Ren picked up the clothes they’d discarded, and tossed them into the trunk where they kept an assortment of interesting costumes along with a few devilish props.

Thank you, God, for gifting me with an actor.

He reached into the wardrobe, pulled out her nightgown, and handed it to her. “As much as I hate to give you this…”

She slipped it over her head while he shoved his legs into gray silk pajama bottoms. Then he walked over to the door, gave a long-suffering sigh, and unlocked it.

“Did you read the script?” he asked as he slid back under the covers.

“I did.”

“You know, don’t you, that I’m not going to do it.”

“I know that you are.”

“Jesus, Isabel…”

“You can’t turn it down.”

“But Jesus?”

“I admit it’ll be a stretch. He was celibate and preached nonviolence. But you both love kids.”

“Especially ours.”

She smiled. “The twins are demons. You were so right.”

“They’re potty-trained demons. I held up my end of the bargain.”

“You’re very good at it.”

He silenced her with a kiss, his favorite form of conflict resolution. They held each other. While the wind howled in the chimney and the shutters rattled, they whispered their love all over again.

They’d just begun to drift off when the door creaked open and two pairs of small feet scampered across the carpet, fleeing all the monsters who lived in the dark. Ren reached out and drew the invaders into the warmth of the bed. Their mother cuddled them close. For the next few hours peace reigned in the Villa of the Angels.

About the Author

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is one of our biggest women’s fiction stars soaring onto the New York Times bestseller list with Dream a Little Dream. She’s the only four-time recipient of Romance Writer’s of America’s prestigious Favorite Book of the Year Award. Susan delights fans by touching hearts as well as funny bones with her wonderfully whimsical and modern fairy tales. A resident of the Chicago suburbs,she is also a wife and mother of two grown sons.