Nanny and the Alpha Daddy

Nanny and the Alpha Daddy
#Chapter 20: The Banquet
Moana

The day of the Morgan family dinner banquet finally came. Selina informed me that anyone attending these banquets was expected to dress formally, so I found a nice, dark blue dress with bows in Ella’s closet and dressed her up with cute socks and shoes, then curled her hair and put a big bow in it. She seemed to have completely forgotten Kelly’s rude comments at the luncheon the week before, and if she didn’t forget, she at least didn’t seem to let it bother her.

“Wow! My hair’s so curly!” Ella said, bobbing her head to make her curls bounce. “Thank you, Moana!”

I smiled at the little girl in the mirror and squeezed her shoulders. All of a sudden, her gaze slipped over to my outfit, and her smile faded.

“Are you going to dress up?” she asked.

I looked down at my own outfit with a slight frown. I had chosen the nicest clothes I owned that were also appropriate for a nanny at a family gathering: a simple dress, low heeled shoes, and no jewelry so as not to stand out too much. I thought I looked perfectly fine for my status, but now that Ella pointed it out, I felt incredibly plain.

“Oh… I’m just wearing this,” I said with a shrug.

“Nonsense.”

I looked up to see Selina standing in the doorway. Her lips were pressed into a thin line as she looked at me, shaking her head with her arms folded across her chest.

“Is this inappropriate?” I asked Selina, stepping away from Ella to show my full outfit.

Selina sighed. “It’s fine, but you can wear something a little nicer. You’re a pretty girl, but it makes you look homely.”

I blushed at the housekeeper’s sudden kind words. She had never mentioned my appearance before, save for the night of the interview. She seemed a bit shocked, herself, when she finished speaking, and both of our faces turned a slight tinge of red.

“Come,” she said, quickly turning on her heel. “We’ll take care of this. Hurry up! You haven’t got all day.”

With that, Selina disappeared down the hall. I jogged after her, ignoring Ella’s giggles.

“Now, let’s see…”

could hear her muttering to herself and the

from a large closet in the hallway holding a long dress.

holding it out to me. “The green

cotton material, perfect for

myself and turning to look in the hallway mirror. “Does this belong to

was your age, actually,” Selina said, taking me by surprise. When I looked at her, I noticed that her aging cheeks were a bit red and she quickly averted

was taken aback by the grumpy old housekeeper’s kindness. For a moment, I imagined her as a

my eyes. Although it was a dress that was appropriate for a nanny, it was

hair and then pulled it back into a half-bun before giving me minimal makeup, with dark red lipstick that made me feel attractive. Once they were finished, I felt like

I emerged with Ella’s hand in mine, Edrick’s eyes became transfixed on me for a fleeting moment. I felt my heart pulse suddenly as he looked at me, and for a brief moment, I felt Mina’s presence inside of me,

of rooms, countless staff, and dozens of garden courtyards with fountains and marble sculptures. As we entered the foyer, I couldn’t help but feel out of place in such an expensive mansion, and wondered to myself how huge the Morgan family must have been for them to need such

accosted by older aunts and uncles and cousins who all doted on her, and who also barely paid me any attention — not that I minded — before we were even

“Come here, Ella.”

the rest. I looked up to see an older man standing beside Verona; judging from the steely gray eyes and his tall, thin build, he was Edrick’s father. Ella, somewhat nervously,

“Hello, Grandpa.”

side, just as I had worried, stood Kelly — and the way that her eyes widened when she saw me

began, and I found myself seated between Ella and Kelly. Across from me sat Edrick and Verona, with Edrick’s father — I discovered his name was Michael

Ella whispered into my ear, making a face at

with a gentle smile. “You can

she swirled her wine

taken aback by the curt question and didn’t know how to respond; Verona,

said with a wink. “I’m so glad you were able to come. Aren’t you, dear?” she said, turning to her

slowly chewed his duck, eyeing me up and down for several painfully long moments before swallowing. “Hmph,” he said, before promptly turning toward Edrick. “Edrick, have