Page 39 of Camilla & Dallas
Dallas sighed. “She’s going to be really upset if she finds out about us.”
That was the understatement of the century, but Camilla wanted to know why Dallas thought so.
He peeked at her and shook his head with a mirthless chuckle. “She doesn’t want us together.”
“I know,” she said softly.
This time his whole body stiffened. “She told you?”
She nodded. “Well, sort of. She said that I should stay away from you. I think it has a lot to do with how… things ended.” Sheswallowed hard. More like how Dallas had ended things. “She was there for me when you left, Dallas. She had to deal with my heartbreak. She held me when I cried. She brought me ice cream when I didn’t want to go out. She was cheering me on when I finally decided it was time to move on.”
His hands balled into fists and his expression darkened. For a moment, she thought he might jump to his feet and charge out of the room.
But he didn’t.
Slowly, his body relaxed again. And when he turned his eyes to meet hers, she saw the sorrow there again. “I’m so sorry, Camilla. I shouldn’t have left without talking to you face-to-face.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” she agreed.
“I want another chance.”
Camilla watched him carefully, wishing she could, for once in her life, read him the way he seemed capable of reading her. She would have given anything in the world to be able to read his thoughts—to gauge his intentions.
Anything.
Dallas blinked several times and sucked in a deep breath. She’d never seen him cry before, but right now, both of their emotions were high and it was entirely possible.
As if against her own will, Camilla shuffled closer to him. His head tilted upward as she approached, his eyes remaining locked on her as she drew near.
She moved into the space next to him and shifted her attention to his hands. Once upon a time, she’d taken any excuse she could to get him to hold her hand. Her fingers itched to do just that.
No more overthinking.
How many restless nights had she wished he would come back and tell her he was wrong to leave?
Countless.
Camilla reached out and placed a hand on his, smiling when he grasped her hand in his. “One condition,” she whispered.
“What?” His guttural question sent shivers down her spine.
“We can try this… again… under one condition.”
“Anything.” Dallas looked deep into her eyes.
“No more secrets.”
Anticipation clung to the air around them. She didn’t think she needed to clarify what that meant, but then again, he probably didn’t think of what he’d done as keeping a secret from her.
“No more keeping things from me,” she clarified. “No more making decisions that are meant to be made by both of us. I can’t survive it again.”
Dallas took in and exhaled a deep breath. “That’s fair.” He lifted his head and stared up at her again, then pulled her closer to him. “I swear if there’s anything important we need to discuss, I’ll tell you.”
This was terrifying—trying to begin again.
But she was desperate. She’d been so deeply in love with Dallas that she’d lost a piece of herself when he’d left. If all she had to do was look past her own anxieties to get that piece back, she’d do it. She’d been through worse.
“I don’t think we should tell Cheyenne, though.” Dallas made a face. “I know you’re close, but I really think?—”
