Never Say Never

up her things, smiling at the sight of Jaime already falling asleep again on Camila’s shoulder.
“Have a good weekend, Emily,” Camila called out as Emily made her way to the front door.
“You too, Camila. Goodnight.”

Chapter 6
“I know I’m a poor substitute for Cassie,” Maia told Emily as they mounted the steps of the American Museum of Natural History. “She told me she’s been promising you this outing since her college days.”
“Don’t be silly.” Emily was only too happy to spend time with Maia. “Crime scenes don’t run on a nine-to-five schedule. Besides, she’s going to join us later.”
“So how have your first couple of weeks been, Em? Are you enjoying it?”
“Yeah, it’s really great.” Whenever she thought about her job—and Jaime—she smiled, barely believing how lucky she was to have a job that made her so happy and one that paid so well. “It doesn’t even feel like work most of the time. Jaime’s a great kid, and spending my days in that apartment isn’t exactly a hardship.”
She loved the view from the balcony most of all—it was her favorite place to sit. She and Jaime spent much of their time out there, Emily sketching the city skyline while Jaime tried his best to imitate her. And at night the view of the stars was breathtaking.
“I would kill to see the inside of that place.” Maia sighed wistfully. “I’d love to see how the other half lives.”
“If I could sneak you in without Camila finding out, I would.”
Maia grinned. “I’d be scared to touch anything.”
“So was I, for the first few days,” Emily admitted. “And then I broke a vase. Camila was actually pretty cool about it—didn’t seem to care at all, even though it probably cost a lot.”
“And how’s your hopeless crush?” Maia asked, though her face suggested she already knew the answer.
“Getting more hopeless by the day.” Emily sighed. “But at least Camila hasn’t figured it out yet”—she paused—“I don’t think. If she has, she hasn’t mentioned it.”
“Well, I envy you—your boss is smoking hot, you get to play all day, and your office is a fancy apartment. It beats the bullpen at the precinct.” Maia wrinkled her nose. “I swear half of the cops I work with don’t own deodorant.”
“At least if you get one of them for Secret Santa, you’ll know what to buy.”
“I like the way you think, Em. So where to first?” Maia asked as they stepped into the entrance hall. “I’ve never actually been here before.”
“As my tour guide, you probably shouldn’t admit that.”
“Hey, I got us here, didn’t I?” Maia shoulder checked her, and Emily grinned.
“That’s true. Dinosaurs first?” Emily suggested when she saw the sign pointing toward the exhibit. “I have to warn you: I’m a giant nerd.”
“Cassie already briefed me. She—”
“Emily!”
The screech from behind startled them both, and Emily turned to see a familiar mop of blond curls sprinting toward her. Jaime collided with her legs, nearly bowling her over.
“Hi!” He gazed up at her adoringly, and Emily’s heart melted.
“Hey, buddy. Where’s your mom?”
“Jaime!”
Camila materialized in front of them a moment later, her mouth in a thin line.
“I said you could go and say hello, not tackle her to the ground.”
“Sorry,” Jaime mumbled against Emily’s knee. “Got excited. I missed you.”
“You saw me yesterday!”
“Long time ago,” Jaime replied solemnly. “Did you miss me too?”
“Of course I did, bud. You here for the dinosaurs?”
He nodded, and she leaned down to whisper “Me too!” like it was a secret. He giggled.
“Come with us?” he asked. Emily looked at Camila, not wanting say no but sure Camila would prefer to spend some quality time alone with her son.
“Sweetheart, maybe Emily wants to spend her day off with her…friend.” The pause was noticeable, and Emily wondered if Camila thought this was a date. She almost laughed out loud at the thought.
“She can come too!” Jaime declared. Emily glanced at Maia, who was stifling a smile.
“Jaime…” Camila’s voice sounded a warning, which made Jaime clutch Emily tighter. If there was a tantrum coming, she really did not want to be at the center of it.
The building tension was diffused when Emily’s and Maia’s phones chimed in unison. Emily glanced at the group message. It was Cassie. She was outside and wanted to know where to meet them.
Babe, get in here now – Camila Evans is here and you’re missing the show!!!!
 
Emily closed her eyes. She would kill both Maia and Cassie if they embarrassed her in front of her new boss.
“Hey.” Cassie’s voice echoed loudly in the antechamber of the museum. Emily wondered if she had run, but her sister casually approached Maia not even remotely out of breath, slung an arm around her shoulder, and kissed her cheek. Camila watched them closely. “How’s it going?”
“Camila, this is my sister, Cassie.” Emily ignored Cassie’s elbow digging into her side. “And this is her girlfriend, Maia. Guys, this is Camila, and this”—she squeezed one of Jaime’s shoulders—“is Jaime.”
He looked up at them shyly, and when Cassie waved at him, he hid his face in Emily’s legs.
“Nice to meet you,” Cassie said. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”
Emily glared at her sister.
“I was talking about Jaime, obviously.”
Emily narrowed her eyes, a look that said “I am going to kill you.”
“I’m sure.” Camila smiled, amused. “Anyway, we won’t take up any more of your day. Come on, Jaime.” She held out her hand. “Let’s go.”
“But I want Emily to come too!”
“Emily can bring you back another day.” Camila told him, which seemed a fair compromise, considering how much time they spent together.
“No! I want both of you to come!”
“You know, Emily, you can go, if you want to.” Cassie’s shit-eating grin told Emily she was very proud of herself. “It’d actually be nice for Maia and me to spend some time together.” She pulled Maia closer. “Work’s been so busy lately.”
Except that Emily knew for a fact that Cassie and Maia had both taken the entire previous week off to sort out their new apartment.
“Oh, I