His Nanny Mate By Eve Above Story

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.

in the direction where Ella had just gone. “I have been

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. It was warm and sweet from being in the sun

better to be Ella’s nanny. I know how much the kids at the orphanage love you. Ella certainly seems to

smile widened. “Thank you,” I replied. “I love

bit more around the garden, then passed through one side of the large colonnade, where the feeling of the cold marble permeated through my sandals and cooled my feet. The

asked, leaning on the railing of one side of the colonnade that looked out over even more

it. “I still live here now, part of the time, whenever I need to have

around, leaning backwards on the railing now, and looked up at the palace behind us. The party sounded as though it had gotten more lively inside; I could hear music now, and the sound of laughter. Through one of the large draped windows that led

for a few moments before turning toward me and holding his

“Care for a dance?”

felt my face

admitted, staring down at my

from the railing. “It’s easy. Besides, no one is here to see

shoulder, then placed his other hand

“It’s like this…”

the music, then stepped to the left, then the right, and backwards and forwards. Surprisingly, with him leading me, it was easy to move along with

dip, our breathless faces hovering close enough to one another that I could smell the citrus

it happened, Ethan placed me back on my feet and stepped away with a bow

dancer,” he said. “Some might even call

My heart still pounded from our near-kiss, but I knew 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 the brother of my