18
A iva grabbed her purse and got out of her car. She walked through the grocery store entrance, pausing briefly once inside to look around. She’d only been in that store once or twice, preferring the one closer to her house. However, they’d been out of saffron, which she needed for the dish she was cooking for dinner. So, she found herself on the other side of town. Other stores were closer to her house, but she knew none sold what she needed.
After reading the signs above the aisles, she headed to the seasonings. She perused the shelves and was ready to give up when she found the spot the saffron should have been in. Looking to the back of the shelf, Aiva discovered they had one jar left, and she grabbed it in relief. Her taste buds were set on a chicken and mushroom dish, and she would have been disappointed if she had to hold off on having it.
While she was in there, she grabbed some extra portabella mushrooms. She had just picked up a package to inspect them when she heard her name called.
“Aiva?”
She turned her head in that direction and found Knox standing there. She took him in for a moment. There hadn’t been a time that she’d seen this man, and he hadn’t looked like sex on legs. Her attention then swung to the little girl beside him, holding onto the side of the cart. She was cute, with deep brown eyes and thick brown curls. Her mother’s Latin heritage was undeniable, but she’d stolen her father’s nose and ears. She was adorable.
“Knox. Hey,” she greeted, giving him her attention before turning it back to Yasmine. “And you must be Yasmine,” she said to the little girl with a smile.
Aiva received a bright smile in return. “I am.”
“Yas, this is my friend Aiva,” Knox introduced.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Aiva.”
“You too. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Looks like you plan on cooking something interesting,” Knox stated, pulling her attention back to him and gesturing to the items in her hand.
“I guess some people would call it interesting, but it’s delicious.”
“What is it?” Yasmine asked.
“It’s grilled mushrooms with chicken and saffron sauce,” Aiva stated, but she was sure Yasmine heard nothing after mushrooms as she shook her head rapidly and made a face.
“Mushrooms are gross.”
Aiva couldn’t help but laugh a little. She’d thought the same thing as a child, but as with most people, as she grew older, her taste buds changed. She found several of the things she’d disliked when she was younger became some of her favorite things now.
“You tried one mushroom, Yas,” Knox reminded her.
“And it was enough,” Yasmine replied with as much seriousness as a five-year-old could muster.
Knox shook his head at his daughter. “Well, I didn’t mean to hold you up. I saw you and thought I’d say hello,” he told Aiva.
“No worries,” she responded, before giving her attention back to Yasmine. “I’m glad I finally got to meet you.”
“I’m glad you did, too,” Yasmine responded, smiling at her, and Aiva couldn’t help but return it.
“I’ll see you soon, Aiva,” Knox stated as his eyes locked to hers.
“I look forward to it,” she responded before waving to them both and heading toward the register.
W hen Aiva made it home, she turned on some music, washed her hands, and began cooking. As she did, her mind wandered back to Knox briefly. She hadn’t seen or spoken to him in two weeks. Not since the last time he’d been in her office. They were waiting for the judge to sign off on the divorce documents, and because there was nothing that could be done until they did, she hadn’t spoken to him.
She had spoken to Harvey twice because Mia wanted to make changes to the agreement after Aiva had already filed it. Both times, she reminded Harvey where they stood and that she was okay with them taking any changes directly before a judge in a hearing, where they would also change the terms of what they were requesting.
That was enough for Mia to remember that if they went in front of a judge without agreed upon terms, she ran the possibility of getting less than what the settlement gave her. She hadn’t heard from Harvey since, and with them being so close to the finish line, she wanted to keep it that way.
Aiva danced around the kitchen, singing as she cooked. Putting on a concert by herself, for herself.
Once her food was ready, she poured a glass of wine and sat on her couch. She turned her television on and picked up where she had left off on the last episode of Abbot Elementary . She’d started the show the previous month and tended to binge-watch several episodes over the weekends.
After finishing her food and two episodes of the show, Aiva took her dishes into the kitchen and washed them, along with the cookware she’d used, before wiping down her countertops and sweeping her floor.
She poured another glass of wine and retook her seat on the couch, starting another episode. She would watch a few more before heading to bed. Aiva had a spa appointment the following morning at nine, and she’d paid for half a day. She hadn’t been in a while and was more than ready to relax and be pampered for a bit.
K nox sat on his couch; his feet propped on his coffee table as he scrolled through his businesses’ income reports from the last month. One of his short-term rentals had increased the occupancy rate of seventy-two percent from the previous month to seventy-nine percent. He was pleased with that fact. Knox liked to keep them all at eighty percent, and his staff ensured each rental was clean and stocked, and welcome baskets were left for new renters. They went above and beyond to help them find attractions and entertainment and provided a driver if needed.
