Nanny and the Alpha Daddy

#Chapter 160: A Scene Worth Painting

Moana

On the day of the painting class, Ella and I were both elated. Edrick kept his promise and took the day off of work, and after breakfast we were on our way.

The class was held in a beautiful park in the uptown area of the city by a lake. Edrick parked the car on the street and we each held one of Ella’s hands as we walked over. I couldn’t help but smile as we approached, with my plein air easel folded up and tucked under my arm. The air that day was beautiful with a nice breeze, and as we approached the little lake I could see that it was teeming with all sorts of wildlife: ducks swimming around in search of breadcrumbs, little frogs jumping off of lily pads, and turtles sunning themselves on floating logs. The lake was surrounded by large weeping willow trees whose long fronds swayed in the breeze. It really was like a picture straight out of a storybook.

As we approached, there was already a group of other families gathered by the picnic area. A woman was standing at the front of the group and setting up a demonstration easel facing the lake, and while she did, I noticed that the other children were running around like wild little animals.

I didn’t blame the children for acting so rambunctiously. There was a spread laid out on one of the tables filled with all kinds of fruit and sweets, and it seemed as though the children already had their fair share of sugar. Even Ella, who normally would have been excited to play with other kids, halted in her tracks and looked up at Edrick and me with an apprehensive look on her little face. Even she was a bit taken aback by the sheer amount of energy surrounding the place; it seemed like some of the parents were genuinely trying to wrangle their children, but some other parents also seemed to be ignoring their kids as though this was more of a romantic date for them to go on while their kids could run amok around the lake.

“Hello!” the teacher called, waving at us excitedly as we walked up to join the group. She looked down at my easel, and her smile widened. “It looks like you brought your own supplies! Are you a painter?”

I felt myself blush as the other attendees turned to look at me. A couple of werewolf women gave me snide looks. I could only imagine what they were thinking about a family of a wealthy and famous CEO with his supposedly human fiancee, their half-breed daughter and the half-breed baby growing in her belly. With our security guard standing a little ways away and the fact that our faces had been plastered all over the news recently, I knew that the other couples recognized us. The teacher, however, thankfully treated us just like everyone else with kindness and warmth.

I shrugged in response to the teacher’s question. “I wouldn’t consider myself much of an artist, but I do draw and paint sometimes,” I said, wanting to be humble.

a lie!” Ella suddenly chimed in. “She’s really good at art! She even

class.” She said it in a joking manner, but it made me blush even harder; not

which was placed next to Edrick’s. I was slightly behind the two of

children were still too rambunctious. The teacher patiently tried to get their attention, but it didn’t seem to be working since most of the parents weren’t paying much attention. I felt a little bit bad about it

and Ella both shot me a concerned look almost in unison,

group of children who were now on the verge of wrestling in the dirt next to the lake, “it’s time to start painting. Don’t you want to have a souvenir to bring

wonder if it was an ability of mine. But pacifying children wasn’t a

along,” I said with a smile. “Let’s go

kids seemed to be listening. They calmed down and made their way over to join their parents, and as they did, the teacher, Edrick, and many of the other parents looked at me with

to paint a scene of the lake in front of us. She began by teaching

focusing so hard on their paintings, and I noticed now for the first time that they were both left-handed. Between the little bow on Ella’s sun hat and the way that Edrick’s white shirt rippled in the breeze, it was too beautiful of a scene for me to

so, I added a little something extra to my

in front of everyone’s easels and pointed out to the class how beautifully they did — she

as she looked at what I had painted; I had

looked over

is gorgeous,” she said. “You were being too humble earlier.