Page 41 of Before He Was Her Headmaster

My heart leaps in my chest. “That’s fucking fantastic.”

“What?”

Goddamn it. I need to contain my reaction. “Unless it isn’t what you want…?”

“No, it is, but—” She blinks at me. Wide-eyed, unsure.

I wipe away her tear and kiss her mouth, not caring at all where we are or officially what my role is. “I put a baby in your belly?”

A tremulous smile spreads across her face. “You did.”

“I’m the luckiest man in the world, Lily. Fucking hell.”

“You swear a lot for a headmaster.”

“I’m not a headmaster when I’m with you. I’m the man who got to put a baby in your belly.”

“You keep saying that.” She giggles, then covers my hand as we both stroke her still flat tummy.

“And I’m going to do it again, and again, and—” I cut myself off.

“I don’t know. I want to go to school, too.”

“You’ll do that. I’ll take care of the kids while you study your little heart out.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“I’d do anything and everything to make your dreams come true.” I shift my position so I’m properly on one knee in front of her. The solitaire ring I got her is carefully tucked away in my house, so for now, I can only offer her my promise. “Tell me this is your dream, too. Tell me you want to wear my ring and have my babies.”

She nods. “I do.”

There’s a crash in the outer office, and I reluctantly stand up, knowing that I still need to do my job for a few more weeks.

Outside, I find the secretary chastising Stacey for making a mess of the student files. I hold my hands out and glance between the two of them. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes, sir,” Stacey mutters, not meeting my gaze. “I—” She turns on her heel and runs out the door.

I exchange a look with the secretary, who mutters something about hissy fits. I wince apologetically, then go back into my office.

Lily is standing in front of the couch, the blanket in her hands. “What was it?”

I want to tell her it was nothing, convince her to go back to napping. But her expression warns me she won’t be put off. “Stacey had a quarrel with—”

The blanket falls to her feet, forgotten. Her face is pale. “Stacey knows I’m pregnant. She heard me throwing up this morning. I swear, that girl has superhuman ears. And I bet she heard us talking just now. I have to find her.”

Chapter 15

Lily

Stacey isn’t in the outer office or the main hallway. I run out the back door and across the quad, making a beeline to our dorm. Her room is one floor up from mine, and when I get there, I find her door ajar.

I knock first, then push it open.

She’s lying on her bed, facing the window.

“Can I come in?”

She doesn’t answer. Which is not a no, I guess.

---