Page 67 of Laws of Love
Knox put Yasmine down, and she shimmied to the middle of the booth. Aiva sat on one side of her while Knox took the other side. They’d only looked over their menus a couple of minutes before a waitress dressed as a princess without the large skirt bottom stopped at their table.
“Hello, I’m Belle, and I’ll be your waitress. What can I get you to drink?”
“Can I have lemonade, please?” Yasmine requested.
“Of course,” Belle responded.
“I’ll take a sweet tea,” Aiva answered.
“I’ll have a Dr. Pepper,” Knox responded.
“I got it. I’ll be right back.”
In her absence, they continued to look over the menu, Yasmine asking them to help her with certain words. By the time she returned with their drinks, they were ready to order. When they were left alone again, Yasmine did the activity sheet that came with her menu.
“What are we going to do after we eat?” she asked, glancing between Aiva and her dad. Aiva looked at Knox because, as far as she knew, they had nothing significant planned for arrival day or the day before they left.
“We can check out some stores and go swimming when we get back to the hotel,” he answered, and that seemed to work for Yasmine if the enthusiastic nod she gave was any indication.
They enjoyed their lunch, and when they finished, they checked out a few different stores. Yasmine found souvenirs she wanted to get for her grandparents and Mia. She also wanted to find something for her uncles, who Aiva was told were friends of Knox, but couldn’t settle on anything. They had several days, and there were more shops to check out.
After an hour and a half, they returned to their suite to change for the pool.
Knox sat on a lounge chair, watching Aiva and Yasmine play in the pool. They’d rented a circular float, and Aiva was spinning Yasmine in it. There were many people at the pool, but not as many as he thought there would be. He assumed it was because there was a water park nearby. They had plans to visit it on their third day. He’d been playing with them but got out to order drinks for them. They sat beside him on the table, but he hadn’t called them out. They were having fun, and he didn’t want to stall it.
There was something about watching them together that pulled on his heartstrings—seeing them both excited and smiling. He couldn’t remember the last time he, Mia, and Yasmine had fun like this, but it was likely Yasmine’s third birthday.
Knox shook his head, ridding his thoughts of Mia. He was trying to stop the comparisons. His new relationship shouldn’t be compared to his last. Admittedly, he was having difficulty doing it, but he was trying.
He watched them play for a few more minutes, and Aiva looked over at him. Knox held up one of the drinks, and she turned and said something to Yasmine before pulling her in the float over to the stairs.
Aiva placed the float on the side of his lounge chair when they joined him. Knox found himself staring at her again momentarily. The same way he had when she’d stepped out of her bedroom wearing the olive-colored one-piece swimsuit. He was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of her, but he wasn’t the only one. He’d caught several other men staring.
She sat on the chair beside him, Yasmine joining her after taking her apple juice.
“We don’t have to leave right now, do we?” Yasmine asked, taking a drink of her juice.
“No, not yet,” Aiva responded. “We’re just taking a break.”
“Okay. Can we watch a movie tonight?” Yasmine asked, turning to him.
“Sure, kiddo. We can watch one after dinner before you go to bed.”
“Daddy said I don’t have a bedtime while we’re here, Ms. Aiva.”
“That is not what I said, Yas. I said you could stay up if you can stay up.”
“Yeah! That means no bedtime.”
Aiva chuckled before taking a drink of her lemonade. He figured she knew what he’d meant by that and thought it was cute. Yasmine thought it meant no bedtime at all. However, kids were simple. Most kids on a routine thought they could stay up late easily, but they typically fell asleep around the same time since their bodies were conditioned.
“No bedtime. You must be excited,” Aiva stated, and Yasmine nodded. “I think we should celebrate. Have dinner at six-thirty, and then watch your favorite movie.”
“Have you seen Moana, Ms. Aiva? It’s my favorite.”
“It’s one of my favorites, too,” Aiva responded.
“That means we can watch that one.”
