Page 23 of Camilla & Dallas
“Could we…” He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “Do you think we could get dinner sometime? For old times’ sake?”
She blinked. Was he for real? Dallas was asking her out on a date? Her heart flip-flopped. She hated how much Dallas still affected her. It was like no time at all had passed. If Dallas had pulled her into his arms at this very moment, she would have melted against his body and told him she was still in love with him—to never leave her again.
For a moment she remained in that haze. But then the clarity returned. This was a chance to have a date with the first and only man she’d ever been madly in love with.
Beneath the weight of his stare, she could feel the expectation of it all. She glanced down at where he still held her wrist and he immediately released her. Slowly, she lifted her eyes and offered him a small smile. “Yeah, sure. I’d like that.”
For the hundredth time,Camilla shifted in her seat. They were in a booth at one of the nicest restaurants she’d been to in a long time. She’d chosen a cute top to pair with her jeans and a pair of sandals. She kept her hair down—something Dallas had liked when they’d been dating.
Camilla couldn’t shake the feeling that this date wasn’t going well, hence her fidgeting.
Dallas sat across from her, having a hard time meeting her eyes. Or maybe he simply didn’t want to? They’d discussedeverything a couple would talk about on a first date, and her frustration only continued to mount.
“Do you still like reading those romance novels?” Dallas asked, taking a bite of his steak.
She frowned. Another blanket question. When was he going to bring up their past? Why was he avoiding the fact that they’d done this before? “Yeah,” she murmured, turning her attention to her own plate. “I still read a lot.”
He nodded in her peripheral.
This was getting ridiculous. They’d been avoiding all the hard subjects. The closest they’d come to closure was that night they’d danced together. Now she regretted what she’d said. He’d been willing to talk then. Camilla snorted. Maybe this was what she deserved. Maybe it was her turn to feel like he was holding back.
“What?” Dallas broke the silence.
She glanced up, knowing full well that she looked mad. “Nothing.”
The frown lines between his brows deepened and he put his fork down. “That’s not nothing. You’re upset.”
Yes, she was upset. And clearly, he didn’t know why. Dallas had asked her out. She’d finally accepted. They were supposed to be clearing the air, not engaging in small talk. This didn’t even feel like a dinner between friends.
“I’m fine,” she muttered.
“No, you’re not. We might not have been together the last seven years, but I know you, Camilla. I can tell when you’re upset.”
She waved a hand, her voice lowering to a hiss as she gestured to the people in the restaurant around them. “Anyone can tell that I’m upset.”
“Then why did you say you were fine?” he snapped back.
Camilla shook her head. “You don’t get it.”
“So tell me.” His request remained suspended between them. It was such a simple one. And yet he didn’t realize how hard it would be for her to open up nor how hard it would be for him to accept her feelings.
She didn’t even know if she could accept her feelings—the ones that begged for her to give him another chance.
Dallas’s hand reached across the table and took hers. It enveloped her own, and his thumb traced along her sensitive skin at the inside of her wrist. Tingles of anticipation rocked up her arm. Could she tell him? Could she confess that her fury had quickly evaporated after he’d shown up? What would he say if he knew her affection for him had never left but had only gone dormant?
She nearly confessed everything to him, nearly told him exactly where her heart was, but then Dallas opened his mouth and shattered everything she thought she knew.
“I want to be your friend again, Camilla. Iamyour friend. You are still one of my favorite people. I never want to hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable. It’s okay that we had to move on. But I thought you might be able to learn to trust me again.”
Friends.
Of course that’s what this dinner was.
They weren’t on a date. She’d worked herself up into a tizzy and all for…nothing. Dallas didn’t want anything more than friendship, and she’d been so ridiculous. No wonder he was avoiding discussing their past. No wonder he avoided talking about something that wouldn’t matter moving forward.
Camilla yanked her hand from his grasp, a blush crawling beneath her skin and surely indicating how much she’d overstepped in her thinking.
“Camilla—” he stammered, confusion flooding his features.
