Page 24 of Camilla & Dallas
She tossed her napkin on the table and scooted out from the bench. “I have to go.”
“Camilla?” Dallas scrambled from the table, yanking his wallet from his back pocket and fumbling with several bills. She didn’t wait around for him. There was no way she could walk home, but she had her phone and could call her sister to come get her. All she knew was that she couldn’t sit in a vehicle with Dallas all the way home. The irony that he’d borrowed Mateo’s truck wasn’t lost on her. The fact was, being within a few feet of Dallas was suffocating.
She got out of the restaurant and hurried down the street, tears stinging her eyes.
How could she allow herself to hope that this was something more than it was? She’d been a fool to believe she’d been the only one who hadn’t wanted to rekindle their relationship. Unfortunately, her opinion on the matter had changed while Dallas had remained firm in his decision.
11
Dallas
What just happened? Their dinner had been going great. Dallas could sense that there was still some tension between them, and he knew exactly where it had come from. Camilla didn’t trust him yet. She was still hurting.
But his intention wasn’t for her to take him back. She was dating Jason, for heaven’s sake! He wasn’t that guy—the one who’d ask her to cheat on her boyfriend or leave him for an ex. This had been a dinner between friends. There would be no discussion of their past relationship because he already knew he wouldn’t have the strength to keep his heart to himself.
It would have been too easy to ask her to leave Jason and give him another chance.
He just… wasn’t that guy.
But the more he thought about it, the more tempted he was becoming to change who he was if it meant getting her back.
Dallas ran his hands over his head as he hurried through the restaurant and stopped before the hostess. “There’s an emergency. I left the money for our meal at my table. Our waitress was wonderful, and she deserves the tip.”
Without waiting for the hostess to utter a single syllable, he rushed toward the door. He’d probably overpaid for the meal by fifty dollars, but he didn’t care. Camilla was dealing with something, and he needed to get to the bottom of it if he wanted a chance to make this right.
He burst from the restaurant and saw her figure hurrying along the sidewalk. “Camilla!” he called, running after her. “Camilla, wait!”
She didn’t even look back at him. Why was she running?
The second he reached her, he wrapped his arm around her waist to prevent her from escaping. She pushed against his chest and that’s when he saw the tears.
“Dallas, stop. Let go.”
“No.”
Camilla stilled, her sharp gaze darting to meet his. “Let. Me. Go. Dallas.”
“Not if you’re going to take off again. What happened? Talk to me.”
She shook her head, a mirthless laugh spilling from her lips. “Of course.”
“Of course,what?” he demanded, his voice biting. It had taken far too much time and energy to get to this point, and he wasn’t about to let her talk to him in circles. And if he let her run now, chances were slim he’d get an honest answer out of her. “I don’t know where you think you’re going, but you can’t walk home. We’re twenty minutes from your place. You’d be walking all night.”
“Iknowthat,” she snapped, giving him another shove, but this time there wasn’t as much strength behind it. “I’ll call Sophia.”
Dallas grunted. “Don’t even think about it.”
She sneered. “What? Are you worried that my family will judge you for abandoning me? Guess what? Too late for that.”
Her words stung. They ripped right through his chest and lodged themselves in his heart like a spear hitting its mark. Dallas released her then, his soul aching. “You’re mad. I get it. I did something and you don’t want to talk about it.” His frustration continued to grow. “But I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He lowered his voice to a menacing whisper. “I’m not the one running right now. I’m not the one afraid of fixing whatever it is that you’re dealing with. If you choose to walk away right now, then so be it. But you only have yourself to blame when you realize you want closure.”
She scowled at him.
He took a step back, waiting. He didn’t know what he was waiting for. It could be anything. She could run. She could slap him. Heck, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she broke down in tears and told him every reason she hated him.
“Fine,” she muttered.
“Fine? You’ll talk?”
