Never Say Never Rachael Sommers (story read aloud txt) 📖

to see you?” Camila said as Jenny walked in and kicked off her shoes.

“Where’s my favorite godson?” Jenny asked, and grinned when Jaime’s head appeared over the back of the couch.

“Hi, Aunt Jenny!”

“Hey, kiddo. How are you? Your mom treating you all right?”

“Yeah!”

“Good.” Jenny’s eyes shifted to Emily with interest, and Camila almost groaned. “And who is this?”

“This is Emily, the nanny. Emily, Jenny.” Camila took Jenny’s arm to steer her out of the apartment before she said something else. “I shouldn’t be back too late. Jaime, be good.”

“I will.”

Camila ushered Jenny out the door.

“Jesus Christ, Camila,” Jenny said as they waited for the elevator. “That’s the new nanny you hired? Eye candy?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Camila muttered, stabbing at the button again in the vain hope that it would bring a quick end to this conversation. “I hired her because she was an excellent candidate.”

“That was the only reason? Seriously?” Jenny arched an eyebrow as they stepped into the elevator. Camila’s car was waiting to take them to her favorite hotel bar.

“Yes, seriously.”

“How old is she, anyway?”

“Twenty-three.”

“Are you having a midlife crisis?” Jenny asked as they slipped into the backseat. “Sleeping with the hot new nanny? God knows you deserve to have some fun after what Chris put you through. And what a way to stick it to him—she’s way hotter than the secretary he was banging.”

“I’m not sleeping with her,” Camila replied, her voice sharper than it needed to be. She was going out to forget about Emily, not spend the night talking about her.

“Have I touched a nerve?” Jenny asked, eyes sparkling with interest. “Don’t tell me she’s interested in Chris.”

Camila rolled her eyes.

“What, then? Do you want to sleep with her?”

“I didn’t come here to talk about my nanny,” Camila growled. Suddenly she was desperate for a drink and was relieved when they arrived at the hotel.

“All right, all right.” Jenny held up her hands as she climbed out of the car behind Camila. “It was a joke.”

“Not a very funny one,” Camila muttered, ignoring Jenny’s curious gaze as she entered the lobby of the hotel and made her way to her usual table in the bar. She shrugged off her jacket and draped it over the back of her chair, motioning to a passing server. “We’ll have a scotch, neat, and a Bloody Mary, please.” Jenny’s face twisted because she hated that cocktail, which was exactly why Camila had ordered it.

“I really did piss you off, huh?” Jenny asked. She took a sip of her drink, puckering at the taste. “I’ll get you for this. We’re getting piña coladas next.”

“And I’ll get you another Bloody Mary afterward.” They traded pointed barbs in their usual fashion, annoying each other to no end, but Jenny was still the closest friend that Camila had.

“I’ve missed this,” Jenny sighed. “I don’t see you often enough since you moved out here.”

“I had to get away from you.”

Jenny threw the drink’s paper umbrella at Camila.

“You know you can visit whenever you want.” Camila said earnestly, because she did miss Jenny—it had been a long time since she’d been out with a friend.

In fact, the last time she had been out for fun, had been with Emily, and that had not ended well.

“What’s on your mind?” Jenny asked. She never missed a thing.

“Nothing.” Camila sipped her drink, thinking maybe she didn’t miss Jenny that much after all—not if she was going to keep prying.

“All right,” Jenny said but didn’t look convinced. “How are you doing? After the divorce?”

“I’m fine.” Sure, sometimes she missed having someone to share her life with, but she didn’t miss Chris, especially when he became secretive and resentful during his affair.

“Next time don’t marry an asshole.” Jenny had never been Chris’s biggest fan; she had warned Camila, but she had been too stubborn to listen.

“Who says there’s going to be a next time?” Camila had no such plans; she was too old and too busy to date. But a nagging voice in the back of her head said no one would hold a candle to Emily anyway.

“So, what, you’re giving up?” Jenny arched an eyebrow. “That’s not like you.”

“I don’t need anyone else.”

“Not even to keep you warm at night? There’s no way you can be celibate for the rest of your life.”

“I’ve managed it for two years. What’s a few more?” Camila’s words were laced with bitterness at the memory of no longer being desirable to her husband and no idea of the real reason.

“Christ, no wonder you’re a bitch tonight.”

Camila glared.

Jenny turned to look around the bar. “I’m sure we can rectify that. Let’s find someone in here you’d want to take home.”

“No, thank you.” Camila shut the idea down quickly in case Jenny was serious.

“Why not?”

“I’m not interested.” And she wasn’t. She hadn’t felt anything for anyone until Emily, and she dared not give in to that desire.

“Because you’re interested in someone else?” Jenny pressed, wiggling her eyebrows. “Like, say, the gorgeous woman I just met in your apartment?”

Camila downed the rest of her scotch in response. She wasn’t drunk enough yet to deal with this.

“Oh, come on, Cam. There’s something there, or you wouldn’t have such a stick up your ass about her. Talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Camila said, motioning to the server for a refill.

“Really?”

“Really,” Camila stated flatly, hoping that Jenny would drop it but knowing she wouldn’t. “Because nothing’s going to happen.”

“Why the hell not?” Jenny asked. “She’s gorgeous, and I saw her checking you out in that dress. What’s wrong with having a little fun?”

“I’m not going there,” Camila insisted. The last thing she needed was Jenny’s encouragement—it was hard enough to keep Emily at arm’s length. “She’s too young and too good at her job. I don’t want to risk losing her.”

“I’m saying you should sleep with her, not marry her,” Jenny replied, and when Camila looked away, her eyes widened. “Oh, my God, you like her.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” But Camila couldn’t look Jenny in the eye. She