Nanny and the Alpha Daddy

#Chapter 81: Glowing

Moana

I was still utterly shocked that Edrick wanted to take me out shopping so soon after the tabloid incident, but the next morning, he was waiting for me in the living room when I came out of my room. He was dressed well, although much more casually than normal in a white Polo shirt and trousers. He had a mask and a pair of sunglasses in his hand, and I realized that he would be mostly unrecognizable dressed like this in public with his face covered.

As I walked up to him, however, I noticed that he had a second mask in his hand. He held it out to me. “You’ll have to wear this,” he said. “Now that people have seen your face, you’ll have to be more cautious in public.”

Admittedly, I felt a little bit hurt that we still had to be so secretive, but I finally understood where he was coming from and took the mask without fuss. As we walked over to the foyer, I also made sure to grab my sunhat along with my purse; the hat would cover my easily recognizable hair, at least a little bit. Edrick seemed pleased with this decision, and we put our disguises on before we even stepped out of the elevator in the lobby. With his mask and sunglasses on and dressed so casually, he really did look like a completely different person.

Edrick drove us to a shopping mall that I had never been to — a different one from before. This one wasn’t an outdoors strip mall like the one that he took me to for baby supplies, but was rather a large indoor mall. As we stepped through the big glass doors, I felt awed by the massive fountains, lush greenery, and big glass ceilings. All of the other people walking around seemed to be wealthy; even the groups of teenagers strutting around were dressed impeccably well in designer clothing, and I felt rather out of place in my simple dress and sandals.

Edrick and I walked around for a bit before stopping at a children’s clothing store first. The prices were expensive, so I only picked out a few things: a simple cotton dress, a light sweater since summer would be coming to an end soon, and a few little onesies for the baby. Edrick was mostly quiet the entire time, occasionally wandering off to look at some things on his own before returning to me. When I was finished, I approached the counter and dug into my purse for my wallet.

“I’ll pay,” Edrick said, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and extracting his black credit card from one of the slots.

I shook my head vehemently and put my hand up to stop him, ignoring the cashier’s confused glances as she rang up my things and folded them neatly.

“It’s alright,” I insisted. “I want to pay myself.”

but didn’t say anything else until we walked out of the

let me

want to purchase some things for our baby as well,” I replied. “It doesn’t feel right letting

same, isn’t it?” he asked. “I do pay your

often, I was reminded that he did indeed pay my salary. It was a little embarrassing, being paid by the father of my child,

exorbitant than the first store, and as I looked at the price tags, I immediately felt out of place. Even the

sales associates said with a warm smile. “Can I help you find

to respond, but before I could, Edrick chimed in. “Yes,” he said. “She needs a nice dress

said, glancing at my belly. “I think I know of a few styles that will look lovely on you. If you’d like to go and wait by the fitting rooms and take a seat, I’ll bring them to you. Let me just take some measurements first…” She grabbed the measuring tape from around her neck and took measurements around my bust, my belly, and the length from my shoulder to my ankles before directing us over to the fitting rooms. I felt even more out of place now;

quietly by the fitting rooms while the saleswoman ran around and gathered several dresses. As she approached, I could already tell that they were all of the highest quality, and I knew I wouldn’t be

could protest, however, the saleswoman

you need any assistance,” she said

all as you try them on,” he said, momentarily moving to run

the next one. This went on for awhile as I continued to try the increasingly luxurious — and

a high quality silk, smooth and heavy, and cool to the touch. It hugged my curves in all of the right places, but the silhouette was just right around my waist so it didn’t emphasize my pregnant belly too much. I felt a gasp catch in my throat as I looked in the mirror and noticed how the skirt flowed when I moved and how the sage green color of the dress enhanced the glow of my pregnancy, but then I saw the price tag and felt my

in there?” Edrick called