Chapter 14 #2
Well, except for the night she delivered their adorable daughter, Hailey, at home during a tropical storm with the island’s only doctor off-island at the time.
Mac could’ve done without that drama. He shuddered now, even after all this time, thinking about what could’ve happened if David Lawrence hadn’t been home visiting his family.
The baby they were expecting now had been an “accident,” if you could call the miracle of a new life an accident.
It was the happiest kind of accident. Thinking back to the night that Maddie had gotten drunk on champagne and ordered him to “do her” could still make Mac laugh out loud more than two months later.
He’d been powerless to resist her, so powerless that he’d forgotten all about the protection they’d been using while she continued to nurse Hailey.
That had also been the night their son, Thomas, had caught them in the act. A memorable evening all the way around.
He pulled up to the clinic a few minutes later to find Maddie sitting in the black SUV he’d bought when they first started dating so he could drive her and her son, Thomas, around on the island.
Now Thomas was his son, too, and they’d added a second car seat when Hailey was born.
Soon enough, a third seat would join the other two in the back, and he was excited to meet their new son or daughter.
Either was fine with him as long as the baby and his beautiful Maddie were healthy.
This time he was leaving nothing to chance.
They were moving to the mainland six weeks before her due date.
He’d already secured the use of his brother-in-law Joe’s house and had a doctor lined up to see to Maddie’s needs in the final trimester.
He hadn’t mentioned his plans to her quite yet, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t protest too vociferously.
Hailey’s delivery had scared the hell out of both of them, and only because of David’s quick action had their daughter even survived the birth.
No way was anything like that happening again. Not on Mac’s watch.
Maddie was ending a phone call and waved, smiling brightly at him.
He got out of his truck and went to her, as powerfully drawn to her today as he’d been the day he met her. More so, he decided, after everything they’d already been through together. She made him feel things that no other woman ever had or ever could, and she was the center of his entire world.
She got out of the car and started to say something, stopping short when she took a closer look at him. “What?”
He put his arms around her and backed her up against the warm black paint on her SUV.
“Mac?”
“I just need this for one minute. We’ve got one minute, don’t we?”
“Yes,” she said, relaxing into his embrace. “We’ve got one minute, but not much more.”
“Okay.”
He loved the way her body felt pressed against his.
The overly abundant breasts she hated so much, the still-flat belly where their baby resided, the heat between her legs and the sweet smell of summer flowers in her hair…
He was filled with gratitude to be able to hold her and touch her any time he wanted or needed to, which was pretty much all the time.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I just wanted to hold my wife for a minute.”
“I’m glad you did, but we need to get going. Victoria is always on a tight schedule.”
He brought his hands up to cup her face. “One kiss and then we can go in.” He stared at her precious face for a long moment before he brought his lips down on hers, keeping his eyes open and focused on her.
“What’s gotten into you today?”
“Nothing that’s not in me every other day.” He slung his arm around her as they headed for the main doors to the clinic.
“Mac?”
“Hmm?”
“Love you.”
“And now my day is made.”
She laughed and nudged his ribs with her elbow. “You already knew I love you.”
“Hearing it is the best part of my day.”
“You’re so easy.”
“So you tell me.”
They checked in at the main desk and were told to take a seat and that Victoria would be out for them in a few minutes.
“So tell me what kind of traumas I can expect to experience at this appointment.”
“What kind of traumas you will experience? Are you the one half-naked with your feet in stirrups getting probed in front of your husband, whom you hope will still want to have sex with you after what he’s about to see?”
He swallowed hard. “Um, no, I’m not the one in the stirrups, and newsflash, babe, your husband will always want to have sex with you.”
“Good to know. Vic said she’s going to do an ultrasound at this appointment, even though I’m only at eight weeks. The usual routine is to wait awhile, but because we’re on an island, they like to do it earlier in case there’s anything to be concerned about.”
A pang of fear stabbed his belly at the thought of anything wrong with her or the baby. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“It’s perfectly routine, and if there’s anything going on, wouldn’t you like to find out now so you can whisk me to the mainland and boss people around at the hospital?”
“I can’t even think about anything going on.”
“Don’t worry, Mac. When you worry, you stress me out.”
“Sorry. I’m trying, but Hailey’s birth is still fresh on my mind and then P.J.
...” He shuddered over how close his sister had come to bleeding to death when her son was born.
Once again, David Lawrence to the rescue.
Thanks to his heroics in both cases, Mac had all but forgiven the guy for cheating on Janey.
“Stop. You’re spinning. Breathe.”
He panted in an imitation of Lamaze breathing, which made her laugh as she patted his leg.
“Very good.”