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

Jaime’s drawings. Some had been sketched by Emily for him to color, but some he had sketched himself.

She clenched her jaw, trying not to cry, because it was such an Emily gift. She imagined her collecting them one by one, setting them aside, and putting them together, all the while knowing how much Camila would love it.

She was so thoughtful, so wonderful, and Camila didn’t deserve her, and yet her heart felt like it was being squeezed in a fist, tighter and tighter, and the pressure on her chest was unrelenting.

“Mama? Are you okay?”

Camila tore her gaze away from the folder to find Jaime looking up at her with a frown. “I…I’m fine, sweetheart.” But her voice shook and so did her hands, and she had to close the folder and set it down before Jaime noticed.

“Don’t you like your present?”

“I love it.” More than that—she thought it was probably one of the best gifts anyone had ever given her. Emily had thought about it carefully, given her something she knew she would like rather than something off a shelf.

“Then why is your face all funny?”

Damn him for being so perceptive. “Because I…I didn’t get Emily anything,” she lied.

“Oh.” Jaime blinked up at her. “Just don’t be mad at her anymore. That’ll make her happy.”

Camila sucked in her breath, feeling like he had stuck a knife in her chest. “I’m not… I’m not mad at her.”

“She said you were.”

Maybe blasting music through her headphones on the flight home hadn’t been the wisest decision or she might know what Emily had said to him when they were sitting together.

“Why won’t you talk to her?”

“It’s complicated.”

He looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but Camila did not want to talk about it anymore, not with him—she’d never be able to explain it.

“Why don’t you try out your new art supplies, and I’ll send a photo to Emily so she can see you, hmm?”

That distracted him, and she wrote a message to Emily, attaching a couple of pictures with the sketch pad.

Thank you for these. You made his day. And mine. Merry Christmas.

Maybe it wasn’t appropriate—she had, after all, completely ignored Emily on the flight home—but it would be rude not to say thank you.

There was no response.

Chapter 21

Emily considered not showing up for work when January second rolled around.

The two weeks with her family had been a nice break, but when she went to bed on New Year’s Day, knowing she was going to see Camila in the morning, her stomach tied up in knots. She tossed and turned late into the night until she finally slept from sheer exhaustion.

With herculean effort, she dragged herself out of bed the next morning, forcing her legs to propel herself out the door and onto the street, and set off on her usual route to Camila’s apartment.

She used her key when she got there instead of knocking, just to buy herself some time before she came face-to-face with the woman who still haunted her dreams.

She took a deep breath and started down the hallway, but before she took two steps, Jaime ran to meet her, hurling himself into her arms.

She laughed and swung him around in a circle, her nerves easing the second she had him in her arms.

“Hey, kiddo.”

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” She really had, so much, and if not for how much she adored him, she might not have come back at all.

In fact, she still thought she might quit. The only thing holding her back was Jaime.

“Did you have a good Christmas?”

“It was okay.”

Emily wondered if he was mad at Camila for Emily being gone so long.

“Thank you for my presents.”

“You liked them?”

“Yeah!”

“Have you used them yet?”

“Yeah, come see.”

She was still near the front door, rooted to the spot, but she forced herself forward, drawing strength from the boy in her arms, telling herself she could do this, that everything was going to be just fine.

But then she saw Camila leaning against the back of the couch, tapping on her phone. When she heard Emily she looked up, meeting her gaze. Emily froze—she thought she was ready, but God, she really, really wasn’t.

She had thought she was okay, that over the past two weeks she had pulled herself together, the memory and pain of their last night in London fading a little. She thought she’d be able to face Camila and not have it all come rushing back.

But she still wanted her. She still looked beautiful, even after everything, and she wondered if she would ever look at Camila again without wanting something more than she could give.

“Emily.” Camila gazed at her coolly, and she couldn’t breathe, squeezing Jaime so tight that he wriggled in her arms and she set him down.

She couldn’t read Camila’s face, try as she might. She wished she knew what she was thinking, just this once.

“Good morning, Ms. Evans.” She decided to go for distant and unaffected, though her voice sounded flat. “I hope you had a good Christmas.”

“I… It was fine.” Camila looked at her like she was trying to see into her, trying figure out what she was thinking. “Thank you again for mine and Jaime’s gifts—you didn’t have to.”

“No problem.” Emily shrugged, and she wondered if this is how it was going to be now—awkward small talk, saying nothing of substance. Emily wished the floor would open up and swallow her.

Then Camila left for work, leaving her alone with Jaime.

He showed her the new drawings in his new sketch pad, and she smiled at his happiness, knowing she had done the right thing. Maybe she even had an artist on her hands. It was nice being back with him, and as long as Camila wasn’t there, she could pretend that it was just like before, that nothing had changed.

But when Camila wasn’t back by the time she put Jaime to bed, she worried that she wouldn’t have her defenses ready. She was on the couch watching TV and trying