本棚
検索
ホーム / Romance / The Holidate Pact / CHAPTER 9: Family Intel

共有

CHAPTER 9: Family Intel

作者: Eleanor Vance
last update 最終更新日: 2025-12-02 01:11:14
SLOANE

New Year’s Eve, 08:17 a.m.

T-minus 11 hours, 43 minutes

I’d been awake since 4:58. My brain ran the same loop on repeat: Peter’s smirk, Mom’s soft-voiced interrogation, Susan three glasses in and telling Jackson every embarrassing story from my childhood. At 6:03 I gave up pretending to sleep and opened a blank document titled HOLBROOK THREAT ASSESSMENT – NYE 2025.

By 7:30 it was four pages, color-coded, footnoted, and borderline certifiable.

I attached it to an email and stared at the send button like it might detonate.

My phone buzzed first.

Jackson: You’ve been typing for two hours. Whatever it is, just send it.

Of course he was awake. Of course he knew.

I hit send.

Thirty seconds later my phone rang.

“Morning, sunshine,” he said, voice gravel-rough. “You wrote a dissertation on your own family?”

“It’s concise.”

“It’s color-coded by threat level. Your mother is literally red-flagged.”

“She earned it.”

He exhaled a laugh that made the speaker crackle. “Walk me
この本を無料で読み続ける
コードをスキャンしてアプリをダウンロード
ロックされたチャプター
前のチャプター 次のチャプター

最新チャプター

  • The Holidate Pact   CHAPTER 25: Recovery

    **THE MORNING AFTER**Sunlight filtered through unfamiliar blinds. I blinked awake, disoriented. Jackson's couch. His apartment. The throw blanket tucked carefully around my shoulders.The smell of coffee hit me. Badly made coffee.I sat up. My neck protested from the awkward sleeping position. In the kitchen, Jackson stood one-handed at the coffee maker, cursing under his breath. His sling hung loose, and he was trying to hold the carafe with his bad arm."Stop."He turned. His hair stuck up on one side. "Morning.""Let me." I crossed to him, took the carafe from his trembling hand. "Sit down before you hurt yourself worse.""I can make coffee.""Clearly." I nodded at the grounds scattered across the counter. "Sit."He sat. Watched me clean up his mess and start over. The coffee maker gurgled. I found bread, eggs, butter. Started cooking without asking if he wanted breakfast."You don't have to...""I know."The eggs sizzled. I glanced back. He was trying to adjust his sling with one

  • The Holidate Pact   CHAPTER 24: The Tournament

    JACKSON **MARCH 1-3: INDIANA TOURNAMENT** The tournament grounds smelled like fresh-cut grass and sunscreen. I adjusted my grip on my driver, waiting for my turn at the first tee. Three days of qualifying rounds. Three days to prove I still had it. "Nice swing yesterday." I turned. Dean stood there, golf bag slung over his shoulder, that knowing smirk already in place. "Thanks." "You told her yet?" "Told who what?" Dean laughed. "Don't play dumb. You told Sloane you're in love with her?" My grip tightened on my club. I didn't deny it. Couldn't, really. Not when Dean had known me since college, had seen me through Bridget and the mess after. "Thought so." Dean clapped my shoulder. "You're screwed, man." We played our rounds. Between holes, Dean kept talking. "You've never let anyone this close," he said on the seventh green. "Not even Bridget." I lined up my putt. "Bridget was different." "Yeah. Bridget wanted a fantasy. Some perfect guy who'd give her the dream life." De

