Page 34 of Camilla & Dallas
“We need to talk.”
“Do we?” She let loose a bubble of laughter. “I don’t think so. You’ve said your peace. Friends. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”
“Well, yeah, but?—”
This time she was able to release the door and slip out of the truck before he could manage to lock the doors again. Dallas scrambled from the truck to follow her.
“You never answered me,” he said. As if she needed the reminder. There was a reason she wasn’t willing to discuss her feelings with him. A very good reason.
Because whether or not she could admit it to him, she knew she still had feelings for him and that would only end in heartache. Camilla whirled around and he nearly collided with her. “What’s the point, Dallas? What good would it do to rehash the past? There’s nothing I want to go back to. I’ve moved on. And so have you.”
He actually looked hurt at her admission. But then his features hardened, and he folded his arms. “You think you knowwhat’s going on in here?” He brought a hand up and pressed his finger into his temple. “Because I assure you, you don’t.”
“It doesn’t matter if I do or don’t, Dallas. I’d rather leave the past behind us.”
“And what about the future?”
She stared at him for several moments before she practically crumbled beneath his searing gaze. When she could no longer handle his scrutiny, she spun around and resumed her escape. At that very moment, Jason exited the cafeteria. She couldn’t say for certain what was going on in her mind when she chose to make a beeline for him, and maybe that was her biggest mistake.
“Jason!”
He stalled, his head whipping around until his eyes found hers. The smile he wore might have made another woman melt. But not her. Because the only person capable of that sort of thing was at her back. Camilla could feel Dallas’s heat behind her when she came to a stop before Jason.
To his credit, Jason glanced over Camilla’s shoulder at Dallas before he spoke. “Hey, Camilla. What’s up?”
“Are we on for dinner on Friday? At Sal’s?”
He blinked, obvious confusion flitting across his features. Then his attention shifted once more to Dallas. Grateful that Dallas couldn’t see her expression, Camilla pleaded with Jason with only her eyes.
“Yeah, sure.” Jason nodded. “Dinner at Sal’s.”
She nodded sharply, relieved. Then she glanced over her shoulder to Dallas. “Goodnight, Dallas.” With that, she practically ran toward the house.
The moment she was hidden behind the closed front door of her house, she willed her heart to slow its erratic racing. That might have been the stupidest thing she’d chosen to do in the last twenty-four hours, but hopefully it would be enough to giveDallas the hint that she was done giving in to her old feelings for him.
15
Dallas
Dallas stared after Camilla, fully aware of the fact that her boyfriend was standing within punching distance, and he couldn’t recall a single time in his life when he wished he was a lesser man.
Jason glanced over at him with a sheepish grin. “Hey, man.”
Dallas grunted. Camilla’s behavior today was about the same as it had been when they were on that double date. Not only was she avoiding having a conversation with him, she was avoiding him altogether.
“I don’t know what she told you…”
Dallas shot a dark look at the man he was currently jealous of.
Jason cleared his throat and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Then he ran a nervous hand through his hair. “I don’t know if this will make much of a difference, but I don’t think we’ll actually go to dinner on Friday.”
Eyes narrowing, Dallas faced Jason. “What are you talking about?”
The man shrugged. He was a couple inches shorter than Dallas, but he was just as built—maybe even more. Other than that, he looked to be Dallas’s opposite. His hair was black. His eyes a brown so dark that they almost matched his hair. He was clean-shaven and wore clothes that could get dirty. Dallas couldn’t recall a single moment when Jason had been wearing something other than a T-shirt and jeans.
Was this the kind of man Camilla wanted? If so, this was how Dallas had dressed when they’d been dating. He’d also been doing grunt work on a local ranch when they’d met. He frowned and scrubbed at the scruff on his jaw absently. “Why don’t you think you’re going to dinner on Friday? I was here when she asked about it.”
“I dunno, man. Our last date didn’t end so great.” His eyes flicked to Dallas and away as if he knew something he wasn’t sure he should share. That had the muscles in Dallas’s shoulders bunching.
