Sweet Southern Betrayal Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Law Offices of William T. Elliott III.”
    Risa stepped back on the busy sidewalk and took a good look at the tall, classically styled brick building, and deeply inhaled, steadying herself and banishing the butterflies fluttering in her belly. She’d had the chance to calm down on the red-eye flight from Vegas to Charlotte, North Carolina and the even longer layover before boarding a puddle-jumper to Roanoke, Virginia, but the minute her high heels hit the brick walkway she felt as if it were her first night on the Vegas stage.
    Elliott, Virginia, was a lovely small town that looked like a movie set, and if what the cabbie had told her on the way over from the airport, Teague was the leading man of the film. His family had founded the town and was old money—older money than the Kennedys—and in these parts his daddy had been the king and Teague the royal prince. A far cry from what she remembered of the man she spent the night with in Vegas.
    Now she regretted the impulse to take this trip and tell him her news in person. Maybe it was something you could tell someone over the phone?
    “Don’t be a wimp, Risa.” She gave herself a mental bitch slap, her voice sounding scared and pinched even to her own ears. “You needed to get out of town and this was the perfect reason.”
    “Can I help you?” The deep male voice beside her should have made her jump, but it didn’t. Instead, every girly part inside of her responded to the low-timbred tones that had haunted her dreams for the past two weeks and left her aching and needy. It was Teague. She didn’t need to turn around to know it was true—but she did.
    “Risa?” He wore almost the exact same expression he’d had in their room in Vegas—stunned, but breathtakingly handsome. His brown hair, shot through with gold highlights, invited her to touch, and his hazel eyes matched the deepening fall colors in the trees. His skin was tan, a little flushed from his shock, but a testament to time spent out of doors and not behind the desk. The suit he wore was dark, expertly cut along his broad shoulders and slim waist—he didn’t buy it off the rack.
    “Hi, Teague.”
    “What are you doing here?”
    “Would you believe a sightseeing trip?” She tried to play it cool, but the tremor in her voice gave her away and his eyes narrowed with something that looked a lot like suspicion.
    “No.”
    “Something happened.” She stumbled over her words. The speech she’d prepared on the plane vanished from her mind. How was she going to tell him what she’d done for Big Tony on top of the crazier news she carried in an envelope in her purse? It was toss-up as to which one was worse. “I didn’t want to tell you over the phone.”
    “Are you pregnant?” He edged in closer, his voice pitching lower until it was almost a growl. His face was dark with suspicion and she involuntarily took a step back.
    “What? No!” Oh hell, she was really screwing this up. Maybe it would have been better over the phone because now Teague was in full lawyer mode, firing questions at her like the ones on her favorite TV shows.
    Only it wasn’t nearly as fun when they were directed at you.
    “Are you in trouble with the law? Because I don’t do criminal law—”
    “No, it’s not—” Lie number one.
    “Do you need money?”
    “No. I don’t need money.” Lie number two . He was reaching for his wallet again, a habit that was starting to piss her off. Damn it, there was only one way to do this.
    “We’re married.”
    That shut him up.
    Teague’s skin paled and he swayed a little on his feet. Risa reached out to grab his arm knowing exactly how he felt. She’d arrived home ready to pack her bag and get out of town, convinced that her life couldn’t get any more screwed up. But she was wrong.
    She’d actually slid down the wall into a puddle on the floor when she’d opened the letter from the State of Nevada congratulating her on becoming Mrs. William Teague Elliott IV. And