Gwynneth Ever After by Linda Poitevin

managed to give her the impression of the exact opposite.
    She went back to brushing Nicholas’ teeth, acutely aware of Gareth’s eyes following her every movement. Katie finished her own teeth, dropped her brush into the holder on the counter, and sidled past Gwyn. She paused to drop a kiss on top of Maggie’s head.
    “’Night, Mags. Hope you’re better soon.” She looked hopefully at Gwyn. “Can you still read me a story, Mommy?”
    “Of course, sweetie. We’ll read the next chapter.” Gwyn watched her trot off with a wide, happy grin, then glanced at Gareth.
    “ Harry Potter ,” she explained. “Sandy gave it to her for her birthday and we’re almost done. All right, bud,” she said to Nicholas. “You’re done. Rinse and spit, then have a drink.”
    Nicholas complied, then turned to Gareth. “Ready!” he announced, sliding his small hand into the man’s. “We can read the Grinch.”
    Gareth looked doubtful. “Isn’t it a bit early for Christmas stories?”
    Gwyn laughed. “Are you kidding? We read that one year round. You ought to try it on a sticky July afternoon.” She leveled a severe look at her son and reminded him, “One story, Nicholas. And no hassling Gareth.”
    To the sounds of Gareth’s deep voice drifting in from the twins’ room, Gwyn dried off Maggie, slathered her spots with calamine lotion, then dressed her in fresh pajamas. Together, they tiptoed into the bedroom, finding Katie drawn there as well, and settled onto Maggie’s bed to listen to the rest of the story, brought to magical life in a way that Gwyn had never achieved.
    The story ended, and Gareth looked up at them all from the rocking chair, his eyes twinkling. “What’s this, an audience?”
    “We couldn’t help ourselves,” Gwyn said. “That was marvelous.”
    “You were even better than Auntie Sandy,” Katie told him.
    “High praise indeed,” Gwyn said. “Sandy has been the world’s best storyteller around here for years.”
    Gareth chuckled. “My agent will be pleased to know I’m making a reputation for myself.” He looked down at Nicholas, nestled into the crook of his arm, and handed him the book. “I think this makes it your bedtime, my friend.”
    Nicholas took the book and slid off Gareth’s lap. He cast a sly, pleading glance at Gwyn. “Just one more?” he asked.
    Gwyn raised an eyebrow. With a defeated sigh, her son crossed the room to replace the book on the shelf. Minutes later, both he and Maggie were tucked into bed, and Gwyn began the final kiss-and-hug routine.
    Or what used to be the final one.
    Tonight, as she leaned over Maggie, her daughter whispered a request in her ear. Gwyn smiled past a lump in her throat.
    “I’ll ask,” she said. She looked over at Gareth, waiting in the doorway. “Maggie would like to know if she could please have a kiss and a hug from you, too.”
    Gratified surprise flickered across Gareth’s expression and he detached himself from the door post.
    “I would be honored,” he said. He duly delivered a kiss-hug to first Maggie, and then at Nicholas’ demand, to him as well, before joining Gwyn at the door again.
    She pulled the door partway closed, reminded Maggie to call her if she woke up, and turned to find Gareth leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Her heart skipped a beat, then, when she met his dark gaze, skipped several more. Visions of their parting scene the night before danced through her head. She smoothed damp palms against her skirt.
    “How long do you think she’ll sleep?” Gareth asked, nodding towards Maggie’s door.
    “If I’m lucky? An hour or two. I’ll just keep giving her baths as she needs them, and then bring her into bed with me when I come up later.”
    “You’re going to be tired tomorrow.”
    “Nothing I haven’t been before, I can assure you,” she said dryly. “Parenthood and exhaustion are synonymous, didn’t you know?”
    A shuttered expression crossed Gareth’s eyes, so fast it