Page 39 of Tastes Like Summer

“It’s okay; I don’t mind,” she says with a shrug. “It’s for that in-person meeting in the city I told you about. The one for a big new case we’ve been working on, and I can’t go. That’s what the call was about.” Diana stares off into the sunset, chewing the inside of her cheek.

“Yeah, I remember you telling me about the meeting.” I remember every single thing you’ve ever told me. “I also remember telling you that I would help you watch your girls while you were away, if you needed it.”

“I…”

“This sounds like a big deal. Let me help you. I know you said you didn’t know me that well, and I get that. But I’ve got references—you can call Barbara again. And I think we’ve gotten to know each other better since the barbecue. At least a little.”

I mean, my hard cock was literally against your back just now. And, had we not been interrupted, and you had let me, I swear I would’ve thrown you on top of your kitchen island and eaten you out just how I’ve imagined it a thousand times since the Fourth of July. Maybe even before then, if I’m being honest with myself.

Diana sits up, back ramrod straight, brows scrunched in that cute way she always does.

“Are… are you serious?” she asks after a heavy moment of silence passes between us. “You’d take them for the day?”

I clear my throat. “Yeah. Yes.”

Let me help you. Let me give you the support you deserve but have clearly never received.

“I can’t ask you to do that,” she whispers.

I huff, frustrated. “You’re not asking—I’m offering. It sounds like you need help, and I’d be happy to do it.”

“But... you’re doing that now. Helping me, I mean.” She points over her shoulder toward the pool house. “You showed up and are cooking us dinner. Teaching me a couple of good recipes and whatever.”

“I mean, sure. But I could also help with the girls if I can. It’s not a big deal. It’s not like they’re moving in or anything. It would just be like a playdate or something. Are they too old to call it a playdate?” She smiles and I’m not sure whether I like what it does to me. “When is your meeting supposed to be, anyway?”

“Um, day after tomorrow.”

“Let me check my schedule.” With her gaze on me, I pull my phone out of my back pocket and check my calendar, knowing deep down that I would reschedule anything to help her out. She often gives all of herself to others, and rarely takes anything. She deserves someone to do the same for her once in a while. And if I can do that even once… Well, at least I know I will have made her load a bit lighter. “So would you need me to pick them up from camp, too?”

“Yes?” I can hear the hesitation in her voice. Can hear how tempted she sounds, how much she wants to accept help but isn't used to doing so.

“My day doesn’t look too busy. I have a couple of test kitchen hours scheduled with Lexi, but I could probably move that to earlier in the day when the girls are at camp. And then, once I pick them up, I can take them to the aquarium or something.”

“The aquarium?”

“The Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead? I used to go when I was a kid, and I’ve been meaning to take Rachel.” I shrug. “This could just be the perfect opportunity to do it.”

“Um… I don’t know.” She shakes her head, biting her lower lip. “Emi… I’ve never left her alone with anyone before. Not since her diagnosis. And though we’re not exactly strangers anymore—” she clears her throat once—“we’ve sort of only just met.”

That stings because, even though it’s true, it doesn’t feel that way with her most of the time. Not anymore, at least.

I nod. “I understand you’re nervous. But just know that if you reconsider, I am down to help. I might not have firsthand experience with type 1 diabetes, but I can follow instructions better than anyone.”

She chuckles, relaxing a bit, causing relief to wash over me. “Thank you. I really appreciate that. More than you know.”

Another one of our silences passes between us. “Are you—” She stops herself mid-sentence and shakes her head.

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s fine.”

“Tell me. What were you going to say?”

A sigh. “Are you just offering to help because of what happened back there? Which I guess we’re both avoiding talking about but should probably address sooner rather than later?”

I look over my shoulder at the pool house, and then back at her. “I offered to help, remember? I want to help you because I like you, yes. But also, because I feel like you go the extra mile for everyone all the time, and you deserve someone to come through for you once in your fucking life. And... I want to give you that. I want to be the one who comes through for you.”

Diana’s eyes glisten, her brows scrunching together again. “I… don’t know what to say. To any of it.”