Chapter 24
Camilla
Camilla slapped a hand on the floor beside her. She stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom with Cheyenne resting at her side. Their heads were close together, and neither one of them seemed interested in their little fashion show.
It all felt like a waste of time anyway. In the grand scheme of things, a fashion show was ridiculous.
“I can’t believe he lied to me. I can’t believe he was going to leave without telling me. Again.”
Cheyenne rolled her head to the side, but Camilla didn’t meet her gaze. “Men are idiots. My brother included. I think you’re one of the few lucky people to see how strong relationships can be with the way your brothers treat the women in their lives.”
Camilla shut her eyes against the burning emotion that threatened to spill over.
But it did anyway. Tears dragged out of the corners of her eyes and trailed into her hairline.
“I don’t get it. What’s the point in all the effort he put into our relationship if he’s going to make unilateral decisions that don’t guarantee we’ll be together. ”
A sigh. Then Cheyenne shuffled. “Who knows? I don’t. I’ve long since stopped trying to figure Dallas out. I know he’s my brother and my twin, but that doesn’t mean I understand him.”
“I mean, I guess I could understand why he’d want to hold off telling me that he had to leave for another assignment. That would have been a downer on this whole summer…”
“Don’t do that.” Cheyenne sat up at her side and stared down at Camilla.
Her features were all hard lines and irritation.
It threw Camilla off for a moment until Cheyenne softened her voice.
“Don’t make excuses for a guy who wasn’t willing to be honest with you from the start.
You saw the way he acted. He knew he was guilty.
He did it before, and he’ll keep doing it.
I love my brother. I do. But you’re my best friend.
” She reached out and squeezed Camilla’s arm.
“He’s an idiot. All he wanted was someone to pass the time with while he was here. ”
Even though Cheyenne wasn’t trying to hurt Camilla, that’s exactly what her words did. And maybe that was what Camilla needed in that moment. To be brought down to reality and see the situation for what it was.
Dallas had played his part perfectly. He’d made her fall in love with him years ago. Then he’d disappeared without a word.
“What guy doesn’t even leave a note?”
Cheyenne stiffened. Or maybe Camilla imagined it. Because when she turned her head to look at her friend, she didn’t see anything but frustration mirrored in her eyes.
Camilla sat up on her elbows to look at her friend closer. “Did you know?” She’d asked Cheyenne this before. She didn’t know what prompted her to ask again. Maybe she wanted to catch Camilla in a lie.
“Did I know what?”
“That he was going to leave?”
“I told you when I found out. Today. I heard him on a call—”
“No, I mean when he left the first time. Did you know he had a job lined up and was going to take off?”
Cheyenne scoffed. “Dallas might be my brother, but I’m not his keeper. He doesn’t tell me everything.” She offered Camilla a sad smile. “If I knew, I would have told you. No one deserves to be treated that way.”
Camilla continued to study her friend for the next few seconds. There was something off about Cheyenne, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Was she hiding something? She probably had known, but there was no way to prove it.
But why?
That was ancient history. Their friendship wouldn’t be at risk if she confessed such a thing.
Finally, Camilla sighed and settled back on the hard floor. She refused to shed any more tears for Dallas. He’d prioritized a career over love. There wasn’t a good enough reason in the world for something like that. People who lived for their job ended up alone and miserable.
“Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah,” Camilla croaked. “I’ve survived this before. And hey, at least we found out before he took off. Knowing is better than being left wondering for months.”
“You’re right.” Cheyenne settled beside her and they sat like that on the floor, losing track of time. The light coming in through the bedroom window faded, casting the room into darkness. And yet neither one of them stirred from their positions.
“I was going to marry him,” Camilla finally offered when it was too dark for her friend to see her face.
“He proposed?” Cheyenne squawked.
Camilla chuckled. “No. He didn’t. But I was there.
I was so… ready.” The tears she’d kept at bay started to fall.
“It was scary. I kept putting aside these little bouts of anxiety that everything was too perfect and eventually something would come crashing down. I told myself I was being ridiculous, but that I loved him and the way I felt for him was more than enough to keep things together.”
“I’m so sorry,” Cheyenne whispered.
“It’s ridiculous, right?” Her voice broke. “How could I allow myself to get so caught up in a guy that I didn’t see the signs he was using me?”
“It’s a mistake a lot of us make,” Cheyenne mused.
“When we want something so bad, we’re willing to ignore our gut instinct that something isn’t right.
But you have to know it wasn’t you. This whole thing with Dallas has nothing to do with you.
He used you. He toyed with you. The problem is him.
You’re still an amazing person who anyone would be lucky to have. ”
Camilla scoffed.
“I mean it.”
She shut her eyes but then covered her face with her hands. Her cheeks were flushed. Her hands were cold. “Then why does everyone leave?”
The quiet pressed in on her, making it perfectly clear what Cheyenne thought.
There was only one common denominator when it came to Camilla and her dating history.
