Page 33 of Camilla & Dallas
There was no way she’d tell him the truth. He’d hurt her. He’d fled from what they’d had. And now that he was back? He clearly didn’t want her the same way she wanted him, which was utterly mortifying.
This was all a power play.
She huffed to herself, shutting her eyes tight for a moment before she shouldered her way into the small structure where she worked with the puppies.
There was an open space surrounded by a pen where she could contain one pup at a time. There were toys, food bowls, and water outside of the pen where the rest of the litter could socialize while she worked with her subject. The distractions were good practice. And while she only worked with the puppies on a foundational level, she was proud of the work she did. She’d carved out a life for herself without Dallas in it, and she wasn’t about to sacrifice any of it for the man who had left her alone.
It was time to stop pining over Dallas. She’d done a good job ignoring him in the beginning and that helped with the initial feelings—the ones of betrayal, pain, and anger. Now, she needed to focus on not letting herself fall into the trap of giving him a second chance.
Camilla dove into work, taking turns with each of the puppies. Basic commands like sit, stay, leave it, and wait were quick concepts and easy enough to get lost in. By the time she’d gone through the rounds with the adorable Australian cattle pups, she’d almost forgotten that she was purposefully avoiding any interaction with Dallas.
Almost.
The second she stepped out of the training space she nearly collided with Roman. His hands shot out and held her steady before she stumbled back a step. The smirk he wore said he was up to something, but at this point, she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was head to her room, pick a good book, and hide away until dinner.
Apparently, that wasn’t going to happen based on the way her brother was looking at her. “I need a favor.”
Camilla pulled away from her brother and frowned.
Roman rubbed the back of his neck. “Olivia needs me to go to a meeting with the wedding planner. But I have some errands that need to be taken care of in town.”
She arched a brow. “Sorry, Roman, but I’m not about to get on Olivia’s bad side. Something tells me that she’d be more than a little upset if I showed up at those meetings instead of you.”
“I know. That’s why I thought you could go to town for me.”
Sighing, Camilla shook her head. “What do you need?”
He grinned. “Great! Thanks!”
“What do you need?” she repeated.
“Actually, I don’t need anything. But Dallas does, and I told him I’d take him.”
The world must have frozen over. Either it was that, or she’d heard her brother wrong. There was no way her brother had just asked her to take Dallas to town. Camilla’s voice lodged in her throat as she searched his face for any sign he was joking.
She saw none.
“Then let him borrow your truck.”
Roman laughed. “Not a chance. Besides, I need my truck. But I guess you could let him borrow yours.”
Camilla wrinkled her nose.
Roman’s hand clapped down on her shoulder. “Thanks again, sis.” Before she could tell him she’d rather die than take Dallas to town, her brother slipped away.
The whole tripto town was quiet. Dallas didn’t utter a word besides telling her where he needed to go. She opted to stay with the truck while he ran his errands and kept the music turned all the way up so Dallas wouldn’t be tempted to broach the subject he’d been intent on discussing the last time they were alone.
She thought she was in the clear when she pulled onto her family’s property, but Dallas suddenly leaned forward and shut the radio off. She glanced at him, fully aware that the look of fear was likely written all over her face.
Her hand shook when she reached for the handle, but Dallas pressed down on the automatic locks. Camilla shot him a glare that might have turned any lesser man to stone.
“Camilla—”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she insisted.
“You don’t even know what I want to talk about.”
She scoffed, reaching for the door again, but he pressed the button to lock the doors once more. Something akin to hot rage simmered beneath the surface. “You can’t keep doing that, Dallas.”