There were little things he learned that kept past renters coming back and recommending his places to family and friends. It also helped that they left great reviews that others read.
He switched his attention over to the income for his dealerships. They were always consistently good and didn’t fluctuate too much. Knox had never considered himself a salesman, so he’d hired some great general managers to run his five lots. Two in town and the other three in the surrounding cities. He could sit back and draw his dividends from them.
He was looking over the income from his gym when his phone rang. Looking down at the screen, he saw Mia’s name. His first thought was not to answer it. However, Yasmine was staying with her for the week, and something could have been wrong or happened at school. Knox had decided to still allow Mia the weeks she was scheduled to keep Yasmine until everything was finalized. Then she would get every other weekend as agreed upon, and he’d let her take her during the week sometimes.
“Yes, Mia?” he answered.
“You need to wire me my settlement.”
“Excuse me?”
“The judge has signed off on our divorce. You need to wire me my settlement,” Mia informed him.
Knox furrowed his brow because he hadn’t heard that. He’d run into Aiva a few days ago at the grocery store, but he hadn’t heard from her since. Before running into her, he’d been doing all he could not to call her. It would only be torturing himself because she was still his lawyer.
When he’d seen her, he couldn’t help but take her in from head to toe. He’d missed laying his eyes on her, seeing her gorgeous face, and hearing her seductive voice. He was glad Yasmine had been with him. The small kiss he’d stolen hadn’t been enough to satiate his patience, and had he been alone when they ran into each other, he may have just stolen another.
He thought about what Mia said. Surely, Aiva would have called him if she’d gotten word that their divorce was finalized. He was not just going to take Mia’s word for it.
“I’ll call you back,” he told her, not giving her a chance to reply before he hung the phone up.
He thought about calling Aiva and asking her about it but decided to stop by her office. If he found out what Mia said was true, he didn’t want to ask her out over the phone.
Knox glanced at the time on his laptop. He had time to finish reviewing his income reports before heading to see Aiva.
K nox didn’t have to wait long in the waiting area before Finx led him to Aiva’s office. He stepped in to find her sitting behind her desk. She looked up when he entered.
“Knox, hey. Please have a seat,” she greeted and gestured toward the chairs in front of her desk. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
He took a seat. “Yeah, I’m sorry for just dropping in.”
“It’s no problem. What can I do for you?”
“I received a phone call from Mia, and she told me that our divorce was finalized.”
Knox watched her furrow her brow before picking up her cell phone.
“It’s possible. I’ve been in a mediation session all day, and I just returned to the office fifteen minutes ago. I was replying to some emails when you walked in.” She placed her phone down. “No messages there. Finx said I had a few calls while I was out.”
She picked up her office phone, and Knox watched her press a button on it. She listened for a moment before hanging the phone up.
“So, Mia is correct. The judge signed off on the decree, and it’s being filed. You should both receive a copy in the mail in ten to fourteen days.”
“We didn’t have to go before a judge?” Knox asked.
“No, since you reached an agreement on the terms, it seems the judge didn’t see a need to see you. Sometimes it happens that way; other times you have to go, regardless.”
“And when do I make the transfer to Mia?”
“Once you both receive the decree in the mail. I’ll call Harvey and make sure she knows that.”
“So, it’s done. There’s nothing else we need to do.”
“That’s right,” Aiva agreed.
Knox stood and walked around her desk when the words left her lips. Her eyes were on him the entire time. He pulled her chair back, took her hand, and pulled her to stand. Knox wrapped one arm around her waist, his other hand going to the back of her neck, and he leaned down, pulling her in for a searing kiss. A kiss that Knox felt he’d waited far too long for.
He slipped his tongue into her mouth, wanting to taste her and explore every cavern. There was no rush behind his motions, no hurried, frenzied movement of their tongues. He wanted to take his time, and Aiva seemed to understand that as she followed the tempo he set while small mewling sounds escaped her lips to his, and he swallowed them down. Took them in like a plead for more, for a continuance, and Knox complied.
Closer . He pulled her body closer, flush against his, feeling the soft contours of her curves. She was soft against him, fitting perfectly against his body.
When Knox pulled away, it was only due to lack of air, but he was almost willing to send them to their graves and ignore it. However, he wanted to take her out and get to know her outside of her being his lawyer. Now, he had the chance to do so.
He gave her a peck and pulled away. “I’ll pick you up Saturday at seven-thirty. Text me your address.” Knox pressed his lips to hers in a last kiss before he walked back around her desk and left the office.
He waved to Finx on his way out, and once in his car, he pulled out of the parking lot, heading back to his condo. He only had a few days before he’d take Aiva out, but Knox already knew what they would do and where they would go, and he was sure she would enjoy it.