Chapter 12
Camilla
Camilla covered her face with her hands.
“You realize you’re sorta being ridiculous, right?” Isabelle pointed out.
“Yeah, I have to agree with her.” Charlie chuckled.
Camilla glanced up at her friend. Before Charlie got married, she’d been a Keagan. With eleven older siblings—most of which were brothers—she was used to the men in her life meddling with her relationships. Out of everyone Camilla thought would be on her side, she’d thought Charlie would be it.
She couldn’t have been more wrong.
Charlie plucked at the crumbs from her muffin.
The low hum of conversation in the coffee shop did nothing to ease the tension that coiled within Camilla as she thought about what would happen the next time she was forced to be alone with Dallas.
“You don’t know how lucky you are,” Charlie mused.
“My brothers literally threw punches the second they found out that Ash and I were an item. And Ash hadn’t done anything to break my heart yet. ”
Isabelle snickered. “Yeah, but to be fair, your brothers still see you as that little girl. And Ash was…” She wrinkled her nose in the adorable way she always did. “He was older. Didn’t he kiss you when you were still a minor?”
Charlie rolled her eyes. “He’s not that old.
Four years. He’s only four years older than me.
” The way she said it made it clear she was still irritated that people pointed out their age difference.
“And yeah… it wasn’t the smartest move on his part.
And yeah, he probably would have deserved everything he had coming to him in that moment.
But six years after the fact?” She gave Camilla a pointed look.
“All I’m saying is that I think things could be worse.
Mateo letting him come back into your life isn’t the end of the world.
” She waved a finger in Camilla’s direction.
“But that’s not the point of this hangout. ”
She was right. Camilla had done enough venting about Mateo and his stupid decision to let Dallas stay on their property. Now, she had bigger problems. Like the fact that she was upset that Dallas didn’t want more. Camilla groaned again. “I’m all over the place. What is wrong with me?”
“I think you already know the answer to that.” Charlie’s blue eyes danced with mischief then she shifted her focus to Isabelle. “What do you think? You live with her. Is she still in love?”
Isabelle yawned. “Clearly. Why else would she be offended that Dallas wanted to take her out on a friend-date?”
Camilla’s face burned.
“Did he even say he wanted more before you agreed to go?” Isabelle asked.
Camilla was sure that her face resembled a tomato more than her usual golden complexion. “You already know the answer to that.”
“Yeah, I do. So, we’re right back to where we started.
You’re mad because Mateo brought Dallas back into your life.
You’re mad that you were mean and pushed him away the second he stepped foot on our property.
And you’re mad that he took the hint and accepted his fate.
What did you expect, Camilla? That he’d pull you into his arms like that scene in your favorite movie? ”
“Maybe,” Camilla admitted.
Charlie snorted, earning herself a glower from Camilla. Then her friend leaned over the table, her voice low. “Let me ask you something. And you have to be completely honest.”
Camilla’s heart ticked up anxiously.
“Do you want more than friendship with this guy?”
Isabelle scoffed. “She’s not going to give you the right answer.
” She waved a hand at Camilla. “The problem right now is that she wants Dallas, but she doesn’t want to allow herself to have him.
She’s probably already forgiven him for what he did, and she feels like she’s an idiot for doing so.
My sister is one of the most stubborn people I know—besides Sophia.
She’s not going to make this easy on herself even if we hand-feed her the answers.
” Isabelle placed both hands on the table and gave Camilla a hard stare.
“You’re still in love with him. Admit it.
Forgive him. And tell him that you’re open to trying again. ”
The blood pumping through Camilla’s body ran cold as ice. Just the thought of speaking so candidly to Dallas made her stomach knot to the point of no return. It couldn’t be that easy.
“And what if Dallas doesn’t want that? What if that’s the reason he left? What if he just wants to be friends?”
There. She’d said it. Her greatest fear. Because Isabelle was right. She was still very much in love even though the notion was ridiculous.
“Maybe I should call Cheyenne,” she mumbled.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Charlie huffed, folding her arms.
Camilla’s eyes darted to Charlie. She didn’t bother asking why Charlie thought calling Cheyenne wasn’t a good idea.
It was obvious the two of them didn’t get along well.
Charlie rarely hung out if Cheyenne was around, and since the latter was out of town for most of the summer, Charlie had finally started to spend more time with Camilla.
It was nice to rekindle the friendship they had.
Well, except when Charlie was putting her in her place. She was younger, and yet she seemed to have a better way of looking at things.
Charlie glanced at Camilla and sighed. “Dallas is her brother. She’s going to have an opinion, and right now you don’t need to be influenced by her.”
“But I suppose being influenced by you is okay?”
Her friend gave her the cheesiest grin. “Of course.” She held out her left hand and nodded to the ring pointedly. “I have experience with this sort of thing.”
