Page 46 of Camilla & Dallas
“Are we going back?—”
“Different place. This one has more flowers.” He winked at her before placing a hand on the small of her back to lead her toward the house. “I’ll be at the ATV.”
It wasn’tlong before they were both hiking between the aspens that reached toward the sky. The terrain was more rugged than when they’d gone on their picnic, but when they got to their destination, Dallas had no doubt that Camilla would be thrilled. He would have brought her out here at sunset if he wasn’t worried about the wolves or getting back to the ATV without getting hurt.
Dallas kept his hand tightly in Camilla’s as they hiked the trail he’d mapped out the other day. A breeze tugged at their clothes, and the quiet that surrounded them was peaceful.
No, not peaceful.
This felt suspiciously like the calm before the storm.
Dallas tightened his hold on Camilla, pushing aside the anxiety that threatened to crawl up from his gut and settle in his chest, refusing to allow him to breathe.
“You okay?” Camilla asked.
He frowned. “Of course, why?”
She arched a brow and lifted their clasped hands. “You’re holding me in a death grip.”
Immediately, he released her and then regretted it. Shoot! That wasn’t obvious at all. That behavior wasn’t normal boyfriend antics. He’d promised to be honest with her, for Pete’s sake. And already he was failing at it.
He could feel Camilla’s eyes burn into the back of his head as they continued to trudge higher in elevation. If he was lucky, she’d think nothing of it.
Lucky.
Ha.
Since when had he ever had luck on his side?
The whole point of bringing her out here was to convince her that there was more to see than just the town she was living in. If he could convince her of that, then maybe he had a chance to make this job thing work.
“It’s just up here,” Dallas said over his shoulder. “Have you ever been out this way?”
When she didn’t respond, he paused and looked back at her. Then he frowned. “Everything okay?”
An echo of her own question. He was a hypocrite. He could see it written in her eyes. Those beautiful eyes that held so much adoration for him were hazy with concern. She’d definitely noticed that he’d been acting strange. What was he going to do?
This was his chance to win her back and change their story, and he was messing everything up. Maybe Cheyenne was right. Maybe he should have left her alone to begin with.
No. He refused to accept that. Not yet.
Camilla swallowed hard and looked away. “Yep. Justdandy.” With that, she moved past him. He didn’t get a good look at her expression as she passed. She was lying. He could tell even without looking at her. The question was, why? Why not confront him over his reaction?
Maybe she knew he wasn’t ready to talk. Or she didn’t trust him enough to be honest with him.
Camilla entered the small clearing by the ridge before he did. She froze immediately as her eyes swept over the sprawling landscape. From this vantage point it felt like they could see the whole world. And her reaction was exactly what he’d been hoping for.
She’d gone speechless.
He knew that feeling. He’d experienced it many times before. This was what she could experience if she opened her mind to the possibilities. And he prayed she’d see it that way.
Dallas grasped her hand, then tugged so she had no other choice but to lean into him. She remained quiet as she melted against him. For a long moment, he let the sound of nature permeate the air. There was a calming quality, being up here and seeing the beauty that the world had to offer. Resting his chin atop her head, he whispered, “Pretty amazing, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” she crooned. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it.”
He was quiet for a long moment. Now. He could tell her about his job and what his supervisor had said. He could tell her it wasn’t planned, but he would like nothing more than to have her come along with him or at least visit him while he was working.
But something stopped him.
