Page 27 of Camilla & Dallas
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 thatAsh 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 notthatold.Four years. He’s onlyfour yearsolder 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 afriend-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.
