Chapter 21: The Secret Brother
Moana

“Uncle Ethan!” Ella jumped up and ran over to Ethan. Smiling, he picked her up and twirled her around in a circle. The quiet air of the garden became briefly filled with the sweet sound of the little girl’s giggles before he sat her back down and patted her on the head.

“I think your grandma is looking for you,” he said, to which Ella immediately perked up and took off to find Verona.

I was still sitting on the bench, utterly shocked by Ethan’s presence. “Fancy seeing you here,” he said, walking up to me and standing in front of me so that his tall body blocked the light.

“Fancy seeing you here, too,” I said, standing. “I had no idea you were related to the Morgan family.”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, running a hand through his hair. Even now, dressed in his formal attire, I could see a small smudge of paint on the artist’s left pinky. “The whole ‘Bradley’ last name is just a pseudonym. Well, sort of; it was my mother’s maiden name. I use it now to protect my true identity.”

I nodded, not sure of what to say. Ethan turned and walked over to the fountain, gesturing for me to follow, which I did.

“So… You’re Ella’s au pair, right?” Ethan asked as we slowly walked together around the garden. The summer air was still and humid, but the feeling of the cool spray coming off of the fountain was refreshing.

replied, glancing over in the direction where Ella had just gone. “I have

laden with ripe fruit. From where we stood, I could smell the citrus in the air. As we passed underneath the trees, Ethan casually reached up and plucked one. I watched as he expertly peeled the orange while keeping the peel in one long strip, then tossed the peel into a nearby shrub and handed me a slice.

Ethan said, his mouth full of orange, “I can’t think of anyone better to be Ella’s nanny. I know how much the kids at the orphanage love you.

you,” I replied. “I love Ella. She’s a

through one side of the large colonnade, where the feeling of the cold marble permeated through my sandals and cooled my feet. The arched ceilings made the sound

up here?” I asked, leaning on the railing of one side of the colonnade that looked out

a little embarrassed by it. “I still live here now, part of the time, whenever

and the sound of laughter. Through one of

for a few moments before

“Care for a dance?”

my

how,” I admitted, staring

the railing. “It’s easy. Besides, no one

hand on my waist. I felt him firmly pull me in a bit closer so that our waists were nearly

“It’s like this…”

our breathless faces hovering close enough to one another that I could smell the citrus on his breath. I felt my heart rate quicken and my face flush red again as his eyes flickered

as quickly as it happened, Ethan placed me back on my feet and stepped away

good dancer,” he said. “Some might even call you

that it would never happen; not only was I just a human, but it would also be wildly inappropriate for me to get romantically involved with

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