Never Say Never

wouldn’t want to intrude,” Emily said to Camila, still glaring at her sister.
“You wouldn’t be intruding,” Camila said. “It would actually be nice to walk through a museum with someone who isn’t under the age of six. You don’t have to, though.”
“I…” She hesitated. Camila’s offer seemed sincere, and Emily really didn’t want to turn down the offer. “I’d love to.”
“Yay!” Jaime yelled before taking Emily’s hand and trying to drag her away.
“Hang on a sec, buddy.” She laughed, pulling him back and handing him over to Camila so she could step away to say goodbye to Cassie and Maia.
“You’re welcome,” Cassie said after Camila had moved out of earshot.
“I hate you. I’m not coming over for dinner later.”
“Yes, you are,” Cassie admonished her. “You’re coming so you can give us every detail of your date.”
“This is not a date!” Emily hissed, trying to keep her voice low.
Maia laughed, tugging at Cassie’s arm. “Stop teasing her or she’s going to explode.”
“You are just as bad,” Emily rounded on her, hands on her hips in mock effrontery. “If you hadn’t sent that text, none of this would have happened.”
“Oh please, stop acting like you’re not delighted to spend more time with Camila,” Cassie said. “Now go, enjoy yourself. And be at our place by seven.”
“I’m not coming!”
“Yeah, you are. Maia’s making quesadillas, your favorite. And there’s a chocolate cheesecake in the fridge with your name on it.”
Emily huffed. She couldn’t say no to either of those things.
“We’ll see you later. Love you!”
Emily was still muttering as she made her way back to Camila and Jaime. She couldn’t stay mad when she thought of stealing a few hours with Camila, especially in her well-fit black jeans. The undone buttons at the collar of her white blouse revealed the pale skin of Camila’s collarbones, and Emily worked hard to avert her eyes.
“You ready to check out some dinosaurs, Jaime?”
“Yeah!” He reached for her hand again and took Camila’s at the same time, pulling them both toward the exhibit.
“I’m really sorry to intrude” Emily leaned close to Camila so Jaime wouldn’t hear. She was close enough to smell her perfume, and when Camila turned her head to respond, Emily almost drowned in the green of her eyes.
“You’re not intruding,” Camila said, holding Emily’s gaze. “Really. I’m happy you’re here. And he is too.”
Jaime’s grin filled his whole face, and Camila was smiling. Emily’s heart pounded in her chest, thudding against her ribcage.
It would be a miracle if she survived the day.
* * *
“This one’s my favorite!” Jaime was on Emily’s shoulders, her hands holding onto his legs. He stared up at the enormous T. rex skeleton, and Camila laughed at the wide-eyed look on his face.
“I thought triceratops was your favorite.” Emily said. Camila loved that Emily listened to him, that she remembered tiny details, that she made so much of an effort and even gave up her Saturday to keep a five-year-old happy.
She chattered away with him, answering questions that Camila would never have been able to without her phone. And as much as Emily had apologized for infringing on their day, Camila actually enjoyed watching the two of them together and seeing Jaime so happy.
Emily wasn’t bad to look at either. Camila scolded herself for gazing at the bare legs that extended from her skirt. It was inappropriate and she knew it, but she couldn’t help it—Emily was gorgeous and completely unaware of her looks and the effect she had on other people. That only made her more endearing.
She would never know how Camila felt, though. As good as she was at getting her to open up, Camila would keep her feelings close to her chest because she didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize Emily’s budding relationship with Jaime.
She was a godsend, Jaime was completely in love with her, and Camila would do nothing to ruin it, especially after her recent bad luck with nannies.
“This one’s cool too!” Jaime’s voice cut through her thoughts. “Don’t you think so, Mama?”
“It’s very…impressive.” Camila had absolutely no idea which set of fossils Jaime was looking at, and Emily knew it, judging from her grin.
“Wanna go play in the fun part of this place?” Emily asked, and when Jaime nodded she led him toward the interactive exhibit where excited children were chattering. “Where do you want to start?”
The room was filled with a variety of puzzles, and Emily waited for Jaime to choose one. Camila arrived to help him, so Emily leaned back to watch, her hands tucked into her jacket pockets.
After the museum, they went for lunch in a nearby café. Camila was reluctant to say goodbye to Emily. She had had fun today too. As much as she loved her son and tried to reserve her weekends just for him, she got lonely sometimes not having another adult to talk to.
She had few friends in the city, and she was startled to think that Emily might become one because, as much as Camila knew this was only a job to Emily, she suspected that it might become more than that.
It was obvious from the way she smiled brightly when she walked into Camila’s apartment in the morning, the way she put Jaime first without hesitation, the way she brought him to Camila’s office because she knew it cheered her up.
They were all simple, tiny gestures, but they were above and beyond what the job required. She knew that Emily was already besotted with Jaime, and even though it had only been a couple of weeks, Camila had no idea how she had ever coped without her.
“Thank you for doing this,” Camila said softly once they were seated and Jaime was preoccupied with the crayons the waitress had given him. “You really didn’t have to. Even if he had thrown a tantrum, he would have gotten over it once we got to the dinosaurs. I’ll pay you for today, of course.”
“No way.” Emily brushed her off. “Honestly, it’s fine. It didn’t even feel like