me into his chest and lowered his mouth to my ear.
“Come with us, angel.”
I couldn’t deny the rush of adrenaline that coursed through my body at feeling him so close to me. My mind was packed with questions but all I could get out was one about Avery. “What about Avery?”
Mallory leaned over the console to grin at me. “I’ve got Avery. We have big plans today, too.”
I felt myself giving in and a sense of anxious peace struck me. They were trying for me. At least, that’s what it seemed like. If they were trying, we could get past the bad stuff. I was afraid to get my hopes up, but it just was who I’d become since meeting the guys.
I looked back at Mallory and saw that she was smiling at the guys. There was no trace of the woman who’d been leaving shit on Sebastian’s door. Whatever they’d done to convince her to give them another shot was big because Mallory didn’t typically forgive easily. Taking a deep breath, I looked up at Sebastian. “Okay.”
51
***Fiona***
The walk to Carl’s cabin was mostly quiet. I was in my head about what was happening and the guys seemed focused. Nature rose up around us, greener and a little wilder since the last time we’d been there, and only the random call of a bird broke the silence. It would’ve been peaceful if I wasn’t freaking out about what the guys had planned.
Finally, when we were just outside of the cabin, Ryder stopped and looked at me. His beard had come in fuller in the days since I’d last seen him and there were dark circles under his eyes but he was still so good-looking that it should’ve been a crime. “This morning is just about us taking care of you. If it’s okay with you, we’d like to save the talking for after.”
I felt my eyebrows raise. What did they have in mind? My mouth was already on the move, though. “Okay.”
Jake took my hand and helped me up the steps, his eyes on my growing stomach. “Are you feeling okay?”
I shrugged. I wasn’t sure how I was feeling. Before seeing them, I’d felt depressed and alone. I was tired more often than not. I didn’t want to admit how much of a wreck I was without them so I just kept it simple. “Just tired, mostly.”
He met my gaze and smiled. “We’re going to help with that.”
I honestly didn’t know what I was walking into once they opened the cabin door. It could’ve been a setup for a morning of sex or more forced yoga. I didn’t have a clue but when Jake opened the door and I saw what awaited me inside, I choked out a surprised laugh. “...How?”
The cabin had been cleared of Carl’s furniture and in its place was what looked like an at-home spa. There was a massage table, a pedicure station, and even a smaller inflated hot tub. Fairy lights had been hung everywhere and the entire cabin glowed like magic. In an instance, my heart felt soothed.
“We owe you a lot more than this, but for now, a morning of pampering will have to do.” Ryder walked towards the hot tub. “Set low enough so we don’t cook the babies. And we have products that are all safe and healthy for you.”
“Here’s your robe.” Sebastian handed me what felt like a warm cloud. “We thought we’d start with a massage.”
I nodded, excited but shy at having all of their attention so fully on me. I hugged the robe to my chest and looked at the massage table. “Should I… I mean, what do I wear? I’ve never had a massage.”
