Becoming Maddie (The Casterhouse series Book 1)

by Hannah Gittins

  Second she decided that she needed to get to know Richard better. Maybe his wife would be really nice and then she could become a good friend like Sarah was. Already Maddie’s world was getting bigger and she loved it.

  Aiden had said that he would like to invite somebody as well. Maddie had not been surprised. Aiden was a very social person, he loved to talk to people and worked hard to make people feel at ease around him. So all she had asked was how many. He said 3. It was an odd number but Maddie would work round it somehow.

  Looking down at the table she was pleased at how it looked. Before Aiden had left for work he had help Maddie push the sofa closer to the fire place and move her table so that it could be opened out in the main room. She didn’t have enough chairs so had borrowed some from Sarah that meant they now had 11 chairs round her table. That worked out as two couples on each side of the table, a couple on one end and the last person on the other end. It would be a bit of a tight fit but Maddie tried to look at as cosy rather than cramped.

  Originally she had be puzzling over where people were going to sit at the table but in the end decided people can sit where they want, Maddie wasn’t a big fan of spitting couples up at a table if they didn’t want to be. She would be sitting next to Aiden and that was where she was comfortable so why make other people break up if that made them less comfortable.

  The last 2 weeks had been the best 2 weeks in her life. Maddie couldn’t remember ever laughing as much, or as hard as she had. Aiden made it safe to be in whatever mood she wanted to be in. Maddie liked to think that she made it safe for him to do the same.

  Somehow over the days, more and more of Aiden’s stuff appeared in her flat, till last Friday afternoon she went to put a wash on and she found there was just as many of his clothes as hers that needed washing. Something inside Maddie had burned with pleasure. Who knew that dirty clothes would make her smile?

  That night as he walked in the door she ran from her bedroom to meet him at the door. Without even thinking about it, she jumped on him and wrapped her legs round Aiden’s waist and her arms around his shoulders. He took a step back but didn’t drop her. Instead he wrapped an arm round her back and another cupped her ass, half to keep her up and half because he enjoyed cupping her ass.

  “This is a welcome home I could get use to!” Aiden laughed and kissed her nose.

  Maddie had laughed with him and tucked her face into his neck. This was a big thing she was about to ask. It was really fast but she knew that she was right with him, that they belonged together, so why take things so slow. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t still nervous at asking him.

  “Make this your home.” She mumbled into Aiden’s neck.

  Aiden tensed around her then slowly lowered her to the ground. Maddie didn’t let go of his shoulder but did let her head fall back so she could look up at him. Aiden let his hands slide up her arms, over her shoulder, up her neck and stopped when they cupped both of her cheeks.

  Maddie started to worry. What if she had gone too fast? He had said that he would take it at her pace but maybe this was still too much for him. They had only known each other a few weeks.

  It didn’t matter to her. Maddie wanted him to move in so if he wanted to wait she would do that because it would happen. She had no doubt of that whatsoever.

  “I thought this was my home already.” Aiden said back to her, looking straight into her eyes. “If you mean make it official, sure.”

  Feeling her eyes well up, she quickly reached up and punched him in the arm. Using one hand, Aiden let go of her face and rubbed his arm.

  “What was that for?” He moaned jokingly.

  Maddie crossed her arms in front of her in a mock huff.

  “Why didn’t you tell me then?” She snapped trying not to smile at him. “Then I wouldn’t have been so nervous asking.”

  Laughing out loud with his deep rich tone that Maddie loved, Aiden wrapped his arms around her again and started to walk her back to the sofa.

  “Sorry, Ruby.” He said in between the kisses he was showering on her face. “I thought you knew.”

  Fighting to hold onto her mock anger Maddie kept her arms crossed but still tilted her head back so he had more access to her face so he could keep kissing her.

  “Seems to me it’s just another case of you making decisions without telling me.” Maddie replied.

  Aiden stopped the kissed to laugh again. Then he moved his head closer to hers so that their foreheads were touching and wrapped his arms totally around her so that he was giving her a big bear hug.

  “Your right. I’m sorry.” He said filling Maddie with the vision of his sexy soft smile and his caramel eyes that were getting darker by the second. “How can I make it up to you?”

  Maddie loved it when he got playful with her. When he joked about with her and made the big stuff so easy to deal with. Never before had she asked someone to live with her, Maddie hopped she never would again, but it was so laid back that Aiden had already thought he lived there. That was the future that Maddie wanted.

  Finally letting the big goofy smile that she was holding on to out, Maddie leaned forward and kissed him. There was lots of lips and a delicious, teasing taste of tongue.

  “I am sure you will come up with a satisfactory way.” Maddie answered with a cheeky grin on her face.

  Aiden gasped with fake shock before pushing her so that she fell back onto the sofa. Maddie laughed out loud and squealed as he landed on top of her and started tickling her. As these things always did, they turned from giggles to caress and kisses.

  “I’ll show you satisfactory you cheeky monster.” Aiden joked before kissing her with so much passion it took Maddie’s laugh away.

  In its place was the now familiar, but never old, burning need to be skin to skin with him. To have him touch her in just that right places, to find the things that make him groan and both of them to reach that ultimate goal.

