Page 2 of Maldives & Mistletoe

“Joe.”

“He takes my toys!”

“Handle your brother.”

Lily swore not five seconds later, she heard a thwack that echoed in the hallway. Following that was the disbelieving screech of pain from a two-year-old before another thwack followed.

“Ow, Cory. No hit me!”

“No hits!” Cory shouted.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

“No hits!”

The battle between toddlers continued raging on down the hall, but neither Lily or Damian moved to stop it. Damian sighed again, and gave his wife a look that spoke volumes without actually having to say anything at all.

That was the thing about their kids. If they stepped in to stop every petty argument, then the boys would always depend on their parents to handle whatever issues came up between them. They were close in age—only a year separated them—so they had to learn to make room for each other in their lives, share their spaces, and be brothers.

Right now, it was toys and they were two and three. But what about when they were sixteen and seventeen, and it was something bigger than toys?

They had to figure out petty nonsense alone.

“Whose idea was this again to leave Chicago for Christmas, take all the kids to the Maldives, and hope it would be okay?” Lily asked.

Damian chuckled dryly. “I think you mean pray it would be okay, sweetheart.”

Another screech echoed. Another thwack followed. Lily sent up a silent thanks for the fact she had a few years to go before she would have to worry about any more kids given that damn IUD she had put in after Cory was born.

She was not having more kids until the two she had learned to get along. Although, according to everyone else, that was never going to happen. Regardless of what Damian and Lily tried to do to make their sons work out their issues and get along, this was just what siblings did.

They would fight their way into adulthood, and annoy the hell out of their parents the whole time. Might as well just sit back, and enjoy the ride. There wasn’t anything they could do about it, and they would only drive themselves crazy trying.

“Seriously,” Lily said as she finally got the overstuffed luggage zipped and stood straight with another huff, “whose brilliant idea was it to take all these kids, shove them on a plane, and fly for hours with the hope that it would be fantastic?”

Damian shrugged. “Theo and Eve. Well, they suggested we take the kids, too, and the wives. Adriano made the deal for this time of the year, and all.”

Of course, Theo and Eve had thought putting these kids on a plane instead of a private jet would be a good idea.

The only childless ones in the bunch.

“Remind me to give them the worst Christmas present,” Lily muttered. “But an especially bad one for my dumbass brother.”

Damian smirked as he turned to head into the hallway and handle the kids. “Hell, Lily, I will help you pick it out.”

She had no doubt.