His Nanny Mate By Eve Above Story

Chapter 20: The Banquet
Moana

The day of the Morgan family dinner banquet finally came. Selina informed me that anyone attending these banquets was expected to dress formally, so I found a nice, dark blue dress with bows in Ella’s closet and dressed her up with cute socks and shoes, then curled her hair and put a big bow in it. She seemed to have completely forgotten Kelly’s rude comments at the luncheon the week before, and if she didn’t forget, she at least didn’t seem to let it bother her.

“Wow! My hair’s so curly!” Ella said, bobbing her head to make her curls bounce. “Thank you, Moana!”

I smiled at the little girl in the mirror and squeezed her shoulders. All of a sudden, her gaze slipped over to my outfit, and her smile faded.

“Are you going to dress up?” she asked.

I looked down at my own outfit with a slight frown. I had chosen the nicest clothes I owned that were also appropriate for a nanny at a family gathering: a simple dress, low heeled shoes, and no jewelry so as not to stand out too much. I thought I looked perfectly fine for my status, but now that Ella pointed it out, I felt incredibly plain.

“Oh… I’m just wearing this,” I said with a shrug.

“Nonsense.”

I looked up to see Selina standing in the doorway. Her lips were pressed into a thin line as she looked at me, shaking her head with her arms folded across her chest.

“Is this inappropriate?” I asked Selina, stepping away from Ella to show my full outfit.

Selina sighed. “It’s fine, but you can wear something a little nicer. You’re a pretty girl, but it makes you look homely.”

never mentioned my appearance before, save for the night of the interview. She seemed a bit shocked, herself, when she

“We’ll take care

the hall. I jogged after her,

“Now, let’s see…”

although I could hear her muttering to herself and the sounds of her

a long

she said, holding it out to me. “The green will complement your complexion

a light cotton material,

up to myself and turning to look in the hallway mirror. “Does this

said, taking me by surprise. When I looked at her, I noticed that her aging cheeks were a bit red and

I was taken aback by the grumpy old housekeeper’s kindness. For a moment, I imagined her as a young woman wearing

right — it suited my coloring perfectly, and brought out the green in my eyes. Although it was a dress that was appropriate for a nanny, it was still a bit s*xy and showed off my curves, and I was surprised

my hair and then pulled it back into a half-bun before giving me minimal makeup, with dark red lipstick that made me feel attractive. Once they

fleeting moment. I felt my heart pulse suddenly as he looked at me, and for a brief moment, I felt Mina’s presence inside of me, as though the way he looked at me made my wolf stir. Just as quickly as it began, however, it was over. Edrick looked away, returning to his usual

dozens of garden courtyards with fountains and marble sculptures. As we entered the foyer, I couldn’t help but feel out of place in such an

cousins who all doted on her, and who also barely paid me any attention — not that I minded — before we were even able to take our seats

“Come here, Ella.”

beside Verona; judging from the steely gray eyes and

“Hello, Grandpa.”

had worried, stood Kelly — and the way that her eyes widened when she saw me told me

Kelly. Across from me sat Edrick and Verona, with Edrick’s father — I discovered his name

don’t like duck,” Ella whispered into my ear, making a face

a gentle smile. “You can

as she swirled her wine around in her glass,

aback by the curt question and didn’t know how to respond; Verona, however,

said with a wink. “I’m so glad you were able