Hating Christmas (Holiday Series) Read Online Free Page A

that was starting to get on his son’s nerves.
“Audrey’s been cooking all morning.”
    ***
    Silence filled the awkward space between Holly and
Levi, Michael having shooed her and his son into the living area
while the older couple cleaned off the table, saying they should
talk about all the acquaintances they had in common.
    Holly tried not to snort at this. She’d put together
the pieces, and she knew better than anyone that she and Levi
didn’t generally occupy the same territory. Michael’s son just
happened to be Levi Harper, big time agent to many of the
up-and-coming stars and starlets in the film industry. Not to
mention several really big established names.
    And he just happened to be the agent for Mac Toledo,
who Holly had a signed contract that he’d with to work with her in
this Zambian documentary. Although Levi was Mac’s agent, he and
Holly hadn’t had any dealings. Bless his soul, Mac had a conscience
about the less-fortunate in this world and he’d already signed a
contract to work for scale.
    Levi now seated himself on her mother’s vintage plaid
sofa, crossing one elegantly-shod foot over the other, looking
polite, but bored. “So, you make documentaries?”
    “I would guess you don’t give a crap about what I
do.” Holly tried to keep the derision out of her voice as she
smiled at him. They had different agendas, different working styles
and different investments in the business side of film-making.
There wasn’t any point in getting nasty about this, but she didn’t
think they needed to pretend like they had much to say to one
another. She didn’t think he came into her dealings with Mac
Toledo. At least she hoped not.
    “I wouldn’t say I don’t give a crap,” Levi murmured,
his dark brows lifted.
    “Let’s don’t act like we have anything in common
because we know differently.” She sat back in the matching plaid
chair, switching the topic without hesitation to the larger concern
at hand. “What do you think about our parents getting married? They
haven’t even seen each other since they were in their teens!”
    His gaze narrowed. “You mother seems like a nice
woman.”
    “She is.”
    “My dad’s been single a long time, though. It can be
difficult to get used to considering someone else. His last divorce
was final nearly twenty-two years ago.”
    Holly got his meaning. Subtext was her specialty.
“You think he can’t adjust to being committed?”
    He looked down, frowning. “My father is a decent,
loyal guy. If anything, he gets too committed, too quickly.”
    Jumping on the inference, she said, “You think they
got married too fast.”
    Levi looked up, his expression unreadable. “I’m sure
it probably didn’t seem too fast to your mother.”
    “What do you mean?” Curious and irritated all at
once, Holly couldn’t help bristling at the note in his voice. She
wasn’t in favor of this impulsive marriage, either, but she had a
gut feeling that there was something demeaning in his
statement.
    He shifted a little on the plaid couch, saying in a
level voice, “I can imagine a guy with my dad’s…situation, probably
seemed like a great catch. He has all his teeth, doesn’t gamble to
excess and is financially set.”
    Holly gasped. “You can’t be serious. My mom is doing
fine financially—“
    Looking down at the aged couch, he said with a sleek
smile that made her want to hit him. “Of course, she is.”
“—and she wouldn’t marry a guy unless she thought she loved
him—“
    “Naturally.”
    “—so you needn’t be so condescending.” Sitting
straight up now, Holly felt herself vibrating with indignation.
“And, by the way, your dad has moved in with my mother, not the
other way around.”
    “I just think,” he said in a pseudo-apologetic voice,
“that it’s easier for women to fall in love with men who
can…give them the lifestyle they desire.”
    With a glance at the door to the dining area, she
lowered her voice, “You snake . How dare