Page 97 of Laws of Love
Knox was pulled from his thoughts as she cupped his face, turned his head, and kissed him. Aiva leaned back to look at him.
“There you are,” she stated. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I zoned out for a minute. Let’s finish the movie.”
“The movie’s been over for a few minutes.”
Knox turned his attention to the screen and found that not only had the movie gone off, she’d turned the television off without him noticing. He glanced at his watch, a subconscious act to ensure time had passed.
“You want to talk about it?” she asked.
“I prefer to speak as little about Mia as possible when we’re together.”
“I don’t mind if you want to. If I did mind, it would mean she threatened me, and that’s far from the truth. I know where we stand, and I know she’s not changing that. I don’t mind being your sounding board because we don’t need to be together if you can’t talk to me about anything and everything.”
He was grabbing her chin before he could stop himself. “Do me a favor and don’t say that again.”
“I didn’t intend it, the way it sounded. I’m just saying you can talk to me about it. At no point am I going to get frustrated with you because I don’t think you’d do that with me if the situation were reversed.”
He took her hands in his. “I’m pissed that she’s trying to dictate the moments you get to spend with Yas and me. That isn’t her place. It isn’t her call. She wants to make me miserable at every turn, and she’s willing to hurt our daughter to do it, which infuriates me.” Knox took a deep breath. “Maybe I could see her not wanting you there if I was one of those fathers who introduced multiple different women in a year to Yas or if I knew the person I was dating didn’t care for Yas, but we aren’t in that situation. You’re the only woman I’ve ever introduced to Yas, and a person would have to be willfully ignorant not to see how much you adore her and vice versa.”
Knox left out that he’d like Aiva to remain the only woman he introduced Yasmine to.
“It’s tough when a co-parent only wants to be one when it’s convenient for them or when they constantly step over boundaries and make unreasonable requests. It makes it harder for everyone. I don’t think she realizes Yas will remember things like this. She’s a smart kid, and she’s so observant. Mia isn’t doing her any favors by acting this way because Yas will see it.” She paused for a moment. “But that means you have to be that balance for her and make the hard decisions.”
Knox knew what she was saying. “You want me to be okay with you not being there.”
“I want you to spend the day celebrating with your daughter and making sure she has a good time because it isn’t about me, you, or Mia. It’s about Yas. She might be upset, but I’ll make it up to her. I’m the woman her dad’s dating, but Mia is her mom. That disappointment will run deeper, and I don’t want that for her.”
Knox pulled her to him and kissed her, slow and sweet. “Where were you ten years ago?” he asked, lips brushing hers.
Aiva pulled back and gave him a playful smile. “You probably weren’t ready for me then. Come on.” She stood, pulling him with her. “Let’s go to bed.”
He followed her down the hall, looking in on Yasmine as her words sank in. She was right. The man he was then hadn’t been ready for her. Would have probably fucked it up with how much he’d focused on his career and partying for the first several years. While Mia had been into it, he didn’t see that being true for Aiva; it would have morphed into a neglect that she wouldn’t take, and he’d have probably considered her the one who got away. No, it was best that they’d met when they had.
“I’m pretty sure I have a couple of pairs of sweatpants that I took from EJ or Ali if you want to sleep in those,” she stated, looking through her drawers. She found what she was looking for and handed them to him. “You can shower first.”
“Go ahead. I’ll use the hall bathroom.”
When they were in bed half an hour later, he pulled her to his chest. He would text Mia tomorrow and let her know Aiva wouldn’t be at Yasmine’s party as much as he hated it.
40
Aiva sat at the two top, sipping her water as she watched people pass by on the sidewalk. It was almost one-thirty, and she was waiting for the other party to arrive. She’d stated one o’clock in her text message but should have known they’d be purposely late. It was another five minutes before she saw them walk through the front door.
“What do you want?” they asked when they arrived at the table.
“Hello to you too, Mia.” Aiva leaned back in her seat. “Are you going to sit or continue to stand there?”
Mia rolled her eyes before having a seat, and Aiva switched modes from Knox’s girlfriend to lawyer because, as his girlfriend, she was tempted to pull Mia’s eyes from her sockets. As a lawyer; she would refrain.
Aiva was fine going the rest of her life, not seeing or talking to Mia, as impossible as that would have been when she was dating her ex-husband, but that desire had changed to one where she wanted to have a sit-down.
It happened when she spoke to Knox yesterday about Yasmine wanting to change the day of her birthday party, when she found out Aiva wouldn’t be there. He’d been honest with her and told her she wouldn’t be able to come when she excitedly asked him if he thought Aiva would want to wear matching colors. He hadn’t told her it was because of her mother when she asked why she wouldn’t be there, and naturally, Yasmine had thought the day was the reason and suggested they move the party. When Knox told her that wouldn’t work, she’d cried.
It broke Aiva’s heart when he’d told her about it, and she decided that, again, she would be the bigger woman out of the two and reach out to Mia for a sit-down. She’d gotten her number from their documents and sent a text telling her who it was, the restaurant’s name, and the time. Either Mia would show up, or she wouldn’t. She chose a public place because she hoped the other woman would be less likely to show her ass, which meant Aiva would be less likely to beat it.
“What do you want?” Mia repeated when Aiva didn’t immediately say anything upon her sitting.
