Page 21 of The Malibu Secret

Olivia leans forward, her honey-blonde hair falling across her shoulder as concern floods her deep blue eyes. "Don't be offended," she says, her voice dropping to a gentle murmur. "We're not trying to make a joke out of this. But we did make a bet. I lost that bet, by the way, because I can't imagine you with a kid—you who once said you'd rather swallow razor blades than change a diaper. But what I don't know is whether congratulations are in order or something else. How do you feel about this?"

I glare at them both. "How do you think I feel? I'm freaking the hell out."

Celeste's smile turns apologetic. "The bet was a dick move. I'm sorry. But I've suspected for weeks. And remember Roman's wife, Lilith? She did that tarot reading and said you had a baby in your cards. That's why we ordered wine—to see your reaction. Not exactly BFF behavior, I know. But seriously, what can we do to help you, anything at all?”

I appreciate their concern, I really do, but Mom's already on this. She's been googling morning sickness remedies non-stop. Spoiler alert: nothing actually works except ginger, peppermint, and choking down bland food. She even found some research on acupuncture and dragged me to appointments. It helps... barely. Mom's been to every doctor visit too. The girls couldn't go to doctor’s appointments anyway with their crazy work schedules, which is partly why I haven't leaned on them. No point making them feel guilty about something they can't change.

“I’ll let you ladies know if there’s anything I need.” But they both know I won’t actually tell them about anything I need because I don’t do that.

Celeste puts her hand on mine. “I’m serious, Tally. Anything at all.”

I just nod.

"Who's the father?" Liv blurts out, because of course that's what they're really dying to know.

Shit. Here we go. If I lie, that lie's gonna boomerang back and smack me right in the face someday. Not maybe—definitely. What if the baby pops out with Cameron's dimples or that weird cowlick he's got? What if Mom loses her cool and spills to one of his buddies or brothers? She's been giving me the silent treatment for days over this whole "don't tell Cameron" thing. And if this all blows up? I'll have Cameron breathing fire down my neck plus Celeste and Liv looking at me like I just keyed their cars. Can't afford to lose my girls. Not now.

They're both staring at me, waiting. My brain's spinning like a slot machine, no jackpot in sight.

I chew my lip raw before finally asking, "Vault worthy?" They know what that means. Our sacred pact: anything in the vault stays buried. Period. Break that trust, and the betrayed gets to air one of your dirty secrets as payback. Works like a charm since we've all got skeletons we'd rather keep closeted. Mutually assured destruction—the cornerstone of any solid friendship.

Celeste leans forward, eyes gleaming. "Yeah?" The way she stretches that single syllable tells me everything—she's caught the scent of drama. Her fingertips drum once against the table as she waits for whatever bomb I'm about to drop. And honey, this one's nuclear-grade juicy.

“Liv?” I say.

"Absolutely. That's a given. Remember how you kept my Vegas hookup under wraps when I was with Jed?" Liv says, and I bite my tongue. Jed was her "forever guy" back then, despite the glaring red flag of her needing a secret Vegas fling while they were together. But some lessons you just have to learn the hard way. I honored the vault anyway.

Celeste hasn't cashed in her vault privileges yet, but we both know it's inevitable.

My pulse throbs in my ears as I force the name past my lips. "It's...Cameron."

Liv's palm shoots out immediately, and Celeste smacks a five-dollar bill into it with a defeated sigh. I let my head fall back. "Seriously? Was I that obvious?"

Celeste rolls her eyes. "Come on. You wreck your Jeep, tell me Cameron was your doctor, then start ghosting us? I knew you had a guy, and Liv said you were probably hooking up with Cameron. The man couldn't tear his eyes off you at both my weddings."

"What the fuck? He was not staring at me."

"Everyone saw it but you," Celeste says. "I didn't mention it because⁠—"

"Because I'm toxic waste to guys like him. I get it."

"God, no," Celeste says. "I just thought Cameron wasn't ready to date anyone. And why point out something the whole reception could see?" Her face lights up. "Holy shit. You and Cameron making a baby together!"

Liv shoots Celeste a warning look that screams shut up. She understands why I put this in the vault—I'm not planning to tell Cameron anything. Celeste is too starry-eyed to connect the dots. I expected her to rip me a new one for dragging Cameron into my bed, but she's practically glowing. I can read her mind: if I married Cameron, we'd basically be sisters—or at least both have the last name of Kensington. Close enough for her.

Celeste's eyes go wide. "Hold up. Please tell me you've already told Cameron? That you two have been steaming up the international phone lines and figuring out your baby game plan?" She leans forward, her voice dropping. "You're not seriously thinking about keeping him in the dark about his own kid, are you?"

I say nothing, and Celeste shakes her head.

“Oh hell no. You can’t pull this on us, Tally. Sorry, but I’m calling a vault exception.”

Crap. She’s invoking the loophole we all agreed on: if the secret’s so explosive that no one could possibly keep it locked up, we break the vault. But Olivia has to sign off, too.

I glare at Olivia with the fiercest stink-eye I can muster—hoping she’ll veto the vault exception. If she does, Celeste stays silent. If she doesn’t…well, damn it, I just fucking played myself. I’ll have to break this to Cameron. What kind of mess have I gotten into? I thought I could trust these two. Apparently not.

“Tally,” Olivia says gently, “you know we love you. But this won’t stay under wraps. And when it comes out—not if, when—we’re all screwed. You’re asking Celeste to betray Max, because you don’t think he’ll feel betrayed when it comes out that you kept his brother’s kid secret from him? And we can’t say you didn’t tell us—everyone knows you share every detail, and Celeste is a shitty liar so Max will automatically know the truth. He’ll know Celeste knew about the kid and that is a straight-up betrayal. Think it through.”

I exhale in frustration. This is why I’m terrible at chess—why Mom wipes the board with me. She’s a natural; with training she could go pro. I only have my ranking from junior tournaments, and I was merely decent. Yet here I am, failing to think three moves ahead: I’ve set Celeste up to betray Max. Why didn’t I see that coming?