Beautifully Revealed by Bethany Bazile Read Free Book Online Page A

his eyes at me then turns to leave the room. So much for fixing our friendship, as long as I’m with Liam it’s going to be a huge obstacle in the middle of this friendship.
    ********
     
    I take a two hour nap before showering and venturing into the sitting room to find Lucas. I don’t find him there so I knock on his door. Lucas opens the door in a pair of briefs and nothing else. “Uh…sorry Luc, I thought we could go over the details for the meeting tomorrow.”
    He smiles at me , running a hand over his tight abs. Okay so he’s purposely trying to tempt me, but I feel nothing. I turn around and head into the sitting room to wait for him. Lucas doesn’t bother to get dressed and just comes out of his room with his briefcase as if he’s not practically naked.
    “Aren’t you going to get dressed?”
    “Why? Am I making you nervous?”
    “No Lucas , it’s just very inappropriate.” I’m not nervous. It’s just really disrespectful towards Liam. I don’t want to say that to Lucas because he would probably strip naked just to spite Liam.
    “You’ve see n me in less than this, Izzy.” He takes a seat at the table and I’m irritated by his ridiculous ploy to tempt me. I contemplate going into my room and leaving him out here, but I have no idea what we’re doing tomorrow so I sit across from him grudgingly.
    “So how’s Florida?” he asks.
    “Do you really care?”
    “Of course I care, you’re important to me and I want you to be happy.”
    I eye him suspiciously becau se I just don’t believe he wants me to be happy with Liam. “I am happy.”
    He nods his head and looks down at the papers in front of him , but not before I saw that look of disapproval cross his face.
    We spend most of the night going over our presentation, and by the time I get up from the table to get some rest it’s almost dawn and we need to be at our meeting at noon. Luc gives me an awkward hug at the door to my room and I hurry in, shutting the door behind me before he’s tempted to ask to sleep in my bed with me. Old habits die hard and Luc is really good at getting his way.
    ********
    I wake feeling groggy, the jet lag is taking a toll on me, and I just want to get this over with so I can come back and sleep until my flight the next morning. I dress in a pantsuit and sensible shoes. Put my hair up in a tight bun then wait for Lucas at the door.
    Our meeting goes off without a hitch and it seems everything is going as scheduled. Lucas has begun to relax and I don’t bring up Liam because I know his name will sour his mood. He talks me into spending a little time in the casino before we decide to go to dinner. I’d much rather go to my room and order room service, but Luc insisted. We won’t get the opportunity to see each other for a while so I give in and join him at the hotel’s restaurant.
    I’m almost glad that I came here until our dinner arrives, and Lucas’s phone begins to ring. He ignores it at first, but it continues to ring so he finally answers it. He turns his face to talk and judging from the tone in his voice this is bad news. He hangs up and gives me a dismal look. “Anna’s missing.”
    I sit up straight in my chair, shocked by his words. “What do you mean missing? What happened?”
    “My dad says she never came home last night and she’s not answering her cell. He didn’t want to call me until he had time to look for her, but now he’s pretty frantic.”
    “Oh my God, Lucas, I’ll call the airport and see if we can get a flight out of here.” I rush outside the restaurant while Lucas settles the bill and waits for them to box up our dinner. After several calls and quick checks on my phone I realize we won’t be able to get out of Vegas until the morning. I cancel my flight and reserve two tickets for the five a.m. flight to Chicago.
    I quickly dial Liam number because he needs to know about his mother. “Ella,” he answers on the first ring.
    “Anna’s missing ,” I say abruptly. I