Page 59 of Camilla & Dallas
“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.
Hewasguilty. He was leaving. And he’d left before.
Those were the truths she couldn’t deny.
Camilla squintedat 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. Ithink 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.