Camilla laughed despite herself.
“Look, if you’re that upset about being in the friend zone, then do something about it.
The next time you’re with him, talk about it.
Tell him how you feel. What’s the worst that could happen?
You’re not going to lose him any more than you already have.
” Charlie settled back in her seat, her tone firm and giving no room for argument.
Camilla looked between her friend and her sister.
Maybe they were right. She’d gotten into her own head.
She’d let her frustration rule her behavior.
She’d been too embarrassed to tell these two how she’d behaved after getting upset with Dallas.
They would have definitely put her in her place and told her she’d been acting childish.
Because she had been.
Nodding, Camilla reached for her iced coffee. “Yeah, okay. Maybe I will.”
Camilla flexed her trembling hands. No amount of shaking them out would allow her any sort of peace.
She hadn’t spoken to Dallas after she’d run from him.
And now the embarrassment was eating at her.
She wasn’t the young, na?ve girl she’d been when he left.
She’d grown. She knew what she wanted. And apparently, in her heart, she wanted Dallas.
The ATV he drove was at the house when she’d returned from her errands with Isabelle and Charlie.
The fact that he was here somewhere only made her nerves get worse.
She was willing to completely disregard her questions regarding why he was even here rather than out at the cabin, and all because she didn’t want to chicken out and not do what she’d promised Charlie she would.
With a new sort of determination, she headed for the barn. Camilla didn’t know why it was the first place she wanted to look. Something tugged at her to head in that direction and who was she to ignore it?
She stopped short when she saw him.
He was clad in a white T-shirt and jeans rather than the button-ups he usually wore. Sweat dotted his brow, and he wiped at it with the back of a gloved hand. He was hauling bags of dog food and horse feed from a stack outside the barn to the place where they stored it inside.
A quick glance was all it took for her to notice he was alone. Wasn’t Roman supposed to be handling this shipment today?
Her thoughts were halted when Dallas stopped his work and lifted his head.
Their gazes clashed and it was like the last seven years had never happened.
Her breath stalled in her chest. Her heart thumped greedily against her ribcage.
It was like their souls had finally come to the realization that they couldn’t ignore one another anymore.
Camilla recognized that look on his face; it had been the way he stared at her when they’d first met. Lust, attraction, desire—whatever it was, she didn’t care. All she knew was that it was the only clue that Charlie had given her the right advice.
“Hey,” she murmured.
His hands dropped to his sides and his focus darted to the door behind her like he expected someone to come in after her. Roman, maybe? “Hey.”
She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Can we talk?”
He shuffled a step forward, then stopped himself and nodded. “Sure.”
Moving closer, Camilla told herself that this was the only way.
She reminded herself that she was a strong, capable woman, and she really had nothing to lose.
But when she came to a stop in front of him, she lost her nerve.
How could she tell him that she loved him when he had made it clear he didn’t feel the same?
Instead of confessing everything, she dropped her attention to her feet. “I’m sorry. For how I acted the other night.” Heat blossomed beneath her skin. Her behavior had been immature. She could do better.
“Hey,” he whispered, bringing a hand gently to her cheek. “You don’t need to apologize. I do.”
She shook her head, immediately regretting it because his hand dropped and their contact ended. “I already told you. I forgave you for leaving.”
His jaw worked, and he seemed to be considering his next words carefully. “But I said something you didn’t—”
“It doesn’t matter,” she interrupted. “I was having a bad day. It’s not a good excuse, but that’s how it is. I was so worked up. It had been forever since we’d been together like that…” Her throat closed up. She was getting too close to the truth for comfort.
“I get it.”
She searched his eyes, not daring to hope that was the truth.
Dallas blew out a breath, his gaze never trailing from hers. “I never thought we’d be able to…”
Their unfinished words hung in the air, teasing them both.
Could it really be that simple? Was he holding back because he didn’t know she was willing to consider more?
Without thinking, she lifted a hand to his face.
The scruff of his beard tickled her palm, and he leaned into her touch like he’d done a hundred times before.
Her breath hitched as she stepped into him. They were so close. It would be so easy. She wanted this. She wanted what they’d had. The way he’d left still didn’t make sense to her wounded heart, and she had a feeling that all it would take was one kiss for them to heal the rift between them.
Maybe this was her fairytale.
Her eyes fluttered closed and she breathed out his name. “Dallas.”
Something akin to anguish seeped from his chest. She had only opened her eyes for a second before Dallas wrapped his hand around her wrist and removed her hand from his face.
He took a step back. Then another, shaking his head but not speaking.
“I can’t be the reason you have regrets, Camilla.
I won’t.” Dallas stepped around her and headed out the barn doors into the sunny day.
She spun around to demand what he meant by that, but his legs were too long and his strides too quick. He’d disappeared, leaving her more confused and hurt than ever.