Never Say Never by Rachael Sommers (books to get back into reading TXT) 📕

“That’s not the point!”

“Yeah, it is.” Camila imagined that Cassie was rolling her eyes. “Look, Maia said she seemed upset about you sleeping with Megan.”

Camila cursed under her breath. She thought she was better at hiding her emotions. But that had changed on the Tuesday morning that Emily Walker had come into her life.

“So?”

“So,” Cassie continued, “if she’s jealous of Megan, then it means she might have feelings for you.”

“She doesn’t,” Emily snapped back. “And even if she did, it doesn’t change anything because—”

“Because she’s your boss, yadda yadda yadda.” Camila wondered how many times Emily and Cassie had had this conversation. “But she’s not going to be forever.”

“But she is right now, and that’s all that matters.”

Camila leaned away from the door, not wanting to hear any more. Emily was right—Camila was her boss, and a relationship would never be as easy for them as it would be for her and the woman that she had spent the night with.

But staying away from Emily wouldn’t be easy either, because Emily had already wormed her way into her heart and wasn’t going to leave anytime soon. But she might be able to fool herself a little longer.

She heard footsteps followed by the front door opening and closing, and quickly moved to study the framed photos on the wall.

Most of them were of Emily and Cassie smiling widely at each other. In one, a woman who resembled Cassie stood with her arms around both girls. Her eyes were sad, and Camila concluded that she was Emily’s foster mother. In another, a much younger Emily stood with a couple who must be her birth parents. Her eyes were bright and full of innocence, completely unaware of the tragedy yet to come.

“Hey. Cassie and Maia had to leave to go help a friend.”

Camila tried to look surprised at the thin excuse.

“Do you want a drink?”

Camila thought she should decline, thought about shaking Jaime awake and taking him to get that Halloween costume, then spending the evening curled up with him on the couch watching his favorite movies.

But Emily looked at her hopefully, and Camila was powerless to resist.

“Sure.”

Chapter 10

“I don’t actually know what I have to drink,” Emily said after she had made the offer. “My liquor cabinet contains only whatever housewarming gifts anyone got me.”

“Water will be fine.” Camila followed Emily into the kitchen, stopping to lean a hip against the counter.

“I think I can conjure up something less boring than that.” Emily opened up a lower cupboard and crouched to peer inside. “Uh, I have”—she reached in and pulled out a small selection of unopened bottles— “Vodka, gin, or scotch.”

“You drink scotch?” Camila sounded surprised.

“I do not, but the neighbor across the hall gave it to me when I moved in. I think he was trying to impress me. Needless to say, it didn’t work.” She glanced back at Camila. “Neat?”

“Please.”

Emily filled a glass with the amber liquid, and handed it to Camila, trying not to blush.

Camila took a sip. “Not bad,” she said, handing the glass to Emily so she could taste it.

She gagged, almost spraying Camila. “God, that’s disgusting. I’ll stick with gin and tonic.”

Camila laughed.

Drinks in hand, they returned to the living room. Emily was a bundle of nerves. It wasn’t like she’d never been alone with Camila before, but then again, those times had always been early in the morning, or at the end of the day when she was ready to leave. She never lingered, not wanting to overstay her welcome.

And she wasn’t used to being alone with Camila in her own apartment, had never thought for a second she would ever be a visitor in her home, and now that she was there, she was edgy. From the way Camila’s fingers tapped an errant rhythm on her glass, Emily thought she might be edgy too.

The TV still played the children’s network from earlier. Emily reached for the remote, surfing through the channels before settling on the news, wondering how to break the awkward silence.

“So, do—”

“Your—”

They looked at each other, and Emily laughed nervously. The curve of Camila’s lips made her wonder what it would be like to kiss her, whether she’d enjoy scotch more if she tasted it on Camila’s tongue.

Emily set her glass down on the table. She probably shouldn’t drink too much if her mind was going to go there. “What were you going to say?”

“Just that your apartment is nice,” Camila said, glancing around the space.

“Oh. It’s small compared to your place.” Emily shrugged. “But it’s home. It used to be my sister’s apartment, but when she moved in with Maia, she signed the lease over to me.”

“How long has she been in the city?”

“Cassie? About eight years.”

“Do you get lonely living alone?”

Emily startled at the question, and she wondered if maybe Camila was lonely in her big empty apartment. “Sometimes, but I’m not really here all that often, usually only nights and weekends. And I spend most of my free time with Maia and Cassie. Sometimes it’s hard to see how happy they are together. It makes me want that.”

“You’ll have it one day.” Camila’s voice was certain, and Emily wished she could be as confident. “Maybe with your friend… Megan, was it?”

“Oh, things with Megan are just casual,” Emily said. “She’s still hung up on her ex, and I…” She trailed off, deciding what to say besides “and I’m hung up on you.” “I don’t know if I’m ready for anything serious right now.”

Camila stared into her drink.

“What about you?” Emily asked, picking up the thread. “Have you, um, seen Stephen again?”

“Are you really asking me about my love life?” Camila asked, raising her eyebrows. Emily shrugged. “No, I haven’t. He was… Well, he was so incredibly boring. Dating at my age is…unappealing. I think I’m going to give it up.”

“Don’t you want to find someone? Someone who treats you better than your ex-husband?”

Camila looked at Emily, surprised that she would mention Chris. “Honestly, I don’t know if