Page 37 of The Malibu Secret

I exhale and glance toward the deck where Tally and Celeste are chatting. That’s where my heart is—nowhere else.

Except hers clearly isn’t with me. If it were, she wouldn’t keep pushing me away. She lied about Brinley being my child because she’d decided to raise the baby alone. She insisted our living situation was purely platonic and that we were both free to date whoever we wanted. I never agreed to any of that. If it were up to me, Tally and I would be married by now, living in a spacious Echo Park house—with room for me, her, Brinley, and Marisa. In fact, ideally we’d have that main house plus an ADU for Marisa so she’d have her own space yet stay close enough for Tally to check on her—make sure she’s eating right, sleeping enough, taking her meds.

But it’s not up to me. Tally’s calling the shots, so here I am—sleeping in the attic of her modest three-bedroom home, encouraged to date other people, and fully aware that we aren’t “together.” Silas sees it too—he knows how much Tally’s taking advantage of me. Not that I mind. I love Brinley. I gladly handle the 3 AM feedings and diaper changes, read bedtime stories with Tally curled up next to me, and cover childcare while Tally works. My presence not only helps her but also frees Marisa to accept more piano gigs—she just started tutoring wealthy kids in Malibu.

Soon I’ll begin my sports-medicine fellowship, and we’ll all have to adjust again. But by then, Brinley should be sleeping straight through the night—no more 3 AM wake-ups for anyone.

I roll my eyes. "Just let me live my own life how I want, okay?"

"Okay. But Willow knows nobody here but you and me, and Tally has Celeste here, so…"

Damn him. He's really pulling this guilt trip about Willow not knowing anybody here when he's the one who dropped her in my lap without warning? And where does that leave Brinley? I can't just dump my kid on Tally all weekend. This whole situation is turning into a complete disaster.

"Cameron," Silas says, draping his arm across my shoulders. "Unanswered prayers, remember?"

That Garth Brooks song hits me like a punch to the gut. Sometimes what you think you want most in the world would actually destroy you if you got it. Like when you're the only one who can't see how toxic a relationship is, how it's eating you alive while you keep begging for more.

Silas's gaze hardens into a warning. I can read it as clearly as if he'd spoken: Let Tally go. Some doors are meant to stay closed, no matter how badly you want what's behind them.

"Silas—"

"Doing it out of love, bro. Nothing but love. Remember that."

I sigh and walk over to Willow, who's chatting with Connor. My movie star brother smiles that million-dollar smile at her, ever the gentleman despite the daggers his fiancée Alys is shooting from across the room. Alys Sanders - the new face of Dior. A-list actress. Yet she’s a soul-sucking harpy who somehow convinced my kindest brother to propose. The wedding's in two years, and none of us can figure out how to save Connor from this union that will destroy him in the end.

Something clicks as I watch Connor and Alys. We all see Alys for what she is—everyone except Connor. What if my brothers see something in Tally that I'm blind to? What if those red flags they keep pointing out aren't just overprotectiveness?

Our father walking out when we were kids made us a unit. We protect each other. We tell hard truths.

Silas isn't trying to sabotage me by bringing Willow here. He's trying to save me.

I need to at least consider what my brothers see that I don't. I need to give Willow a chance.

God, that's going to hurt.

But I’ll do it.

I’m sure it’s in my best interest.

Tally is an unanswered prayer. Perhaps she needs to stay that way.

Chapter Thirty

TALLY

This weekend is turning into my personal hell. Every time I look over, Cameron's laughing at something Willow said, or Willow's touching Cameron's arm, or they're sharing some private joke. And all the brothers are eating it up—not just Silas with his knowing smirks, but even Max, the traitor.

Case in point - the activity for that first morning, kayaking.

"Tally, you're with Celeste," Max announces when we reach the dock, pointing to the blue kayak while practically shoving Cameron and Willow toward the red one. I try to bail—I hate kayaking, always end up soaked, and someone needs to watch Brinley anyway. But Rosa's already bouncing my daughter on her hip, waving us off like we're teenagers at prom. Celeste grabs my arm, whining about needing a partner since Max and Roman has already claimed the green kayak for themselves. Apparently Lilith's off at some crystal-waving convention in Big Sur, teaching baby psychics how to separate fools from their money. Those two—Max and Roman—are the oddest bromance I've ever seen, but whatever. At least someone's having fun.

Kayaking done, we move on to mixed doubles tennis. And once again, the master of ceremonies for the day, Max, unsubtly pairs Cameron and Willow with each other.

Meanwhile, I’m stuck with Asher. Just my luck. I can barely hit the ball over the net, and Asher, while in as great of shape as his brothers, apparently has the coordination of a newborn giraffe. We’re gonna get destroyed

Cameron—that golden boy—plays like he's auditioning for Wimbledon. Willow's no slouch either. They absolutely destroy Connor and Alys in the first match—not exactly a shocker. Connor holds his own, but Alys acts like she doesn’t want to break a nail so she doesn’t even try.

Next up, the dynamic duo of Cameron and Willow take down Max and Celeste, who actually put up a decent fight. Then it's our turn. Poor Asher—brilliant mind, killer abs, terrible backhand and forehand, for that matter. Between my wild swings and his awkward lunges, we didn’t stand a chance. Game, set, and total humiliation.