Never Say Never

mortified that Megan had noticed. “Got lost in my thoughts.”
“Is this getting to be too much work for you?” Megan teased, and Emily looked down guiltily because here she was with a gorgeous woman in her arms, thinking of someone else.
Emily tightened her hold on Megan’s waist, pulling her closer, and tried to chase all thoughts of Camila from her mind.

Chapter 9
The next Sunday morning, Emily was woken up by the incessant buzzing of her phone on the nightstand. Groaning, she rolled onto her side and reached blindly, wondering who was calling her at eight o’clock.
She answered quickly when she saw Camila’s name flash across the screen.
“Emily, thank God.” Camila sounded relieved. “I’m sorry to bother you on a weekend again, but… Well, my mother’s in town and wants to have lunch, and I’d really rather not take Jaime with me. Is there any way you could watch him?”
“Uh—” Emily, still blinking sleep out of her eyes, took a moment to process the request. “Yeah, I can.”
“Are you sure? You can say no.”
“No, no, it’s fine.”
“You don’t have any plans?”
“My sister and her girlfriend are coming over to my place later today, but that’s about it. And we can always reschedule.”
“No, you shouldn’t have to do that.”
“It’s fine, honestly.”
“How about…” Camila trailed off. “Perhaps I could bring Jaime over to your apartment and you can keep him there for the day.”
“Is that okay with you?” She knew that Camila trusted Emily with her son, but it was different taking him to a place that Camila herself wasn’t familiar with. “My apartment isn’t exactly childproof.”
“I trust that you’ll keep a good eye on him. Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine.” She rattled off her address, but when Camila told her she’d be there within the hour, she panicked because her apartment was messy and she needed a shower.
Oh yeah, and there was a woman in her bed.
“Everything okay?”
Emily hung up the phone and turned to see blue eyes looking up at her. After another date with Megan last night, Megan had walked her home, and Emily had invited her in.
It had been fun and casual, exactly what she needed, and it didn’t hurt that Megan was a good lover.
“Yeah, fine.” She liked seeing the other woman in the morning, her hair a tangled mess. “Turns out I have to work today too.”
Megan was scheduled for the afternoon shift at the coffee shop. “You weren’t kidding about your job being unpredictable.”
“Nope. So I have”—she glanced at the clock—“about fifty minutes to shower, get dressed, and make my apartment tidy enough for a five-year-old.”
“Piece of cake.” Megan grinned, and Emily leaned over to kiss her.
She showered, leaving her hair to air dry, and returned to the bedroom to find something clean to wear. As she pulled on sweats and a loose sweatshirt, Megan slipped into the bathroom for her own shower.
She tidied up quickly: threw clothes into the hamper, washed and put away dishes, and cleared some space on the coffee table in case Jaime wanted to color later. Then she surveyed the place, looking for anything that could be dangerous to a curious child. When she found nothing, she let out her breath and made her way to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee.
Moments later, there was a knock on her door. Emily opened it and was almost bowled over by a mop of blond curls.
“Hey, buddy,” she laughed. “How you doing?”
“Good because I get to see you!”
“That’s sweet.” Camila stood in the doorway, a harried look on her face. “You look like you’re not doing so good.”
“I’ve had better Sundays. I really am sorry about doing this to you again.”
“Honestly, it’s fine. We’re gonna have a good day, aren’t we, Jaime?”
He nodded enthusiastically.
“Is it okay if we hang out with my sister and Maia? You met them at the museum. Maia’s a policewoman.”
“She is?” Jaime asked, wide-eyed.
“Uh-huh.”
“That’s cool! Is this where you live?” Jaime looked around the apartment. “Can I go look at your stuff?”
“Of course you can.” She took his hand, not wanting him to go too far—she didn’t know if Megan was dressed yet. “Do you want to come in too? I just brewed a fresh pot of coffee.”
“I’d like th—oh.” Emily’s bedroom door opened. “I didn’t realize you had company.” Emily watched Camila silently appraise Megan. “You should’ve said something.”
“Oh, it’s fine.” Megan reached for her leather jacket that had been thrown over the back of the couch. “I have to be at work soon anyway.” She turned to Emily. “I’ll call you later.” She kissed her cheek as she passed, closing the door behind her.
Emily turned back to Camila. “Coffee?”
“No, thank you,” she said coolly. “I should probably get going.” Then to Jaime, “You be good, young man.”
“I always am!”
“I’ll let you know when I can escape. Here are some of Jaime’s things.” Camila handed over a full bag. “It should keep him occupied.”
“Thanks. I hope it isn’t too awful.”
Camila grimaced, then waved at Jaime before turning away.
Emily closed the door behind her, then showed Jaime around the apartment. He lit up when he saw her canvas and paints, and Emily chuckled, knowing how they’d be spending their morning.
* * *
Camila’s mind was still reeling when she walked into the five-star restaurant her mother had chosen for lunch.
She knew that Emily was dating someone, but knowing that and walking in to see them the morning after were two different things. Camila was going to have the image of another woman kissing Emily’s cheek burned onto her eyelids for the rest of the day.
She had to shake it off before she met with her mother. She could only survive lunch with Charlotte Evans if she went in with walls high, showing no trace of vulnerability, lest she be ripped apart.
Her mother was sitting at a table in the corner, and she watched critically as Camila approached. She wore a simple black dress covered with a white jacket. Her dark hair was carefully