Free Sweet Southern Betrayal by Robin Covington Page B

“It’s a couple of hours and you’ll be great. Okay?”
    She nodded. “Okay.”
    “I need you to be okay. This is damage control. Got me?”
    She owed him this. He didn’t know just how much, but she did, and she’d have to figure out a way to make it happen.
    His warm breath caressed the skin in front of her ear as he grabbed her hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “You meet people from all over the world at the casino. This is just a group of nice ladies from a town west of Podunk who want to throw a party. I’ll be right with you the whole time.”
    “Risa! Teague! Congratulations!” Risa was grasped by the shoulders and spun around into the arms of her sister-in-law, Taylor. Over her shoulder, her mother-in-law hovered, a smile of excitement on her lips and lighting up her eyes. Whether she was thrilled to have a surprise daughter-in-law or just happy to throw a party was anyone’s guess. Marian had been very sweet on the telephone and Risa thought they could have been friends if she hadn’t tricked her son into marrying her. That news would be a major buzzkill at Thanksgiving dinner.
    Taylor loosened her hold on Risa just enough to allow her to plop a rhinestone tiara with a matching shoulder-length veil on her head. “Now you look like a bride.”
    “Wow,” she said weakly, adjusting the headpiece so she could see. It felt heavy and awkward on her head, but she tried to ignore it and smile as though she wasn’t going to throw up. It was like the first night on stage at the Gold Coast, but with cake.
    “Taylor. Mom. What’s this all about?” Teague asked, his smile tight but showing lots of teeth. He looked like a shark. “I thought we were having a small family dinner.”
    “Well, since you didn’t have a traditional wedding we decided you needed a little party to let all your friends celebrate with you.” Marian moved in and hugged Risa, her cool lips brushing against her cheek. She linked their arms together and guided them over to where the cake was now surrounded by a mass of smiling people. “You can’t deprive us of the joy of celebrating your marriage.”
    “What Mother means is that she decided to have a party so all the old biddies will stop wagging their tongues about you showing up with a wife no one ever heard of.” Taylor winked at Risa as she continued. “Here in the South we celebrate our crazy and our scandal so nobody else can use it against us.”
    “Mary-Taylor,” Marian sighed.
    “It’s true. The best defense is offense, and your new BFFs decided you needed to be offensive.”
    Marian shook her head at Risa, rolling her eyes at her daughter’s explanation. “My dear friends Dolly Cantrell and Sissy Landon agreed that we couldn’t let you head back to Las Vegas without giving you a big Elliott welcome. Especially since we don’t know how long it’s going to take you to move back here.”
    Ah, that. Another lie she had to keep straight. Teague had told his family Risa had to return to Vegas to sell her house and they weren’t sure when she would get back. They’d agreed to let a little time pass and then break the news that the marriage was done due to distance issues et cetera. Risa was going to disappear and he was fairly certain that once the marriage was over, if he played the heartbroken groom, the good people of Elliott would never openly talk about it again, at least not when he was around.
    Teague had it all under control.
    “Can I get everyone’s attention?” Lucky Landon stepped up and handed them each a glass of champagne and turned to face the crowd of guests. Jack Cantrell and Beck Sutherland, Teague’s two other best friends, and Jack’s wife, Michaela, flanked him. “Now, I don’t know if anyone was more surprised than I was when Teague showed up with a wife. I mean, who would have thought that this asshole would have snagged such a gorgeous, smart woman like Risa?”
    “Well, so far you boys have all married up!” Someone shouted from the