Page 37 of Camilla & Dallas
Turning, he leaned against the door and slid to the floor. Resting his forearms on his knees, Dallas let his head fall backagainst the wood and closed his eyes. “You probably don’t believe me, but I didn’t come here to torture you.”
Was he mistaken? Or did he hear her snort?
“My job requires me to be here, but I did reach out to your brother because there was a good chance I’d be able to see you again.” He opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. This was harder than he’d thought it would be. “I thought that I’d be able to see you happy and convince myself to let you go. Cheyenne has told me more times than I can count that you’ve moved on. She told me there was no reason for me to come back because it would only hurt you. And maybe that was why I chose to stay away this long. I know I could have come back at any time, and you’ll never know how much I regret my decisions…”
He swallowed at the lump lodged in his throat. The fact that Camilla wasn’t speaking, nor could he hear her on the other side of the door, was making him wonder if all of this was for nothing. Still, he had started this dialogue, and he needed to finish it.
“When I heard you were dating that guy, it tore me up, Camilla. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to be here without messingsomethingup. No matter how many times I told myself I’d be happy with just rekindling our friendship… I knew I was lying to myself.” He closed his eyes again, fighting the emotion that threatened to break free. His voice cracked on his next confession. “I’m still in love with you.”
Silence.
Utter and complete silence.
The last threads of hope he had keeping his heart together unraveled. His limbs felt heavy. How was he supposed to get to his feet right now? Camilla didn’t want him. He’d laid it all out and she had picked her side.
He sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled. Just as he was about to pull away from the door, it was yanked open.
Dallas fell back with an “oof” and peered up at the tear-streaked face of the girl of his dreams.
16
Camilla
Camilla stared down at Dallas, her heart barely hanging on. The man sprawled out on his back, gazing at her with surprise,lovedher.
Hestillloved her.
So many questions ripped through her soul at his confession. If he still loved her, then why did he leave in the first place? Was he here to win her back? Could he honestly believe that they could pick up where they’d left off?
Dallas chuckled, but it came out sounding more like a wheeze. He rolled onto his side and slowly rose to his feet. His eyes locked with hers, pinning her in place. Even if she wanted to close the door and tell him to leave, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it.
“Hey,” he whispered.
“Hey,” she rasped. Blinking rapidly, Camilla watched as he inched closer. He lifted a hand and his knuckle grazed down her jawline. Her eyes fluttered closed at his caress. Tendrils ofelectricity sparked along her skin where his touch met hers. It had been years.Years, and he could still affect her this way. Her breath hitched. “Dallas?—”
He pushed his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him. But where she expected him to capture her mouth with his, he surprised her by pressing his forehead to hers. His voice was barely above a whisper when he murmured, “You don’t know how hard it’s been keeping that secret inside.”
“Was it a secret?”
She sensed more than saw him smile.
“Apparently it’s been less of a secret to everyone but us.”
This time she couldn’t help but let a soft laugh escape her lips. The romantic in her wanted to believe that some part of her knew Dallas still wanted her in his life. She simply hadn’t been brave enough to allow herself to accept it. “Who knew?” she whispered.
“What?” His warm breath flitted across her cheek, starting a fresh wave of goosebumps on her skin.
“Who knew you were still…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud as if doing so would jinx this.
Dallas chuckled. Oh, how she’d missed that sound. His laughter was one of the best things in the world—especially when it was because he enjoyed being with her. He could turn her day around with one of his smiles. And that laugh? It was magic.
She lifted her arms and laced her fingers behind his neck as she pulled back to get a better look at him. “I’m guessing you had one or more discussions about me with some of my family members?”
“You could say that.” He grimaced and it was her turn to laugh. “But it’s not just them.”
Immediately, her stomach bottomed out. He didn’t have to utter a single word for her to know who he was referring to.Cheyenne. She knew her brother better than anyone. They might not be identical twins, but they’d shared enough of their lives to know innately what the other was thinking or feeling.
Camilla didn’t have the bandwidth to pick apart the slew of emotions that threatened to overtake her in that moment. Fear that Cheyenne would find out she’d let herself get close to Dallas again. Betrayal that her best friend hadn’t told her that Dallas still cared. And so many others.
