Totally Worth Christmas (The Worth Series, Book 4.5: A Copper Country Novella) by Mara Jacobs

 
    Prologue
     
    Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.
    ~ Victor Borge
     
    The Friday night after Thanksgiving  
    “I still say we need to go to a strip club,” said Charlie Simpson's best friend, Jeff.
    Or, at least he used to be Charlie's best buddy. Charlie wasn't so sure anymore.
    “I don't think so,” Charlie said. For about the sixth time that night.
    These days, he only saw Jeff when he made it home to Port Huron for the holidays or some other event. And that was fine with Charlie.
    “Come on, man. You've been a total pussy all night. If that's the case, I say we go look at some real pussy.”
    Jesus, Charlie thought.
    “Jesus,” somebody said quietly. Charlie looked across the booth at his other two pals, Ricky and John, but it hadn't come from them. Apparently they didn't hear it. Then Charlie saw the waitress walking away from the booth next to them, coffee pot in hand. It must have come from her.
    He took a closer look at the retreating figure. Figure being the key word. It was hard to gauge her age from the back, but if the white-blonde ponytail swinging across her shoulder blades was any indication, she wasn't as old as the gray-haired waitress who had been waiting on Charlie’s table. This woman was petite, but with lots of curves. Curves that swayed and glided under the retro, knee-length, polyester diner uniform the waitresses wore at this throw-back joint.
    Tiny and curvy. A million miles away from the tall and lean figure of Deni Casparich, the woman he worked with and, up until last February, had considered his soul mate.
    Well, okay, maybe not soul mate. If he was being honest—and Deni living with their boss, Sawyer Beck, had forced honesty upon Charlie—maybe less soul mate and more best friend who was conveniently of the opposite sex and also conveniently as single as Charlie.
    “I'm serious. Let's go find some fun. Enough of your emo bullshit,” Jeff said, pushing at Charlie to exit the booth. “You get home, like, twice a year these days, and I'm not going to let you piss and moan about a chick for the entire time.”
    “I've said maybe two things about Deni this whole night,” Charlie said as he cleared out of the booth, then stood aside so Jeff could exit. John and Ricky did the same, both reaching into their wallets and putting some bills on the table. Charlie did as well.
    “Yeah, you may have only mentioned her twice, but it's obvious that's where your head is at. Both of them,” Jeff said with a stupid chuckle. Charlie noticed that Jeff hadn't reached into his own wallet. Charlie put a few more bills on the table.
    “So?” Jeff said to them all as they stared putting on their coats. “Pussy Palace? Or do we take the bridge to Canada?”
    John and Ricky both opted for staying in Michigan, and Charlie tried to figure out how to gracefully get out of going to a strip club with his buddies. All he really wanted to do was go home, maybe heat up some of the turkey left over from his mother's Thanksgiving dinner and then hit the hay.
    He lived and worked in the Upper Peninsula, an eight-hour drive from Port Huron. He had come home on Wednesday after work and was heading back Sunday. He used to spend these short visits partying with his friends, but if his attitude tonight was any indication, he'd be spending Saturday night home with his parents watching something on Netflix. And looked forward to it.
    As he reached for his coat on the hook beside the booth, he noticed the small, curvy waitress talking with their older waitress behind the counter. She still had her back to Charlie, but he made out what seemed to be the older one handing off her tables to the younger one. She was untying and removing the pink apron from the front of her uniform and handing over her order pad to the younger woman. The older woman pointed at Charlie's table, and the younger woman looked over her shoulder to them.
    And right at Charlie. Bam.
    “Umm…you guys go ahead. You're