Page 30 of Camilla & Dallas
She wasn’t Camilla.
Dallas caught himself staring at Camilla more times than he wanted to admit. And he got more than a small thrill out of catching her staring right back.
The rodeo was crowded, loud, and full of bustling activity, but none of it distracted him fromher. Camilla wore jean shortspaired with a loose white blouse. Her cowboy boots came up mid-calf and her hair had been pulled back into two braids. She was a vision, and Jason didn’t even seem to notice.
Her boyfriend just seemed to want to joke around with her. They didn’t hold hands. And more often than not he’d slip away to chat with friends he knew.
“There’s live music over by the multipurpose building,” Melody called out over the sound of the announcer at the arena. “Do you want to check it out?”
Dallas caught Camilla’s eye for what felt like the hundredth time. Their gazes lingered for a moment before he forced himself to respond to Melody. “Yeah. Sounds fun.”
His date smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Even he could tell she wasn’t enjoying herself. They really hadn’t been as well-paired as Marcus had thought. The second their group had arrived, Marcus had darted away with his date toward the carnival games. Their group date had turned out to be nothing short of a disaster.
After the three of them tracked Jason down from where he was shamelessly flirting with a girl making corndogs, they headed for the live music.
“It’s okay,” Melody murmured to him. She stood by his side, her eyes locked on the performers. He wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly and nearly asked when she beat him to the punch. “You were the one who got away, right?”
He glanced down at her again, noting she still kept her attention on the band. “What?”
Melody laughed. It sounded almost sad. “I heard all about you. Imagine my surprise when Camilla reached out and asked me for another favor.”
“Favor?” He turned to face her, frowning. She merely shook her head and waved a dismissive hand through the air.
“What I don’t understand is why you don’t just ask her out. It’s clear that you still like her.”
“I can’t do that,” he ground out.
She scoffed. “Why not?”
She has a boyfriend. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he bit them back. Jason certainly wasn’t acting like boyfriend material. If he was the only thing stopping him from asking, then what did he have to lose?
Melody laughed. It was quiet, but he heard just enough between two songs to notice it was more of a disbelieving sound than anything else. “You guys are a piece of work. I’ve never seen two people more determined to lie to themselves than the both of you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he demanded.
This time she turned to face him. Her hands were on her hips, and she was scowling at him. “Camilla’s my friend. I don’t like seeing her hurting. So how about you track her down and tell her how you feel. At least one of you needs to say it or both of you will end up miserable.”
“She knows how I feel,” he snapped.
“Does she? Because from what I can tell, you’re going out of your way to insist you’ve moved on.”
“I’ve moved on?”
Melody’s eyes darted to something behind him. “I’ll be right back.” Her focus cut to his for a moment longer. “Unless you finally realize you’re being an idiot and you do something about those feelings. Then maybe we’ll both have more fun tonight.”
Dallas watched her go, stunned. What on earth was she talking about? Had Camilla told her something?
His confusion shifted into something resembling anger. He was so tired of skirting around the issue. So frustrated that she’d settle with someone who didn’t seem to care about her one bit.Perhaps those emotions were the driving force for why he’d turned to search for Camilla in the crowd.
Jason was talking to another group of men, leaving Camilla watching the performers. Then she heaved a sigh and slipped into the crowd—toward the food trucks.
Dallas followed. One step in front of the other. He stayed far enough behind not to alert her to his presence. She wandered down the rows of food trucks until she came to stand beneath a tree in front of an Italian shaved ice truck.
When her tongue darted out of her mouth to moisten her lips, he lost the thread of control he had on his resolve. He marched toward her with a purpose, and at the last second, she caught sight of him.
Camilla whirled around and stumbled back a step. The bark of the tree prevented her from falling when her heel snagged on a root, and her eyes flew wide. “Dallas, what are you…” Her focus darted behind him before returning to his face. “Where’s Melody?”
“Tell me why…” he demanded.