  Yeah, Maddie thought as she walked back into the kitchen to check on the food for tonight, the last few weeks had been ‘Satisfactory’.

  Stirring the large pot that held the home made stilton soup, Maddie wondered where Aiden was. She thought he would be here before the other guests arrived. Maybe something had come up at work.

  Aiden had been putting in a lot of hours the last couple of weeks. That wasn’t to say they didn’t have time to cuddle up on the sofa and watch films or go out for a drink or meal at night. Not to mention all the fun activities that they got up to late into the night. That didn’t stop him from getting up first thing in the morning and kissing her ‘bye’ as he headed out the door before she was out of bed. Even on the mornings when she had to get up to go to work. If Maddie didn’t know better she would think that he was up to something that he wasn’t telling her. But she knew he wasn’t. Not because he wasn’t telling her but because she didn’t think there could possibly be anything that he could be doing.

  Maddie had no doubt that if something came up that was difficult or bad that Aiden would try to keep it from her. She didn’t even mind because she knew that if he thought that she really needed to know about it, Aiden would tell her. It was his way of looking after her and having had no one do that for her before she was loving it now.

  Really Maddie was loving a lot of stuff.

  Bending down she checked on how the roast chicken was doing. It was Aiden’s favourite. Apparently his mum use to make it for him on his birthdays and he hadn’t had it since she passed away. Maddie was hoping that she had made the right choice in making it for him now and didn’t end up stirring up difficult memories for him. The whole dinner party was because they were celebrating moving in together and starting Maddie’s life fear free. Okay only a couple of the people knew about the last bit but they all knew about the first reason.

  Aiden had gone out and bought her a replacement for everything that had been stolen. It had caused their first row in fact. Even that, Aiden had made safe. She was allowed to get angry and show her emotions without f
ear of retribution or physically abuse. This meant that when he got angry back she was never afraid. He said that they lived together now so his money was hers besides they needed the things and she didn’t have a lot of money coming in whereas he did, (plus a huge amount of savings). He also said that he was the man and he would look after his woman. Unfortunately Maddie realised that he was sort of right. Well the first two points anyway. She only let him off with the third because that was his way of giving back to her.

  The best thing about fighting was it ended in incredible make-up sex that he started by kissing her to shut her up. Maddie hadn’t minded that so much in the end.

  Besides she loved her new TV and kitchen equipment. It was top of the line and worked liked magic. So the roast chicken was also to kind-of thank him for that.

  As Maddie stood up to stir the soup again there was a knock at the door. Moving towards the door she looked down at Marvin who was sitting under the table being grumpy.

  “Will you smile already?” Maddie muttered at him on the way to the door. “I said I was sorry about moving your cushion but it was in the way and I will put it back tomorrow.”

  Marvin huffed and laid down glaring at the door. Maddie knew even though he looked relaxed he was actually fully focused on the door. He was not fully recovered yet. Maybe he was physically but definitely not mentally but he was on the right track just like her. Maddie and her husky would be back to normal one day. Or better than normal.

  Looking away from her dog she smiled as she opened the door to find Sarah and John on the other side.

  “Hi guys.” Maddie smiled, opening the door further so that they could walk in.

  As Sarah came in first and John followed with his hand on her back, Maddie took in her friend’s husband. He was the same height as Sarah. Maybe a tiny bit taller. His blonde hair was in a sharp buzz cut and he had a good couple of day’s stubble on his face. He wore a pair of blue corduroy trousers with a white shirt that he had buttoned up bar 2 at the top. Maddie could see the chain that hung round his neck that she was pretty sure were dogs tags. He was very muscly, a lot more than Aiden. It was clear he worked hard to have them and probably in his job he used them often. Maddie didn’t really want to think of that.

  What else Maddie noticed was the way his hand lingered on his wife’s back when she turned to look at Maddie. The way John’s face was titled down to his wife like he was trying to memorise the smile on her face. The love that he felt for her was shining strong from his eyes. Maddie was happy Sarah had that.

  As for Sarah, well it was just clear that she loved her husband and was more than happy to have him home.

  “Maddie you look wonderful.” Sarah gushed. “This place looks wonderful, you must have worked hard.”

  Maddie looked around her, and now Aiden’s home, and took in the set table, the lit candles and the music playing softly in the background. It had been a lot of work today but looking around she knew it was totally worth it. Their home looked good. It looked welcoming.

  As for herself, well Maddie had splashed out on a new dress. A red silk dress. For her there had always been something about a red dress. It screamed confidence, like the wearer is completely comfortable in their looks and more. So although Maddie wasn’t anywhere near to being anything like that she did feel better about who she was. There was also a part of her that wanted to show how much better she was doing to the people that she cared about.

  A little voice reminded her that Aiden liked her in red underwear so maybe he would love the dress too. Just thinking of the things they had done together when she had been wearing red underwear made her blush a little. What things would Aiden come up with because of the red dress?

