Read Totally Worth Christmas (The Worth Series, Book 4.5: A Copper Country Novella) for Free Online

believe I’m going to have another baby.” Her voice cracked and the squished-up look of disbelief was gone, replaced with a bright smile, lighting up her gorgeous face.
    “Do you know how long I wanted a baby?” she said to Charlie who just held his hands up in a questioning motion. He was a guy. He knew to just stay quiet when a woman asked a question like that. She wasn’t really looking for an answer. “And now, to have two babies.” She looked away from Charlie and to her husband.  
    Darío had always seemed like a cool customer to Charlie, usually showing very little emotion, certainly never falling into the Latin hothead stereotype. But the guy was now a total pile of mush as he looked at his wife and slowly placed his hand on her still-flat stomach.  
    Charlie was just about to give them the room when Lizzie Robbins came through the door from the great room. She stopped abruptly when she saw Darío and Katie’s tender embrace, her eyes zooming to Darío’s hand on Katie.  
    Charlie knew from Petey and Darío that Lizzie, Katie and Alison had been friends since grade school, and you could sure see it now—the simple, almost telepathic way the women had of communicating.  
    Lizzie’s eyes went wide. She looked pointedly at Katie. Katie gave just the tiniest of nods and placed her hand on top of Darío’s. Lizzie brought her hand to her chest and whispered, “Oh, Kat,” her eyes already filling with tears. Katie nodded again, her head bobbing wildly this time, her tears coming freely now as she smiled. Stepping away from Darío, Katie met Lizzie halfway, and they embraced. The tears continued even as both women pulled away, now laughing.
    Darío and Charlie looked at each other and just shrugged, totally out of their element.
    “Oh, Kat, this is so wonderful. Were you guys trying?”
    “No. This is a complete shock.” She turned and smiled at Darío. “A good shock. A wonderful shock.” She reached a hand out to her husband while one hand still clutched Lizzie’s. Darío stepped forward and took his wife’s hand. “An awesome shock,” she added quietly, looking at her husband, who softly smiled and nodded his agreement.
    “Holy wah, are you going to have your hands full,” Lizzie said. Charlie waited for the panic to cross Katie’s face, but no, she only grinned and nodded, then started laughing.  
    “You betcha, eh,” Katie said, in a deep Yooper accent. She let go of Lizzie’s hand to wrap both her arms around her husband’s neck. “And I couldn’t be more happy. I am so blessed.” She leaned in and kissed Darío, making Charlie both uncomfortable and envious.
    “Get a room,” Lizzie said, breezing past the couple and making her way to the beer. She seemed to notice Charlie for the first time, and he joined her at the counter, giving Katie and Darío some space as the couple continued to gaze at each other, kiss, nuzzle and just generally be mushy.
    “How’ve you been, Charlie?” Lizzie asked him as she pulled two bottles of beer out, wiped them off on the towel next to the sink and opened them up.
    “I’ve been okay. How about—”
    “Hey, you’re single, right? Are you here alone?” Lizzie interrupted him.
    “Umm…”
    “You have to think about whether or not you’re single?”
    “No, it’s just…” He thought about his night with Phee. And her stupid rule about no mundane details. He’d spent the last three weeks playing that over and over in his mind and was now sure that she’d never had any intention of seeing him again, that she’d done it to protect herself.
    Which was fine, and he understood it. But, God, that night had been so honest, so real. And now he wondered if it all wasn’t all a lie on her part.
    “Yes, I’m single,” he said to Lizzie. “And here alone.” He put a teasing tone in his voice as he continued, “But I thought you were happily married, Lizzie.”
    She swatted him on the arm. “Oh, you’re just the cutest thing, Charlie