Low Country Liar by Janet Dailey Read Free Book Online

she chose a creamy blue dress. Its simple lines flowed smoothly over the bodice to her waist before flaring into a full skirt. Its style and color made her look petite and dainty, an appearance of fragility that was deceiving and a definite contrast to the bold outfit she had worn earlier.
    Reapplying her makeup, Lisa was adding the finishing touches of mascara to her lashes when she noticed the way the blue color of her dress accented the green of her eyes. Only last night Mitzi had made the comment that her eyes were Lisa's most striking feature.
    Two women with the same unusual shade of green eyes would definitely be noticed by Slade Blackwell.
    But how on earth could she change the color of her eyes, Lisa wondered frantically.
    Breathing in sharply, she dropped the mascara wand on the dressing table and raced into the bedroom proper. Her bag was on the bed where she had left it. Lisa opened it and dumped the contents, wig and all, onto the bedspread, scattering them around until she found her sunglasses.
    Quickly she slipped on the large, wrap-around glasses and dashed back to the mirror. The lenses didn't conceal her eyes with the reflecting ability of some mirrorlike sunglasses, but the smoky-blue tint did mask the color of her eyes.
    "Praise be," Lisa murmured in satisfaction.
    Dressed and with every potential problem countered, she had no more reason to linger in her room. At the top of the stairs she hesitated, hearing the low voices coming from-the living room. She pressed a hand against her jittery stomach, trying to quiet the butterfly sensation.
    Her palms were clammy with nervousness. She couldn't put off the moment of truth. Fighting the traitorous weakness in her knees, she descended the stairs and entered the living room.
    "There you are, Lisa. I—" Mitzi's bright exclamation ended abruptly as a frown dressed her forehead. Lisa was conscious of Slade Blackwell courteously rising to meet her, but she kept her attention on her aunt. "Why are you wearing sunglasses at this hour? Mitzi queried with astonishment.
    "Working so much of the time in the television studio around all those bright lights, my eyes have become sensitive to too much light. After being in the sun all day, my eyes started to bother me." Lisa was becoming certain she was a natural-born liar. "A specialist recommended that I wear sunglasses whenever that happened."
    "You never mentioned it," her aunt queried.
    "It isn't a serious problem. More of an inconvenience than anything," Lisa assured her, and turned to meet Slade Blackwell. She had been covertly watching him ever since she entered the room, but she had not detected any glimmer of recognition of her as Ann Eldridge in his dark gaze. "You must be Slade Blackwell." A full smile parted her lips as she walked toward him, extending a hand in greeting. "I'm Lisa Talmadge, Mitzi's niece."
    "So I guessed." He returned her smile with one of his own.
    The warmth it gave to his hard features was astounding. It seemed to slowly draw her breath away. Lisa realized how very potent his charm could be when he turned it on, as he was doing now. Her hand was lost in the firm grip of his, being held longer than was necessary. It created a disturbing sensation in the pit of her stomach.
    "Mitzi described you perfectly as a beautiful, intelligent blonde, but she didn't mention that you had cold hands," he mocked, the velvet quality of his voice taking any sting from his comment.
    "Cold hands, warm heart," her aunt quipped from the side.
    "I think it's a sign of poor circulation," Lisa denied her aunt's allegation, and determinedly withdrew her hand from his warm grasp.
    She had felt herself beginning to warm to him. Seeing this side of him, she could well understand how her aunt, who was so sentimental and romantic, had been taken in by Slade Blackwell's charm. The secret, Lisa believed, was to stay out of range of that magnetic forcefield radiating around him. His physical attraction was a bit overwhelming