Utterly Yours (Book Two) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) by Alexa Brookes

Chapter 1
     
                  Nathaniel Lynch trudged onward, dragging his feet towards the exit where he had parked his rental car.  He had been in Troy, New York –his hometown, for about a week now building up his reputation.  Now a self-made multi-billionaire, he was looking to give back to his community.  While he now called California home, he always was fond of Troy.  True, the only real reason he was building a shelter was to attempt to relieve his broken reputation as a playboy womanizer, but he had honestly enjoyed the past week giving back.  Plus, it was a nice break from all the madness of being a CEO.
                  His shelter had opened up one week ago, and on opening day he had spotted a beautiful woman in rags that had for whatever reason transfixed him.  There was a sense of familiarity about her that he had been unable to ignore, and he had been trying to find her all week in his spare time.  She had yet to return to the shelter, so he had been exploring Frear Park where the woman known only as “Ace” supposedly spent a lot of her time.  Nathaniel had just finished walking a majority of the park all through the night, having lost track of time.  His tired eyes felt heavy, and he loathed the thought of all of the meetings that he had to attend to that day –both over the phone with his company back home in California as well as a few meetings with volunteers for the shelter to ensure that it would stay running smoothly during his absence.
                  “Did I really just walk through the fucking park all night?” he asked himself out loud as he noticed the sun coming up over the horizon.  He spotted the park gate in the distance; it was then that the long night of walking finally brought forth a resolution; up ahead, just between him and the exit, was woman lying on a bench.  With the sun rising, she rose, and she rubbed her tired eyes.  On top of her head was a green, knitted hat that Nathaniel had come to recognize.  Nathaniel smiled as the only name he currently knew her by left his mouth, “Ace.”
                  The woman jolted upright, still rubbing her tired eyes.  He scorned himself silently –had she really been sleeping right in front of the park exit this entire time?  He shook his head, realizing he had probably entered the park before she had, and he had simply missed her entering.  She looked at him.  “I’m sorry, I’ll leave,” she said, assuming he was there to kick her out now that morning had arrived.
                  “No, don’t leave,” Nathaniel said as he approached her.
                  She smiled and pointed at his t-shirt.  “Hey,” she said, “You’re one of the volunteers at that new shelter.” She grinned.  “Thank you.”
                  “Um…” Nathaniel grinned back at her.  He had spent all week looking for her, and now he didn’t know what to say.  “You’re welcome.”
                  She stood up and brushed herself off.  “What are you doing in the park so early in the morning?”
                  “Looking for you,” he said. 
                  She eyed him cautiously.  “Why?”
                  “Um…” Nathaniel was at a loss.  It wasn’t like he was going to tell her he had been obsessively fantasizing about her for a week.  “Well, you see, um…” he bit his tongue.  What was he supposed to say?  He couldn’t believe he had not thought this through more.
                  “You look familiar to me,” she said.
                  “Yes!” he said quickly, unsure as to why he was so nervous.  “That’s why I was looking for you.  I felt like I knew you when I first saw you.”
                  “So you came to the park this early in the morning just to look for me?” she questioned.
                  “Yes,” he said,