One Night with A British Billionaire

Chapter One

I really hope you enjoy One Night with A British Billionaire. It's the first book I ever wrote and so it will always have a special place in my heart. 💜

Aurora's POV

"I'm back!" I hear my best friend call down the phone at me as soon as I answer her call. Her voice has a ring to it; almost like she's singing the words at me.

She's driving. I can hear the sound of the engine in the background as she speaks to me through the car's sound system.

"What do you mean you're back?"

I'm confused. She can't possibly be back. It's the middle of November. She should be sitting in a classroom, learning all about... well, whatever artist types learn about at University.

She'd been so excited when she left at the end of the summer to go to Brighton for her masters. She'd been like a small child, her eyes dancing with all the possibilities that her future held as she packed up her car and drove away.

"I've come home," Tallulah replies quickly. Too quickly.

Home? Why? What on earth is she talking about? She can't come home. What is her brother going to say?

"What about your course?" I ask because it's not like Tallulah to quit anything, least of all her education. Not when her elder brother had worked so hard to help her pay for it. Heck, he'd risked his life to get her on that course.

"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to even think about it."

I can't help but feel worried. It's not like Tallulah to not want to talk about a problem. A quiet Tallulah is usually a bad sign. Something has gone wrong. And it's bad. Really bad.

"What's wrong, Lou?"

I know I probably shouldn't ask but I can't help it. She's my best friend and I feel responsible for her. I'm her family. Almost all she has, except for her brother, Nathan.

"Absolutely nothing."

She's lying.

I can hear it in her voice. The singsong lilt has gone; her voice is timid and slightly cracked. It's very unlike her but I won't press her.

I know better than that.

She'll talk to me when she's ready. She always does in the end.

"So, I was wondering, did you ever replace me?"

"What do you mean?" Replacing Tallulah would be impossible. There's no one in the world like her.

"In the flat," Tallulah explains, "has someone else taken my old room?"

I chuckle.

"No one could ever replace you, Lou. The room is still yours, if you want it."

The truth is I haven't even thought about getting someone to take Tallulah's room. It's not like I need the rent money and I always wanted her to have somewhere to stay when she visits.