His Nanny Mate (Moana and Edrick Morgan) novel Chapter 142

#Chapter 142: Family Debut

Moana

The next morning was the day of the picnic. I woke up feeling a bit nauseous, although I was unsure as to whether it was from the nerves of the upcoming event or simple morning sickness. Either way, I felt as though I needed to drag myself out of bed, but Edrick was kind and supportive along the way.

After eating a quick breakfast, I felt much better and got ready. I put on a comfortable, light sundress and a pair of flat shoes, then pulled my hair back into a bun and put on a very small amount of makeup. I dressed Ella in a pair of overalls and sneakers so she could play with other children. The entire time, she chattered nonstop about how excited she was to meet other children, and it made me smile. Even though I wasn’t particularly excited about this event myself, I was happy that Ella would have a chance to meet other kids, and I hoped that she would have plenty of opportunities to make even more friends in the future. After all, it was about time that she finally had a chance to socialize with other kids her age. She couldn’t stay cooped up in a big penthouse forever.

Once we were all ready, Edrick, Ella and I headed down to the car, where the driver was waiting. Soon enough, we were on our way. Ella swung her legs happily in her car seat and asked a million questions about what sort of food, games, and other children would be at the event. And much to my surprise, Edrick answered all of her questions quite patiently. It really did feel as though the Alpha billionaire had gained a lot of patience with Ella over the past few months.

Finally, we arrived at the park where the picnic would be held. It was a much smaller event, and I was grateful to see that there were a lot of security guards who were keeping the paparazzi away. Because of this, the three of us got out of the car and made our way over to the park with no hassle. Ella walked between Edrick and I, holding each of our hands. It reminded me of the day that we went to the theme park, when she tricked the workers into thinking that Edrick and I were both her biological parents.

The park was also beautiful. I had never been to this specific park before, as it was located in the uptown area of the city. The park was surrounded by a tall brick fence covered in moss and vines, and the pathways were lined with cherry trees that I imagined were a beautiful shade of pink in the springtime. As we walked along the pathway and toward the center of the park where everyone was gathered, I thought to myself that I would have to come back here in the spring to see the cherry blossoms. At the center of the park, there was a beautiful green gazebo with a rounded roof on top. There was a microphone standing at the top of the gazebo steps, and there were folding chairs lined up in front of it. People were sitting in the chairs as well as mingling around, glasses of ice cold lemonade already in hand. In the distance, beneath a cluster of weeping willow trees, there were dozens of covered round tables and a long buffet with covered dishes. I could see workers running around in a bit of a frenzy as they finished preparations.

However, despite how happy it made me to be out with Ella and Edrick on a beautiful sunny morning, I felt my anxiety begin to bubble up to the surface when I saw everyone’s eyes start to land on us. There were a lot of employees and other business partners at the picnic, and as we entered, everyone turned to look at us. I could see some people whispering as they looked at Ella and myself, but it felt different this time compared to the last event; of course, there were plenty of people who seemed to be judging Ella and myself, but there were even more people who were smiling and waving at Ella. Ella waved back, grinning from ear to ear.

“Look, Moana!” she exclaimed, pointing toward a playground area. “Swings! Can I play on them?”

“Daddy has to give a speech first, Princess,” Edrick said. “Then you can play as much as you want.”

Ella seemed pleased with this. However, it also seemed that some people overheard the brief exchange, and they seemed puzzled. I quickly realized that it was because Ella had referred to me by my first name instead of calling me her mom.