  It had tiny straps over her shoulders with a sweetheart neck. It was tight down her body to her hips. Then it floated out and swished around her legs. On her feet she had a pair of high red stiletto heels that had crisscross straps that wound up round her ankle and stopped mid-calf. Maddie loved them and since putting them on she caught herself looking down at her feet all the time. They were her own sexy version of the Ruby Slippers from the Wizard of Oz. Her hair was down and she had put several tiny plaits in it with red ribbon wound within them.

  Maddie thought she didn’t look too bad.

  “Thanks Sarah.” Maddie said smiling at her friend. “You look pretty hot yourself.”

  Sarah really did. She had on a blue Maxi dress. It was thick strapped over the shoulders, tight around the bust then flowed right down to the top of her feet, feet which were in silver sparkling flip flops. On the dress there seemed to be silver sparkling fireworks going off all over it. It was stunning and she made it look even better than that. Going by the way John’s eyes kept straying back to his wife, Maddie figured he liked it a lot too. Sarah would be having a good time tonight as well.

  “How can you see anything when that smell is so sensational?” John said looking towards the kitchen.

  Maddie felt herself blush a little at the complement that he meant.

  “Ignore my always hungry husband Maddie.” Sarah said hitting John in the stomach. “He’s wants the food before he has even said ‘hello’.”

  John rubbed his belly where Sarah had hit him and had the good graces to look a little ashamed but then ruined it by smiling at Sarah.

  “Sorry love.” He said softly before kissing his wife on the cheek he then turned to Maddie. “John.”

  John held out his hand and Maddie immediately reached out to shake it. She really wanted this man to like her. Sarah had become a huge part of her world and she didn’t want anything to take it away. Besides John looked like a nice man and she had loads of space to make new friends.

  “Maddie.” She smiled and waved her hand towards the breakfast bar. “I have laid out some nibbles and drinks out. Some alcoholic drinks and some not. There is beer in the fridge because if you’re anything like Aiden you don’t drink anything else.”

  John laughed out loud and Sarah smiled up at him before saying.

  “John is just like Aiden then but leave me to get it Honey because you probably have loads to do.”

  With that her friend walked into the kitchen and got her man a beer then poured herself and Maddie a glass of wine. Maddie went to the cooker and checked on the chicken again. She didn’t want to overdo it and have it end up being dry. At the same time she really wanted it to be a lovely brown colour. John walked round her flat slowly. Taking in every ornament and picture.

  Over the last few weeks Maddie had dug out her camera and started to take pictures of everything. Marvin by himself, her favourite parts of Casterfield and herself and Aiden out on walks with Marvin. There were even a couple of Sarah with Ethan and Rosie or the two little ones playing with Marvin. She had then bought loads of pretty frames and popped the pictures. Some of them she had added flowers from their walks or a sketch of some of the views. Maddie had had so much fun letting her ‘craftiness’ out and letting Aiden be a part of that with her. When Aiden had come home he had seen the pictures on the wall and didn’t say anything until he had looked at them all. Some he laughed at, others he reached up and touched the glass then when he was done he walked over to her and kissed her.

  “So sweet.” Aiden then whispered before walking to the bathroom to have a shower. “You joining me?”

  Maddie had and she had loved it.

  The camera was sat on the breakfast bar with the dinks and nibbles. Maddie was not wasting this opportunity to get more good shots of them all.

  Now John looked at them all before walking to the breakfast bar and taking a mouthful of his beer. Maddie couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad, if she had passed a test or not, but she knew that she could only be herself and hope for the best.

  “Do you want something to snack on while we wait for the others?” Maddie asked the two of them pushing the bowls of dip and jar of breadsticks closer to them.

  They both shook their heads just as there was another knock on the door and that’s how it wen
t. Richard and Claire were next.

  Claire was a sweet little thing. She had black hair and beautiful white skin. The clothes she wore suited her looks but gave her a unique style that was all her own. Maddie knew that she was going to have to go shopping with this woman at some point and get some advice. Claire was polite but super shy so Maddie talked to her like she did the others but let her join in as little or as much as she wanted. Richard kept a protective arm around her, giving her the reassurance that she needed without making a big deal about it. Maddie knew she liked Richard for a reason. He was a good man.

  Then Eddie and Fiona arrived and they didn’t waste a second before they had a drink in the hands and were making the others laugh. Fiona had offered to help in the kitchen but Maddie said she had everything under control. Fiona had fed her last time and now it was Maddie’s turn to feed Fiona. She was even taking a strong pride in doing it.

  When she had opened the door to the two of them they had both hugged her before entering and Maddie had hugged them back. Maybe she was getting better at this spontaneous affection.

  The next knock on the door was Harry and Alice except Maddie had no idea who they were. This is why Aiden should be here, he could have reminded her that he worked with Harry and he was part of his family, instead he was nowhere to be found. Actually Maddie was starting to get more and more worried that he wasn’t there already. It wasn’t like he didn’t know what time it started so what was keeping him.

  In the meantime Maddie just smiled at the people looking back at her from the other side of the thresh-hold and held out her hand.

  “Hi there, I am Maddie.” She said. “I am sorry I have no idea who you are but I think that you must be Aiden’s guests, yes?”

  The mature woman looked up at the man frowning.