Page 44 of Before He Was Her Headmaster

“I’m not worried,” I snap. Except… I shiver, and Sebastian rakes his gaze down my arms, which I wrap around myself.

“We can leave early. I’ll pack us up tonight, and we can hit the road.”

I glance around the beautiful green space. “This has been the best school experience I’ve ever had. I kind of want to finish it properly. And maybe not leave a scandal in our wake, you know?”

He nods. “Just don’t leave campus. Promise me?”

“I promise.”

“Two weeks, Lily. And then you’re going to get one hell of a graduation present.”

“What are you talking about?” I drop my voice to a whisper. “Is that a dirty thing? Because I like it.”

He chuckles. “Oh, well, yes. You’ll get the celebration of your life that night. Our first night on the road. Daddy’s going to book the best hotel suite he can find. But no…” he trails off, his eyes warm. “There will be a surprise. That’s all I’m saying. So get your work done and prepare to be rewarded.”

Chapter 16

Sebastian

The last day of term is always a joyous one. It’s a bittersweet one this year, too, because it’s my last day as a teacher.

I’ve decided not to look for a new school position when Lily and I go out West. I don’t want to explain our relationship in anything but the most glowing, perfect terms. I refuse to feel shame for how much I love her or risk putting her in the spotlight.

I may teach online or at a postsecondary school. Being a college instructor has a lot of appeal. But most of all, I want to spend the next six months tending to my wife-to-be as she blossoms with our child inside her.

That’s what is next.

Today, though, I have the smallest graduation in Edgewood Academy’s history to preside over. We have one graduate, one cap and gown to organize, and there is only one guest: her grandfather’s lawyer, who came to campus.

We do it at the end of the creative writing seminar. Eight students, one headmaster, and a little parade to the auditorium, where that lawyer now sits in the front row.

Lily’s classmates applaud as she crosses the stage, shakes my hand, and receives her diploma.

I follow her down the stairs, then introduce her to her grandfather’s attorney, who draws her to the side.

“Miss Murphy, it is my pleasure to inform you that you have met the conditions of your trust fund. Your headmaster and I have communicated about the irregular circumstances of your previous allowance dispersal. I want to assure you that you will now begin receiving your annual allowance directly. When you graduate from college, you will get access to the entire trust. There are some documents for you to sign.”

Lily glances at me, and I point them to a room just off the stage.

Once we’re in the private space, he details the current balance on the accounts and the payment options. All I can see is Lily’s face, her eyes wide as saucers, as she realizes just how much money is in her inheritance.

Money her parents can never touch. That will provide for her and her children for the rest of her life. I will do that, too, but she doesn’tneedme. She’s an incredibly wealthy young woman in her own right.

My greatest hope is that she willwantme by her side, but it will always be her choice to stay with this old guy because he loves her with all of his heart.

Once the legalities are out of the way, I leave her to celebrate with her classmates. I planned the rest of the afternoon out in exacting detail: she will take her time packing up her room. I’ll finish putting my belongings in my Jeep. I've already shipped my bike to California. And as soon as the last student leaves campus today, she’s hopping in my passenger seat, and we’re hitting the highway. She’s selling her car, wanting nothing to do with that memory of how her parents doled out small parts of a trust that was rightfully hers all along.

My last stop before going to my house is the office. Madeline is drinking a glass of sherry on my couch.

“Helping yourself already?”

She grins and checks her watch. “My husband is picking me up today, but I had a few minutes to say goodbye.”

“I hope you enjoy your time as head of the school.”

“Did you?” She tilts her head to the side. “Now that you’re no longer my boss, I think I can say out loud that I wonder if you did.”

I nod. “At one time, it was the most meaningful part of my life.”

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