Taryn laughed. “Yeah, tell me about it. I think it should be illegal to have this much testosterone in an enclosed space.”
Maggie couldn’t help it. She smiled, having had similar thoughts only a few minutes ago. It seemed so perfectly accurate. The room was filled with more stunning alpha-male types than she’d ever seen in one place before. Well, excluding the time Sherri talked her into seeing the Chippendales show when their tour took them to Philadelphia. But even those men couldn’t compete with these guys. The Chippendales put on a show. The Callaghans were the real deal. Though the thought of Michael giving her a private lap dance sent a delicious shiver up and down her spine.
Taryn’s grin grew wider. Lexi took care of the introductions.
“Maggie, this is Lina.” The pretty blonde gave a warm smile. “And this is Stacey.” The brunette gave a little wave.
“Maggie’s here with Michael,” Taryn said, exchanging a glance with the others.
“Ooooo, he’s a good one,” Lina said, slipping out her shoes and rubbing her feet. “Honestly. How do women wear heels all day long? Barefoot and pregnant is a walk in the park compared to this.” She turned to Maggie. “So. How did you guys meet?”
Maggie felt her cheeks flame again and shot a quick glance toward Lexi, who laughed and patted her hand. “It’s okay, Maggie. Michael said you might feel a little weird, but honestly, I think it’s awesome. After all, you did all the work, and we got all the benefits.” She winked.
At Lina and Stacey’s puzzled looks, Lexi asked, “Can I tell them?”
Maggie nodded, though she was not convinced it was the best of ideas.
Lexi leaned forward and dropped her voice. “Maggie is the one who danced at Ian’s bachelor party,” she revealed.
Maggie braced herself for the condescending looks or catty comments, so she was unprepared for their reactions. “Oh. My. God.” Lina said, her eyes growing impossibly large. “That was you?” When Maggie indicated that it was, Lina leaned forward excitedly. “Can you teach me?”
“Me, too,” Stacey chimed in. “Whatever you did, woman, it had our husbands in thrall.”
Maggie was stunned. There had to be some mistake. “I think you might be thinking about my friend, Sherri. She dances all the time. I’m sure she’d be very flattered - ”
But Taryn was shaking her head, smiling. “No, Maggie. It was you. Jake told me everything.”
“And anything that got Michael to spend three days holed up in your house during a blizzard? Honey, you’ve got yourself pure magic right there.”
“Oh, I don’t think he meant for that to happen,” Maggie said quickly. “It’s not like it was planned or anything.”
Lexi was shaking her head, her expression more serious than it had been. “Maggie, I’m not sure how much you know about these guys, but you need to trust us on this. Everything they do is intentional, down to the smallest detail. Nothing is left to chance. Michael knew when that storm would hit down to the minute, I’d bet. If he was at your house, it was because he wanted to be. And believe me, if he didn’t want to stay there, he would have found some way to leave.”
“It must have been so romantic,” Lina said with a little sigh. “Just the two of you in the middle of a blizzard, cut off from everything...”
“That sounds like an awesome story line,” Stacey said, her eyes glittering. “What was it like?”
Under normal circumstances, Maggie wouldn’t even consider talking about the time she and Michael had spent together with women she’d just met. But there was something about them that pulled her in, made her feel like she was one of them. It was not something she was accustomed to, and it actually felt kind of nice. Maybe it was the brandy, maybe it was the romance of the wedding, but Maggie found herself sharing. Not the intimate details, of course, but she couldn’t help but gush a little. It had been pretty romantic.
“Well, we lost power pretty early on. Thankfully it’s an old house with a huge fireplace, and I had lots of candles on hand.”
“That sounds awesome,” said another voice from just behind her. “What are we talking about?”
“Ah, Keely, Maggie was just telling us about being trapped in a blizzard for three days with Michael. Her Michael, not your Michael, of course.”
Keely pulled up a chair in between Maggie and Stacey. “Ooooo,” she said, pouring herself a drink from the bottle she’d brought with her and passing it around. “Michael is yummy, and a total sweetheart. Do tell.”
Maggie didn’t go into all of the explicit details, but they did seem really interested, asking her all kinds of questions. By the time her glass had been refilled several times – as had theirs – they were all sighing.
“I always knew he was a hopeless romantic,” Lexi said.
“I am so pulling a couple of fuses when we get back tonight,” Keely murmured.