Page 50 of Camilla & Dallas
“You doing okay?” Nikki’s soft voice roused Camilla from her inner turmoil.
Camilla flashed a grin at her sister-in-law. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Nikki gave her cutting board a pointed look. “Chopped and minced aren’t the same thing. You know that, right?”
Cheeks burning, Camilla shook her head. “Sorry.”
“No worries.” Nikki still looked at her with concern. “Anything I can help with?”
Camilla sighed, then glanced at Jason out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t know if he was eavesdropping or if he even heard the hushed question. But Nikki didn’t miss the movement. She gave Camilla a knowing look. “Say no more. If you ever need to talk, just let me know.”
Nodding her thanks, Camilla set to work on the peppers. The onions were a mushy mess, but thankfully their size wouldn’t mess with the dish tonight. She glanced over at Jason, but his expression remained unreadable. The last thing she wanted was for him to overhear her complaining about her relationship with Dallas or asking for help. He’d been in the thick of it from the beginning, and she wasn’t interested in letting him have a front-row seat to it if it imploded.
The more she thought about Dallas, the more she knew she’d have to give him an answer, or his mounting anxiety would be harder to combat.
So as soon as she was done helping in the kitchen, she tracked him down.
Dallas saw her coming and strode toward her. He was about to pull her in for a hug when she placed a finger on his chest. His frown almost broke her heart, but she smiled to ease the ache. “Home is where the heart is, Dallas. To answer your question, you have my heart. As long as you’re with me, it will feel like home.”
The look of utter relief in his eyes helped to further soothe her heart. She didn’t know what the future held, but she trusted him. He wouldn’t uproot her and force her into anything she didn’t want. That was what their promise had been about. They’d make their decisions about the future together.
Especially the big ones.
21
Dallas
Dallas shoved the drawer shut with a frustrated growl. He knew it was here. It had to be. Everything else in his room was untouched. Fingers digging into his hair, he turned in place as his eyes bounced around his old bedroom. It had been ages since he’d come home. Cheyenne lived here now, with his mother. His father had passed away a couple of years ago, leaving a hole that would never be filled.
Where was the ring? He hadn’t taken it with him. That would have been a very stupid idea. When he’d left Copper Creek all those years ago, he had still planned on asking Camilla to marry him. That had always been the plan.
But as the years passed, he stopped believing that she’d want anything to do with him. Of course, that didn’t mean that he came home to get rid of the piece of jewelry. On the contrary, he’d specifically avoided looking for it when he’d come for his father’s funeral. Seeing it would have broken something in hissoul—especially when Camilla hadn’t come to the funeral or to pay her respects to him in person.
That was ancient history. She’d avoided him like the plague, and Cheyenne had said it was for the best. He didn’t blame Camilla in the slightest.
Now that everything was changing again—turning brighter and feeling lighter than ever—Dallas knew he needed to find the ring. He was going to cling to the hope he had for their future, whether or not it was the smart thing to do.
His feet shuffled across the floor, and he settled on the edge of the bed. The only person who knew about that ring was Cheyenne, but she wouldn’t have done something with it, would she? He couldn’t exactly call her. She’d told him to leave Camilla alone.
Frowning, Dallas let his eyes drift to the open doorway. Cheyenne’s bedroom was across the hall from his own, and he knew every hiding place she had. They were similar in that respect. Whether it was because they’d been really close as children or because of their twin status, they had some similarities that were hard to ignore.
Dallas rose to his feet and headed for his sister’s room. It was tidy. Everything had a place. That would make his hunt all the easier to accomplish. Dallas stood in the doorway for a few minutes, weighing which places would be more plausible. If Cheyenne had taken the ring and hidden it, she would likely have picked a place where not even their snooping mother would look.
Though she was an amazing mother, there was no denying her nosiness.
The dresser was out. So was under the bed.
Dallas hummed in contemplation until his eyes landed on the bookshelf. Two of the books were out farther than they should have been. He frowned as he moved closer. Camilladidn’t like things out of place. And she definitely didn’t like it when the spines of her books didn’t line up.
Once the books were removed, Dallas stared at the small velvet box. If he had to guess, she’d hidden it here right before she left. It was as if she expected this to happen and had made a last-ditch effort to prevent it.
But why?
Camilla was Cheyenne’s favorite person. Wouldn’t she like the idea of Camilla becoming her sister? They could be a family if all went well. In fact, it was strange now that he was thinking about it. Cheyenne didn’t seem all that upset when Dallas had hurt her best friend seven years ago. Not in the usual way. Sure, she’d said that he’d broken Camilla’s heart and she didn’t want that to happen again, but it had been more blasé than anything else.
The velvet box felt soft and familiar in his hand. With a flick of his thumb, Dallas opened the box and stared at the engagement ring he’d painstakingly saved up for and picked out for Camilla. The modest diamond glittered in the light from the nearby window, and the white gold was as brilliant as it had been the day he bought it.
It was still the perfect ring for the girl of his dreams.
