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.

direction where Ella had just gone. “I have been for a few weeks

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 all day, and the juices

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

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

a 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 arched ceilings

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

still live here now, part of the time, whenever I

music now, and the sound of laughter. Through one of the large draped

music, bobbing his head a bit for a few moments before

“Care for a dance?”

felt my face get

admitted, staring down at my

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

other hand on my waist. I felt him firmly pull me in a bit closer so

“It’s like this…”

a moment for a beat in 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 him. Soon enough, we were spinning around the colonnade to

final spin, Ethan dipped me. He hesitated at the bottom of the dip, 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

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

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

ridiculous and enamored at the same time. 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 one night stand