Never Say Never

work, and I’m happy to spend more time with you guys.” Her cheeks turned pink as soon as she said it.
“Even though you were planning to spend time with your sister?”
“I’ll see her later.” Emily shrugged. “Besides, it’s always fun taking kids around museums, especially if they haven’t been there before. They get so excited about everything.”
“So do you,” Camila teased, and Emily’s cheeks flushed darker. Camila was enjoying this moment. “I’m glad you were there, though. There’s no way I could’ve answered even half of his questions as well as you did.”
“I’m sure you would have managed.”
“Not nearly as well as you.”
Their food arrived, and Emily lit up at the sight of her burger and fries. She shook her head when Camila started on her salad.
“What?”
“It’s just leaves.”
“It is not just leaves. There’s also dressing.”
Emily grinned, and Camila focused on her salad so she wouldn’t think about how beautiful Emily looked, even under the café’s awful fluorescent lighting.
After they had eaten, they went their separate ways. As she and Jaime watched Emily walk away, Camila felt lighter than she had felt in a long, long time.
“I really like her, Mama,” Jaime said, looking up at her.
Camila ruffled his hair gently. “Me too, Jaime. Me too.”
* * *
Cassie and Maia’s new apartment was only a few blocks away from their old one, and Emily had been there several times already. It was a bigger apartment with a second bedroom and a much larger kitchen, but the layout was the same.
“So how was your date?” Cassie pounced on Emily as soon as she was through the door. Emily rolled her eyes as she set a bottle of wine on the breakfast bar.
“It was not a date!”
“Okay, how was your not date?” Cassie corrected, jumping up to sit on the counter next to where Maia was preparing the quesadillas.
“It was… It was actually really fun.”
“See? Aren’t you glad we interfered?”
“I think the interfering was all yours, babe,” Maia said.
“You didn’t stop her,” Emily pointed out, and Maia shrugged. “And if either of you ever do something like that again, I swear I will stop talking to both of you.” She tried to look stern, but the warning melted when Cassie grinned. “But yeah, I guess.”
“I’ll try to behave.”
That was probably the best Emily could hope for.
“Seriously, though, you look happy. Do you still think you’ll never make a move?”
“Yeah, because she’s still my boss, a fact that isn’t going to change anytime soon, so can we just drop it? Please?”
“All right,” Cassie said, sulking.
“Thank you. So what did you guys do today?”
“We went to that new tapas bar for lunch. We’ll have to take you there one day because the menu is amazing,” Maia answered. “Then we shopped for a few things we needed to make this place more homey.”
“We got a new rug,” Cassie added, stealing some cheese from a plate on the counter when Maia turned back to the stove. “Isn’t our life exciting?”
“I don’t know.” Emily looked at them wistfully. “It sounds pretty perfect to me.”
She had always ached for this kind of domestic bliss—the apartment and the girlfriend, someone to come home to after a long day at work, someone to cook with, someone to decorate with.
“You’ll have this one day.” Cassie seemed to read her mind. “I promise.”
Emily hoped she was right.

Chapter 7
Camila breezed into her apartment on the night of her gala dinner with five people in tow, all laden with heavy bags. Emily watched wide-eyed as they filed down the hall and into Camila’s bedroom.
“My team of stylists,” Camila explained as she paused in the living room to greet Jaime. “To transform me into something beautiful.”
“They won’t have to work very hard.” The words slipped out before she could stop them, and Camila raised her eyebrows. Emily looked away, knowing she was blushing again. “Just ’cause, you know, you’re already…” Emily willed herself to stop talking before she dug herself in deeper. “You know.”
“Well, thank you, Emily. Let’s hope my date for the evening is as complimentary.”
Emily tensed at that new information. It hadn’t occurred to her that Camila might have an escort for the night, but it made sense. Camila was newly single, after all, and she was probably expected to have someone at big events.
“If he’s early, would you mind letting him in?”
“Of course.” Whoever he was, he was a lucky guy, and Emily was going to be jealous of him for the whole damn night.
Camila disappeared into her bedroom to get ready. Emily and Jaime carried on their battle with his favorite cartoon superhero figures.
When someone knocked at the door a while later, Emily got up to admit Camila’s date, a good-looking man with a charming smile dressed in a tuxedo. She smiled woodenly at him.
“I’m Emily, Camila’s nanny. Come on in. She’s just about ready.”
“Thanks.” He stepped over the threshold. “I’m Stephen.” He shook her hand awkwardly, and she led him inside, where he hovered uncertainly near the couch.
“You can sit, you know,” Emily said, trying to put him at ease as she sat back down next to Jaime.
“Sorry.” He sat on the edge of the couch. “I guess I’m a little nervous.”
Emily could understand that—if she was about to go on a first date with Camila, she would be too.
“Who’s this little guy?”
Jaime was watching Stephen warily.
“This is Camila’s son. He’s a little shy around strangers.” Emily wrapped an arm around Jaime and pulled him closer until he relaxed a little.
“Me too, sometimes,” Stephen whispered, and Jaime smiled uncertainly.
They both turned at the sound of heels clicking on the hardwood floor. Camila swept into view wearing an emerald green dress that brought out her eyes. The neckline plunged to reveal smooth, pale skin that Emily ached to trace with her fingertips. The skirt was shaped to Camila’s hips, and Emily imagined herself standing behind her, slowly unzipping the dress. Her makeup was subtle, delicately accentuating her features, her hair brought out the shape of her face, and she