Holiday Illusion Read Online Free PDF Page B

the floor—hard. The door beside her opened, then swung shut. Retreating footsteps, the main door whooshing, then silence—broken only by the sound of her harsh, hiccupping breathing.
    Her mind screamed at her to get up and chase him. Don’t let him get away with this! But fear had her paralyzed. Nausea swirled. Fortunately she didn’t have to go far to lose what little she’d eaten that day.
    Then she got mad. Mad at herself for caving in to the fear. Furious at her weakness but still shaking, she opened the stall door and stepped out. Whispering a prayer, she gathered every ounce of courage, strode to the main door and yanked it open. She looked up one hall, then down the other.
    Nothing.
    At least, no one wearing the clothing she had glimpsed.
    Okay, she was back to square one. The whole reason she’d entered the bathroom in the first place. She needed to pull herself together so she could go meet with Justin. And she needed to rinse her mouth. Lord, I’m going crazy here. How did he know I was here? There’s no way anyone can know. Justin is the only one.
    By the time she stepped out of the hospital, after another deep breath, she had herself relatively collected. And she had a few questions for Justin.
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    Lucas headed to the car to wait for Anna to join him. Shoving his hands in his pockets to protect them against the cold, he made a mental note to purchase a pair of gloves as soon as possible.
    Paper crinkled in his palm and he pulled it out to stare at the tract the teen from the airport had given him. The title caught his eye. God has a plan for your life. Hmm. Well, so far the plan wasn’t exactly working out, in his opinion.
    Maybe that’s because you haven’t given God a chance to direct it.
    Whoa. Where had that thought come from? But then he realized it was true. He’d been pushing God away for so long, was it any wonder his life was upside down? Oh, it wasn’t terrible. Brazil had been a definite improvement over what he’d left behind, he just felt…incomplete, like something was missing.
    Like a relationship with Anna?
    Or, more likely, a relationship with God?
    â€œHey Lucas!”
    The shout brought his head around to see Mark coming toward him and he felt a huge sense of relief at the distraction from his thoughts. The smile on the man’s face eased his instant worry that something had gone wrong with Paulo again. Mark reached him, saying, “I thought that was you.”
    â€œI’m waiting on Anna. What’s up?”
    â€œDo you think you’ll have any free time in the next couple days?”
    Lucas thought. His main purpose for coming home was to be there for Paulo. And to reconcile with his father. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, no matter how much he tried to forget the reason he’d taken off for Brazil three years ago, the past still hurt and he wanted to somehow make it right. He’d be here a while. “Sure, I probably can arrange it, why?”
    Mark gave a shrug. “Just thought we could get together for lunch or something, you know, catch up with each other.” He gave Lucas a playful punch in the arm. “Hey, man, I’ve missed you.”
    And Lucas had missed his best friend. Much more than he’d realized. “Lunch it is. Just name the place and the time.”
    â€œWell, it might end up being hospital fare, but at least the company will be interesting.”
    Offering Mark a grin, he agreed. Then he looked up to see Anna coming his way, beautiful as always…and pale, shaken, like something was wrong. He frowned, reaching for her hand as she approached him. The smile she pushed to her lips for Mark was forced and Lucas squeezed her fingers. She looked up at him. “Are you ready?”
    â€œReady when you are.” He got the message. Questions could wait until later. He nodded to Mark. “Give me a call.”
    â€œYou got it.”
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    Since their meal