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.”

at the housekeeper’s sudden kind words. She had never mentioned my appearance before, save for the night of the interview. She seemed a bit shocked, herself, when she finished speaking, and both

take care of this. Hurry up! You

disappeared down the hall. I jogged after her, ignoring Ella’s

“Now, let’s see…”

not knowing where Selina went although I could hear her muttering to herself and the sounds of her digging through something. “Hmm…

a large closet in the hallway holding a long dress. It was a

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

It felt like a light cotton material, perfect for the summer heat,

said, holding the dress up to myself and turning to look in the hallway mirror. “Does this belong to one

me by surprise. When I looked at her, I noticed that

grumpy old housekeeper’s kindness. For a moment, I imagined her as a young

perfectly, and brought out the green in my eyes. Although it was a dress that was appropriate for a nanny, it was still

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 were finished, I felt like an entirely new

for a 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

and marble sculptures. As we entered the foyer, I couldn’t help but feel out of place in such an expensive mansion, and wondered

family was enormous. Ella was immediately accosted by older aunts and uncles and 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

“Come here, Ella.”

up to see an older man standing beside Verona; judging from the steely gray eyes and his tall, thin

“Hello, Grandpa.”

Kelly — and the way that her

I discovered his name was Michael — sitting at the closest end of the

my ear, making a face at

I responded with a gentle smile.

attention as she swirled her wine around in her glass, “is such a dress suitable for

taken aback by the curt question and didn’t know how to respond;

wink. “I’m so glad you were able to come. Aren’t you, dear?” she