Guys didn’t stick around long—not long enough to make anything of it.
Dallas had been the first and probably last man in her life who stuck around long enough to make a future seem possible.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Camilla,” Cheyenne whispered.
“Yeah, well, my experience says otherwise.” Camilla sat up. “You should probably go.”
“You know that I love you, right?” Her friend reached out, but Camilla was too quick and got to her feet. “I’ll always be here for you. No matter what. You’re my best friend.”
Camilla glanced down at where Cheyenne sat on the floor. She couldn’t see her face, only the faint light from the window reflected in her eyes. “Thanks, Cheyenne. I love you, too. I just… I think I need to take some time to…”
“I get it,” Cheyenne said. “Let me know if you need anything, okay? I’m just one phone call away. When you’re ready, we can go out and have some fun. Show Dallas what he lost, you know?”
“Yeah, maybe,” Camilla said. “Want me to ask someone to take you home?”
She shook her head. “I can call an Uber. It’s not a big deal.”
Cheyenne got to her feet and grabbed the bags she’d brought in and had set by the door. She glanced over her shoulder toward Camilla before turning the knob and heading out.
Camilla stared at the ajar door for a moment, her thoughts going over everything that had happened that day. She wanted to believe she was missing something—that there was some glaring clue she hadn’t managed to see just yet.
Cheyenne had said to trust her gut, and right now her gut was telling her something was off. But she’d seen the way Dallas had reacted when Cheyenne dropped her truth bomb. That said it all.
He was guilty. He was leaving. And he’d left before.
Those were the truths she couldn’t deny.
Camilla squinted at the early morning light when she entered the kitchen the following morning. Isabelle eyed her from her spot at the table but didn’t say anything. Mateo sat next to Nikki’s son while they ate their breakfast, and even he didn’t seem to be his usual cocky self.
Someone had heard what went down. Or Dallas had told them. Either way, there were no secrets in this household and everyone knew her business.
She moved toward the counter with the coffee maker, avoiding Sophia’s strained expression. Everyone was here. Even Roman and Marcus. Thankfully, the significant others had made themselves scarce. If it wasn’t for Nikki’s kid—Camilla’s new nephew—it would feel just like old times.
The tension sizzled in the air, suffocating her with each move she made. They probably didn’t expect to see her this morning since she’d avoided them for dinner last night. Sophia and Roman no longer lived under this roof, so seeing them this early could only mean one thing.
“If this is an intervention, I don’t need one,” Camilla muttered as she turned around with her cup of coffee in hand.
“Did Dallas and I start dating again? Yes. Did he rip my heart out… again? Yes. Am I going to bury myself in a grave of self-doubt and embarrassment?” She cocked her head and glanced at the ceiling.
“Maybe. But am I going to allow him to affect my day-to-day? Nope. I’m still going to work and eat and do everything I usually do. ”
“Camilla.” Sophie was the first to step forward. “No one knows better than I do—”
“But you don’t, do you?” Camilla couldn’t help the scowl that crossed her face. “You don’t know what I’m going through because when Cameron came to work here, he wasn’t planning on leaving. He wasn’t keeping secrets from you about his plans for the future.”
Sophia opened her mouth, then apparently thought better of it and snapped it shut.
Scanning the room, Camilla made sure each and every one of her siblings met her gaze before she spoke again.
“I told you I didn’t want him around. But no one listened to me.
I think we can all appreciate the irony of what happened next.
I’d been smart to not trust him, but not even my walls were impenetrable. ”
“I don’t think that’s really fair…”
Camilla’s eyes cut to Isabelle, who wasn’t looking at her then. She was staring at her hands in her lap. “What?” Camilla snapped.
Her younger sister shrugged. “It’s just that… I’ve seen the way he looks at you. That night…” Her skin flushed.
Camilla was all too aware of what Isabelle was referring to. The night that Dallas had come to the house and insisted on speaking to her. They’d both been deceived. But apparently, Isabelle still thought there was some sort of redeeming quality in Dallas because she was actually defending him.
Gritting her teeth, Camilla turned her focus to the rest of her family.
“At least now, I hope you’ll listen to me.
I know he still has a few more weeks here to finish up his work.
I don’t expect you to kick him off the property.
He’s here for a job. But I do expect you to help me with one thing. It’s the least you can do.”
The room was quiet except for Paxton, who tugged on Mateo’s shirt. “Can I have more milk please?”
When no one else spoke up, Camilla nodded. “Right. Well, I want everyone to make sure Dallas stays far, far away from me. I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t want to see him. He weaseled himself into my good graces twice, and both times he broke my heart. Do you think you can do that?”
There were several head nods. Well, all except Isabelle, who wouldn’t meet her gaze. She was still fiddling with her hands in her lap. One day she’d have her own rude awakening. One day she’d realize that even men like Dallas could be manipulative and deceptive.
“Thank you. I’m going to get dressed and get to work.”