Page 30 of Almost Christmas in Paradise

The entire room goes quiet, and when Wyatt pulls his phone out of his pocket, Mr. Nash snatches it from him.

“I swear to God,” he warns.

“I believe if a kid asks a question, it’s my job to answer it,” Wyatt says before he turns to the boys. “I don’t believe in banned information. Listen, men—" he begins.

“Let the boys open one present,” Mr. Nash says, interrupting Wyatt. The kids all jump in excitement and forget about whatever Wyatt was going to say. “I swear to God, I’ll hurt you,” he whispers to Wyatt. “And you’re not getting your phone back until the party is over. If that.” He taps his shoulder and walks away.

Chapter 25

Nia

“You have to rest and eat right,” my mom says as she directs me to one of the couches. “You can’t be running around like Superwoman all the time.” She gestures for me to sit, and when I don’t, she pushes me down. “Especially since you’re taking care of two young children and a husband already.”

I am, but I have nannies, a house manager, housekeepers, drivers, and a personal chef. It’s not like it was when Mom and Dad were raising me and Ray. Not to mention, my husband is completely self-sufficient and doesn’t need to be taken care of.

“Mom, I’ve done this before. I know—"

“Here. Drink this.” Maggie hands me a glass of warm milk. I don’t know how she got warm milk so fast; she must know by now that I hate it. When I was pregnant with Priya, she kept insisting that I drink it every day so the baby would have healthy bones. “Langley, come here,” she says, and he jogs over. He hasKyle on his back and Carter wrapped around one of his legs. Mason jogs along with him.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would one day be a part of this family and that Drake’s extended family would love my nephews the way they do. To Kyle and Mason, Langley and Wyatt are their uncles as much as their uncle on their mother’s side. Although they always complain that he’s not as fun as their other uncles.

“I need you to make sure when Nia is in the office that she’s comfortable and that she has enough to eat,” Maggie says to her son. “She needs to stay hydrated, so no caffeine or sugary drinks. She needs water and warm milk.”

Langley looks around and then pats his mother on the head. “Um, Mom, Nia is married to Drake, not me. Although had I met her first—”

“Well, she’s your sister now, and I need you to look out for her too.”

I roll my eyes at that.

“Oh, please, no,” I say.

Langley can be bossy at times, and he thinks he’s an expert on subjects he knows nothing about.

“I will do my duty.” He gives his mom a mock salute. “I’m going to read all the baby and pregnancy books. By the time I’m done, I’ll know more about being pregnant and giving birth than any woman in the history of the world.”

“I’ve done this before. I’m good, Langley,” I say, doing my best to warn him not to get on my nerves.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll still know more than you by the end of the week.” He looks down at the boys and says, “Come on, guys. Let’s go.”

“Drink,” Maggie says as she puts the mug of disgusting warm milk to my lips.

To appease her I take a sip. Thankfully, Drake notices and comes over. He gives me his hand and helps me out of the seat before taking the warm milk from me and setting it down somewhere.

I hope to never see that mug again.

Chapter 26

Drake

“Yes, baby, I’ll be another couple of hours and then I’m officially on Christmas break,” I say to my wife.

“Ok. I’m going to wrap some presents and try to get to bed early. I’m exhausted.”

Of course, she is. She’s been going nonstop this holiday season. Between work, charity events, holiday parties, and our family, she’s wiped.

After finishing the call, I focus on work for a couple of hours. With it being so close to Christmas, things have slowed down. There are no more meetings scheduled until the New Year, and I’m hoping I can get enough done so I won’t have to work too much while we’re on vacation. As it is, if I do, I’ll have to be sneaky about it, so Nia doesn’t find out.

“Drake,” Esther, my personal assistant, says as she sticks her head inside my office.

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