His Final Bargain. Melanie Milburne

harder to say anything. She hadn’t wanted to risk what little time she had left with him. So she had pushed it from her mind. Her life back in England was someone else’s life. Another girl was engaged to poor broken Ewan—it wasn’t her.

      The day before she was meant to leave, Leo had taken her to a fabulous restaurant they had eaten in previously. He had booked a private room and had dozens of red roses delivered. Candles lit the room from every corner. Champagne was waiting in a beribboned silver ice bucket. A romantic ballad was playing in the background…

      Eliza hastily backtracked out of her time travel. She hated thinking about that night; how she had foolishly deluded herself into thinking he’d been simply giving her a grand send-off to remember him by. Of course he had been doing no such thing. Halfway through the delicious meal he had presented her with a priceless-looking diamond. She had sat there staring at it for a long speechless moment.

      And then she had looked into his eyes and said no.

      ‘Have you heard the exciting news?’ Georgie said as soon as Eliza got to school the following day. ‘We’re not closing. A rich benefactor has been found at the last minute. Can you believe it?’

      Eliza put her bag in the drawer of her desk in the staffroom. ‘That’s wonderful.’

      ‘You don’t sound very surprised.’

      ‘I am,’ Eliza said, painting on a smile. ‘I’m delighted. It’s a miracle. It truly is.’

      Georgie perched on the edge of the desk and swung her legs back and forth as if she was one of the seven-year-olds she taught. ‘Marcia can’t or won’t say who it is. She said the donation was made anonymously. But who on earth hands over a million pounds like loose change?’

      ‘Someone who has a lot of money, obviously.’

      ‘Or an agenda.’ Georgie tapped against her lips with a fingertip. ‘I wonder who he is. It’s got to be a he, hasn’t it?’

      ‘There are female billionaires in the world, you know.’

      Georgie stopped swinging her legs and gave Eliza a pointed look. ‘Do you know who it is?’

      Eliza had spent most of her childhood masking her feelings. It was a skill she was rather grateful for now. ‘How could I if the donation was made anonymously?’

      ‘I guess you’re right.’ Georgie slipped off the desk as the bell rang. ‘Are you heading down to Suffolk for the summer break?’

      ‘Um…not this time. I’ve made other plans.’

      Georgie’s brows lifted. ‘Where are you going?’

      ‘Abroad.’

      ‘Can you narrow that down a bit?’

      ‘Italy.’

      ‘Alone?’

      ‘Yes and no,’ Eliza said. ‘It’s kind of a busman’s holiday. I’m filling in for a nanny who needs to take some leave.’

      ‘It’ll be good for you,’ Georgie said. ‘And it’s not as if Ewan will mind either way, is it?’

      ‘No…’ Eliza let out a heavy sigh. ‘He won’t mind at all.’