"There's nothing to worry about, princess," he told her, his tone strong and sure. Maddie marveled that at one time, whenever he called her 'princess,' it had usually been bit out with a sneer. Now, the word floated over her, soft and wonderful.
"And I hate getting blood drawn," she complained.
Caleb smirked, rubbing the edge of his lips with his thumb, his eyes still on the road. God, he was sexy.
"I'll kiss it better later," he promised and Maddie felt her blood start to pound.
"Don't get me started, Caleb," she warned, ignoring the urge to fan herself. It seemed like all she thought about these days was sex. Sex, sex, and more sex. She fantasized about Caleb on the hour, every hour, if not more. Fantasized about what they'd done the night before, or that morning … fantasized about what they would do later. "The doctor won't need the lube at this rate." It was meant as a joke but Caleb's lips turned down into a scowl. She shook her head, amused. "I still don't know why you don't like Dr. Cochrane."
"Maybe because he's a man who has regular access to your pussy," Caleb growled under his breath.
"Caleb!" Maddie exclaimed, rolling her eyes. But inside, she was delighted. He was jealous. "You're ridiculous."
"Out of all the doctors you could've chosen, it had to be the one with a dick," he continued.
"He has excellent recommendations," she shot back. "And I tried a female doctor, remember? But how could we trust her to do a good job when she couldn't even get my files straight?"
Caleb's jaw clenched. "She was incompetent, wasn't she?"
"Yes," Maddie said, hoping he understood why she'd changed her mind and switched doctors. Caleb had been with her at every appointment, the very picture of support. She only hoped that he supported this decision as well.
"Fine. I won't say anything to him," Caleb promised. "But if he lingers down there longer than necessary, I swear-"
"Oh my God," Maddie mumbled, her face flaming, relieved that they were pulling into the parking lot. Caleb helped her out of the car like the baby was a size of a basketball and not an avocado, but Maddie would be lying to herself if she said she didn't like it at least a little bit.
As they both walked up towards the front entrance of the doctor's office, Maddie spotted a familiar figure leaning against the outside wall and her heart stuttered in disbelief and joy.
"Thomas?"
Her brother detached himself from the wall and approached, albeit a little hesitantly. "Hi Maddie," he murmured, a half smile on his face.
"I'll go check you in," Caleb told her, dropping a kiss on her cheek as he brushed past. The two men exchanged a silent look before Caleb disappeared inside the building, one she couldn't even begin to decipher.
Overwhelmed, happy, and confused, Maddie promptly started crying, which only served to frustrate her, which only made her cry more.
Thomas looked flabbergasted. "Maddie, I-"
She launched herself at her brother, feeling his familiar warmth and bulk as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He only hesitated for a brief moment before he clutched her just as fiercely.
"I missed you," she whispered, unashamed that she was getting tears all over his shirt.
"I missed you too, Maddie," he said, voice tight. "I'm sorry. About everything. I'm the biggest asshole on the planet."
And just like that, a load was lifted off her shoulders. Maddie wasn't one to hold a grudge. It took too much energy, and she loved her brother too much.
"I forgive you," she told him, leaning back so she could see his face. "But how did you know?"
"Caleb came to see me," her brother admitted, although a little begrudgingly.
"He did?" she asked, swallowing thickly.
"He basically told me to get my shit together because I was hurting you," Thomas murmured. "And he was right. I shouldn't have let it go on this long."
Caleb had done this? She blinked with the new information and then felt her stomach flutter. Every day, it seemed like she fell deeper and deeper in love with him.
"I'm just glad you're here now," she said in a daze, smiling up at him.
"Me too."
Maddie hugged him again, feeling more tears prick her eyes. She stood there as long as possible, but eventually, she knew she had to be a couple minutes late to her appointment and Caleb would come looking for her soon.
"Come on. Come sit in on a boring appointment with me while Caleb tries not to murder my male doctor," she told him. "And you'll get to hear the baby's heartbeat."