Page 102 of Laws of Love
“Quite the turnout,” Ezra stated after looking around. “I’m going to find Yas.”
Knox pointed out where she was with his parents and some other kids, and Coen went with him.
“Is Yas ready for school to start back?” Wolfe asked as he took a seat.
“Aside from her party, that’s the only other thing she’s been talking about. She even started a countdown.”
“She only has one week left, right?” Wolfe asked.
“Right. We got her supply list, and she wants to go shopping for school this coming week,” Knox responded.
They lapsed into silence that was broken a minute later as Wolfe stood. “An annoyance just appeared. I’m going to say hi to Yas.”
Knox turned his attention to the entrance as Wolfe left and saw Mia. She looked around momentarily until her eyes fell on him and Aiva. She scowled briefly before heading over. He prepared himself for her attitude and whatever slick comment he was sure would tumble from her lips.
“Don’t you look like a fraudulent little family,” Mia stated, putting a gift bag on the table.
“Hello to you too, Mia,” Aiva responded as Knox did his best not to roll his eyes. She held a bag out to Mia. “Put this on.”
Mia took the bag and looked inside before pulling out an identical baseball jersey. Only then did he notice she was wearing a black halter top, black skinny jeans, and light blue pumps.
“Yas is over there,” Aiva said, pointing to where the six-year-old had moved on to a coin toss game.
Mia tossed the empty bag on the table and walked off, shrugging into the jersey. Knox turned his attention to Aiva.
“I don’t remember us buying an extra jersey.”
“I picked it up when we got ours. You were too focused on where we were going for lunch,” Aiva teased. “I texted her about what she should wear, but I wasn’t sure if she would. It looks like she can be reasonable at times.”
His girlfriend never ceased to amaze him. He hadn’t thought about Mia when they’d gone shopping for what Yasmine wanted them to wear. However, Aiva ensured she wouldn’t look like the odd man out on their daughter’s birthday, despite knowing how Mia felt about the two of them being together, about Aiva in general. It was a level of maturity that Knox could admit he needed to aspire to when it came to his ex-wife.
“Yas will be happy that her mom is dressed in theme,” Knox stated. “Thank you for thinking of it.”
“You don’t have to thank me. Mia would have felt left out and hurt about being excluded, whether or not she showed it. She probably would have even thought it was on purpose. I didn’t want that. Besides, maybe showing her I want what’s best for Yas also and can deal with us being cordial will make her a little less hostile.”
He was sure she was right. Mia probably would have felt left out, but she would have expressed it through anger and smart-mouth quips. Though he was unsure whether Aiva’s approach would make Mia ease up, only time would tell.
“Come on,” Aiva instructed, taking his hand. “Let’s go play some games with Yas. You have prizes to win us,” she finished with a smile, and he allowed her to lead the way.
“Mommy, you can get a snow leopard, and Aiva, you can get a cheetah!” Yasmine exclaimed as they sat in front of the temporary tattoo station.
“And what are you going to get?” Mia asked, giving Yasmine a little tickle.
Aiva had watched their interactions over the past hour and a half. It was easy to see how Mia cared about her daughter, but she could also see that it wasn’t quite mother/daughter care. It didn’t seem quite maternal, but it was undeniable either way.
“I’m going to get a butterfly,” she responded through her laughter.
“Well, that isn’t the same at all,” Mia teased with another tickle.
She and Mia had been…cordial since after she arrived. By that, Aiva meant they hadn’t said much of anything to one another. When they were both with Yasmine, as they were now, they focused on her. However, she commended Mia for concealing her hostility. Aiva knew how observant Yasmine was, and she was sure she would be able to tell something was wrong, even if she couldn’t tell what it was.
They got their tattoos, and Aiva excused herself to give the two some quality time while she went to help Knox, who’d left them fifteen minutes before, to set up the table to get ready to sing Happy Birthday and have cake. Most of the kids played every game they wanted to and ate food and snacks from the concession stands.
Knox paused in what he was doing to kiss her temple. “Are you okay?”
Aiva nodded. “I’m fine.” She knew he was asking because she’d been with Mia for a bit without him. She didn’t need him to buffer their interactions, but she couldn’t fault him for being cautious about leaving them alone. It seemed Mia didn’t plan on doing anything to ruin Yasmine’s birthday, and neither would Aiva.
When they had the table set up, the blue frosted two-tiered cake with yellow sugar flowers adorning it andHappy Birthday Yaswritten on it in the middle, Knox went to get Yasmine and Mia and called the other kids over. Aiva couldn’t help but smile at Yasmine’s excitement at her cake. Aiva knew she’d looked at pictures, but ultimately she just described what she wanted.
