Page 73 of Laws of Love
“You as well,” she responded, smiling at him.
“I was stating a fact. It should be taken as a compliment,” Wolfe stated, before his attention turned from Knox to her. “Pleasure.”
“Likewise,” Aiva responded, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the snort Knox let out at Wolfe’s response. She was used to people with no filters. She had several siblings that suffered from the affliction.
“Where’s Ezra?” Knox asked.
“One of his clients had a shoot for a magazine today. He’ll be late if he makes it at all,” Coen responded.
Knox turned his attention to her. “Ezra is a sports agent. He was mine when I played. Coen is his little brother and a contract negotiator, and Rudeness is a sports analyst.”
Aiva bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing as her boyfriend threw a smirk at Wolfe, who responded by flipping him off. She could tell from their small interaction that the three were close, and she assumed Ezra counted among their group since Knox asked about him.
“You’re a divorce lawyer, correct?” Coen asked.
Aiva shook her head. “I’m a family lawyer. While sixty percent of my clients are going through a divorce, I also handle child support cases, adoptions, custody issues, etcetera.”
“I guess we should thank you for getting rid of that harpy,” Wolfe stated, drinking his wine. “Speaking of the worst decision of your life,” he noted a few seconds later, eyes on Knox. “She’s here.”
Aiva wasn’t surprised by the groan her boyfriend released. When she’d spoken to him the evening after Mia popped up at her office, she’d learned that the other woman had gone by his condo first to confront him. When she didn’t get the response she was looking for from him, she visited Aiva.
“There are a lot of people here. Maybe she won’t see you,” Coen offered.
“I doubt she won’t. She has some sort of sixth sense that allows her to find people she wants to make miserable with little effort,” Wolfe responded, and even if he hadn’t all but shown Mia wasn’t his favorite person with his earlier statement, she knew for sure then he was not a fan.
“Did she come with someone?” Knox asked, and Aiva couldn’t place his tone of voice.
“Does it matter if she did?” she questioned before she could stop herself.
She could feel his eyes on her but didn’t look at him. “No, baby. It doesn’t.”
Aiva took a drink of her wine, so she didn’t have to respond because she wasn’t even sure why she’d asked. Maybe she felt like his tone was a mixture of curiosity and irritation, and the thought of him being those things because his ex-wife had shown up at a party with someone else irked her.
However, after the question left her lips, she realized he could have been curious to know who she was hoping to trap next and irritated that she’d called them out on something she was also doing. Aiva made a mental note to apologize to him.
Knox placed his hand on her back and rubbed it as she tuned back into the conversation the three men were having, which had now shifted to some potential recruit that everyone had their eye on, but that Wolfe was positive would underperform and be let go within a few years of signing if he received an offer.
They separated from the two after a while, with Knox informing Coen to keep Wolfe out of trouble, which was met with a statement of how impossible that was.
“I’m sorry for getting snappy when you asked about Mia,” she said once they were away from the other two.
“You don’t need to apologize, baby. I get how it could have sounded, but the last thing I’m worried about is Mia.”
“I know,” Aiva responded, and she did. Knox kissed her temple, and they continued through the crowd.
They mingled for the next couple of hours, and he introduced her to more people. Aiva knew she wouldn’t see most of them again or remember most of their names. Knox was asked for a picture a few times, and Aiva volunteered to take them.
They were off to the side alone, Aiva eating a few finger foods when she saw Mia coming their way. She refrained from rolling her eyes because despite hoping Coen was right and they wouldn’t see her; Aiva knew Wolfe was probably correct, and she’d make her presence known at some point.
“Funny seeing the two of you here,” Mia stated, and Aiva could hear the irritation in her voice.
“Not really,” she responded. “I was sure someone would take more pictures if we came, and you’d have more to add to your collection. You’re keeping up with them, right?” Aiva inquired before popping a grape into her mouth.
Knox wrapped an arm around Aiva. “What do you want, Mia?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Is it about Yas?” Knox asked.