  • The Holidate Pact   CHAPTER 23: The Week After

    February 15th. The day after Valentine's.I woke up to a text from Jackson.JACKSON: Morning. Yesterday was... a lot. You okay?I stared at it for ten minutes before responding.ME: Fine. You?JACKSON: Same. Busy week ahead. Tournament prep.ME: I have the Morningside pitch coming up. Drowning in work.JACKSON: Let me know if you need anything.ME: You too.Professional. Distant. Safe.We texted every day that week. Surface-level check-ins. Work updates. Nothing real.February 16th:JACKSON: How's the pitch prep going?ME: Slowly. You?JACKSON: Teaching all day. Exhausted.February 17th:ME: Survived a client call from hell.JACKSON: Want to talk about it?ME: Not really. Just venting.JACKSON: Fair enough.February 18th:JACKSON: Mrs. Henderson asked about you today.ME: What did you tell her?JACKSON: That you're busy. She wants to have coffee with "Jackson's lovely girlfriend."ME: That's terrifying.JACKSON: Little bit.February 19th:ME: My mother won't stop texting about Easter.

  • The Holidate Pact   CHAPTER 22: The Drive Home

    JACKSONWe left at nine. Two hours of pot roast and psychological warfare disguised as family dinner.I opened the car door for Sloane. She slid in without a word. I went around to the driver's side. Got in. Started the engine.Neither of us spoke.I pulled out of the driveway. Her parents' house disappeared in the rearview mirror. All those hearts and lights and forced romance fading into darkness.Three blocks. Four. Still silence.Finally: "That was...""Exhausting," she finished."I was going to say intense.""Same thing."I drove. She stared out the window. Her reflection ghosted across the glass. I could see her jaw working. Thinking. Processing.Five more blocks."I confronted her in the kitchen," Sloane said quietly.My hands tightened on the wheel. "Veronica?""Who else?""What did she say?"Sloane was quiet for a beat. "That you're different with me. That she barely recognizes this version of you."I glanced over. "And?""And that she doesn't trust it. That people don't chan

  • The Holidate Pact   CHAPTER 22: The Drive Home

    JACKSONWe left at nine. Two hours of pot roast and psychological warfare disguised as family dinner.I opened the car door for Sloane. She slid in without a word. I went around to the driver's side. Got in. Started the engine.Neither of us spoke.I pulled out of the driveway. Her parents' house disappeared in the rearview mirror. All those hearts and lights and forced romance fading into darkness.Three blocks. Four. Still silence.Finally: "That was...""Exhausting," she finished."I was going to say intense.""Same thing."I drove. She stared out the window. Her reflection ghosted across the glass. I could see her jaw working. Thinking. Processing.Five more blocks."I confronted her in the kitchen," Sloane said quietly.My hands tightened on the wheel. "Veronica?""Who else?""What did she say?"Sloane was quiet for a beat. "That you're different with me. That she barely recognizes this version of you."I glanced over. "And?""And that she doesn't trust it. That people don't chan

  • The Holidate Pact   CHAPTER 21: Valentine's Day Dinner

    SLOANEJackson picked me up at 5:30 exactly. He stood at my door holding pink roses and a bottle of Cabernet, looking like every mother's dream in his button-down and dark jeans."You remembered pink," I said."You said red was too romantic.""And the wine?""Cabernet. Your dad's favorite."I stared at him. "How do you know my dad's favorite wine?""I asked him. Last week. Called to confirm dinner time."Something in my chest went soft. "You called my father?""Seemed polite." He shifted his weight. Despite my nerves, I laughed.The drive to my parents' took twenty minutes. We spent it in comfortable silence, his hand on the console between us. I stared out the window at Chicago sliding past."You okay?" he asked."Nervous.""About?""Veronica will definitely be there. Jennifer confirmed this morning."His hand tightened on the gear shift. "We'll handle it.""Will we?"He glanced at me. "Sloane. Last time was a test run. Tonight we know what we're dealing with. We're ready.""Are we

続きを読む

あなたも気に入るかもしれません

無料で面白い小説を探して読んでみましょう
GoodNovel アプリで人気小説に無料で！お好きな本をダウンロードして、いつでもどこでも読みましょう！
アプリで無料で本を読む
コードをスキャンしてアプリで読む
DMCA.com Protection Status