Maggie laughed. “It might mean he’s all mouth and no trousers.”
Julia groaned.
Susan’s confusion cleared. “Oh, you mean he might not be able to get it up. They have pills for that these days.”
“Gullible,” Julia mouthed in Maggie’s direction and they both laughed. “Seriously, though,” Julia said when the laughter stopped. “Has he said where he lives or where he wants to meet? If you follow through and meet him, you need to be careful. Take safety precautions.”
“I suppose it would work if you met him for coffee somewhere or maybe a meal in a public place,” Christina said. “One thing you shouldn’t do is meet in a hotel room. Even though you know him online, you need to learn about him on a personal level.”
Julia wrinkled her nose, the wine she’d drunk during the evening putting a flush in her cheeks. “Yeah, if he’s short with bad teeth and no hair, you need an escape route.”
“So you think I should meet with him?” Maggie asked.
Susan ran her finger around the rim of her wine glass. “I’m not convinced it’s a great idea, but you’re the best one to judge from the emails. I take it you don’t want to share?”
“No,” Maggie blurted, unable to halt the race of color across her face.
“Just out of interest, have you been emailing him back with suggestive replies?” Christina asked.
“No,” Maggie said, but she couldn’t look at any of them. “Oh, okay,” she muttered. “I can’t lie to you guys. I have, and no, you’re not looking at my replies either.”
“Why don’t you meet at a restaurant?” Julia asked. “Tell us the time and place and we’ll book a table there too. That way, we can check him out and give you our opinions. And if there’s any trouble, we’ll be right there with you. Your mystery man won’t even need to know we’re your friends. As far as he’s concerned, we’d be diners.”
Susan nodded. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“I’ll think about it,” Maggie said, after studying each of their faces. “I need to get back to work.”
Julia grabbed her arm. “Don’t you dare meet this guy without telling us, Maggie. We care about you and don’t want to see anything happen to you.”
With a knot of emotion blocking her throat, she nodded before hurrying off to the bar, feeling better than she had in days. While the old easy camaraderie remained elusive, she hoped they’d talk soon and drag out the monsters hiding in the closets. Like all people, they each had their hot buttons from the past. Maggie poured a beer and admitted to herself if she had her time over, she’d make most of the same decisions. Sometimes a person just had to follow their gut and hope for the best.
