BACK WITH OUR BILLIONAIRE DADDY

CHAPTER SIX. THE MORNING AFTER

Elena woke to sunlight on her face.

For a few seconds, she didn't know where she was.

The ceiling above her was unfamiliar. So were the grey walls, the enormous windows and the sheets wrapped around her body.

Then she remembered.

The bar.

Adrian.

Last night.

Elena closed her eyes.

"Oh God."

She hadn't been drunk.

That would have made things easier.

There was no convenient haze hiding what she'd done. She remembered making the decision. Remembered following Adrian upstairs.

And she didn't regret it.

That was the part she wasn't prepared for.

Elena turned her head.

The other side of the bed was empty.

She stared at the pillow.

Of course he was gone.

They had agreed on one night.

No promises.

No expectations.

Still, she couldn't explain the small sting of disappointment.

"Ridiculous."

Elena pushed the covers aside and found her clothes neatly folded on a chair.

Her dress was wrinkled.

Her shoes were beside it.

Her phone sat on the nightstand.

Dead.

Perfect.

Her family was probably searching hospitals by now.

She hurried into the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, Elena stood in front of the mirror, trying to make herself look like a woman who hadn't discovered her fiancé with her sister and then gone home with a stranger.

It wasn't working.

She splashed cold water on her face.

"You are never doing this again."

"Doing what?"

Elena spun around.

Adrian stood in the bedroom doorway.

Fully dressed.

His sleeves were rolled to his elbows, and his hair was still slightly damp.

Two cups of coffee were in his hands.

Elena placed a hand against her chest.

"You scared me."

"Sorry."

"I thought you'd left."

Adrian raised the coffees.

"I went downstairs."

"Oh."

That irritating disappointment disappeared.

She wasn't sure whether that was better.

Adrian held one cup toward her.

"Black. Two sugars."

Elena stared at it.

"You remembered?"

"You told me last night."

"I said a lot of things last night."

"You did."

Her eyes narrowed.

"How embarrassing was I?"

A smile appeared.

"Very."

Elena groaned.

"I'm joking."

"That's not funny."

"It was a little funny."

She took the coffee from him.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Elena took a sip.

Exactly how she liked it.

She hated that she noticed.

"What time is it?"

"Almost nine."

She nearly choked.

"Nine?"

Adrian frowned. "Problem?"

"My phone is dead."

"There's a charger beside the bed."

Elena hurried toward it.

She plugged in her phone and waited.

The screen lit up.

Twenty-seven missed calls.

Her stomach dropped.

"That's bad."

Adrian glanced at the screen.

"Family?"

"Mostly."

Damien's name appeared several times.

Serena's too.

Elena immediately locked the phone.

"I need to leave."

Adrian nodded.

"I'll have Daniel bring the car around."

"No."

He paused.

"I can get a taxi."

"Elena."

"I don't need a driver."

"I know."

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because you look like you're about to run through the lobby barefoot."

Elena looked down.

She was still barefoot.

Adrian's mouth twitched.

"Don't laugh."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"A little."

She found her shoes.

"I'll call a taxi."

"Let Daniel drive you."

Elena hesitated.

She didn't want Adrian knowing where she lived.

That felt too personal after everything they'd agreed on.

"Can he take me to the Fairmont?"

Adrian's expression didn't change.

"Of course."

No questions.

She appreciated that.

Elena picked up her handbag.

The awkwardness she had been expecting finally arrived.

"So..."

"So," Adrian repeated.

She looked at him.

"Last night..."

"You don't have to explain."

"I know. I just want to make something clear."

Adrian waited.

"I don't regret it."

Something softened in his expression.

"Neither do I."

"But I meant what I said."

"No expectations."

"Exactly."

"Understood."

Elena nodded.

That should have made everything simple.

Instead, she felt strangely disappointed again.

She ignored it.

"Thank you," she said.

"For the coffee?"

"For listening."

Adrian became serious.

"And for not making last night..." She searched for the right word. "Ugly."

"It wasn't ugly."

Their eyes met.

For one dangerous second, Elena remembered exactly why she'd gone upstairs with him.

She looked away first.

"I should go."

Adrian walked her to the elevator.

When the doors opened, Elena stepped inside.

Then Adrian spoke.

"Do you want my number?"

Her finger hovered over the button.

This was the moment.

Taking his number would change the rules.

Elena shook her head.

"No."

Adrian didn't look offended.

"Okay."

She frowned slightly.

"You're not going to ask for mine?"

"If you wanted me to have it, you'd give it to me."

There he went again.

Making everything easy when she expected him to make it difficult.

Elena smiled faintly.

"Goodbye, Adrian."

"Goodbye, Elena."

The doors began closing.

At the last second, she looked at him again.

He was still watching her.

Then the doors shut between them.

Elena leaned against the elevator wall and released a slow breath.

One night.

That was all it had been.

By tomorrow, Adrian would return to his life, and she would begin repairing hers.

They had no numbers.

No plans.

No reason to ever see each other again.

And that was exactly how Elena wanted it.