Utterly Yours (Book Three) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

time.
                  He sighed and answered the phone.  “Hello?”
                  “Nathaniel, hello,” his mother said.
                  “What’s going on, Mom?  I’m kind of in the middle of something,” he said.
                  “I can tell when you’re trying to blow me off, Nathaniel, and I do not appreciate it,” his mother replied.  “I only called to tell you that I had a lovely conversation with Eliza this morning.”
                  Nathaniel rolled his eyes.  His mother was relentless.  “Oh, really?” he asked, trying his hardest not to sound annoyed. 
                  “Yes.  As it turns out, Eliza has enrolled herself back into school,” she said.  “She never finished her degree, you see, but apparently she has decided to complete her program.”
                  “Really?” Nathaniel sat upright, quite surprised at what he was hearing.  Eliza was the party girl drop out, so this was not what he had expected.
                  “Yes.  Apparently she fancies herself an academic,” his mother said.  “Veterinary school.  The woman loves animals, apparently.”
                  “I did not take Eliza as the type to want to go to school –or at least, to go back,” Nathaniel said.
                  “You sound impressed?” his mother questioned.
                  “Well, what can I say?  I like smart women,” he said.
                  His mother laughed.  “Oh, really?  That’s an awfully different change in attitude since I last saw you.  You used to just go after floozies.”
                  “Gee, thanks, Mom,” Nathaniel said and chuckled slightly, surprised that he was laughing at all.
                  “Oh, hush,” she said.  “I think it must be a sign that you are growing up –about time.”
                  Nathaniel laughed.  Did she just make me laugh again?  Well, this is rather pleasant –a nice change of pace. “Well, it had to happen eventually,” Nathaniel retorted.
                  “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve heard you laugh like that, Nathaniel,” she said.  “I miss it.”
                  “I guess that’s your way of telling me I’ve been a little short with you lately?” Nathaniel questioned.
                  “Perhaps,” she cooed.  “But I’m glad to hear that you’re sounding a bit more like yourself.  I miss being able to have a conversation with my son that doesn’t end with us angrily hanging up on one another.”
                  “I guess things between you and I have been a little rocky since Dad died, huh?” Nathaniel asked, surprised he brought up his father at all.
                  There was a pause on the other line before she was able to reply.  “Yes, I suppose so.  Your father knew when to tell me to shut up and leave you alone.”
                  “He was always the mediator, wasn’t he?” Nathaniel said.
                  “Definitely,” she said.  “You and I are both too stubborn.  Listen, Nathaniel, I know I have really been getting on your nerves lately, but I want you to know that it’s only because I care.”
                  “That and you really want grandchildren, right?” Nathaniel asked.
                  “That too,” she said.
                  “Listen, Mom, how about this.  I’ll be back home in California soon.  Let’s you and me go to dinner.  I think it’s been a while since we’ve had a real conversation,” Nathaniel suggested, a slight smile appearing on his face.
                  “That sounds lovely,” his mother said, and he could hear the happiness in her tone.
                  They said their goodbyes, and Nathaniel hung up the phone with a