Three Made In Heaven: Made In Heaven, #1

By Elena Kincaid

Maddie Sutton always felt something missing until the day she met Charlie and Cole.  What started out as a childhood friendship slowly developed into an all consuming love.  Her biggest problem is that she can only see them in her dreams.  Maddie realizes that to lead a normal life, she would have to let them go.  After all, they're only a fantasy…or are they?

 

Charlie Gilbert and Cole Mercer are both very real.  For years they have loved and pined for Maddie, meeting up in dreams set in different locales. Afraid of making her choose between them, they keep their feelings hidden until finally realizing that the three of them belong together.  How can they convince Maddie if she doubts their existence?  When Charlie starts to doubt, Cole springs into action and brings them all together.

 

Now that they have found each other, they vow to never let go, but when an unknown danger looms over Maddie, Charlie and Cole will do anything to protect her even if it means risking their own lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elena Kincaid
• Release date: Feb 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215906675

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Madeline Sutton didn’t recall actually seeing the two boys in Disney World when she was nine years old. But after spending an amazingly fun and exhausting day touring the kingdom with her parents, she dreamt them. Charlie and Cole stood waiting for her at the entrance. Charlie was blond with a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes. His slightly pudgy frame, a last remnant of his baby fat no doubt, only made him more adorable. Cole on the other hand, was all lanky and wobbly-kneed. He reminded her of Mowgli from the Jungle Book with his wild dark hair and deep chocolate eyes.

They quickly made their introductions. Cole was twelve and Charlie, eleven. And even though they all just met, both boys already felt possessive over their young charge. They each held out a hand for her to take and together strolled into the Magic Kingdom.

There was an air of peace and quiet when they entered.

Maddie giggled. There’s no one else here.

Cole smiled indulgently at her musical sound while Charlie pinched her cheek. Impatiently, she tugged on their hands to keep moving. As if they were of one mind, the three of them boarded the train headed for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It turned out to be a favorite for all three.

The train moved forward and the music played despite there being no operator. The three of them sat in companionable silence while they quietly hummed along to the song and enjoyed the scenery the train passed by.

I still can’t believe we have the whole park to ourselves, Maddie said wistfully. What a wonderful dream.

I know, said Cole. I spent hours today just waiting in line.

Charlie chimed in with an uh-huh.

After exiting the train, they ran to make themselves over into pirates. Once the outfits were complete with eye patches, pirate makeup, and plastic swords, they headed for the ride. Once again, there was no one to operate the ride, but the pirate ship still sailed and plunged. The mechanical pirates moved and sang. Yo ho ho! All three raised their hands and screamed as the ship plunged into the water, splashing them.

Yo ho ho! A pirate’s life for me! they sang loudly in unison.

They didn’t bother getting off after the ride came to end. Instead, with barely a pause to restart, they sailed and plunged again and again before moving on to the next ride. The boys indulged Maddie by making themselves over from pirates to princes, Prince Charmings to her Snow White. They ran, skipped, and rode the train from ride to ride, store to stand, eating and drinking their fill of sweets and sodas. It seemed as if hours had passed and yet they never tired and their stomachs never soured from all the food they ate. They never even had to use the bathroom.

It was while spinning on the teacups that Maddie noticed a change. The ride came to a halt and everything started to blur and fuse together in a swirl of brilliant colors until only the teacup they sat in was clear. Charlie and Cole both wore the same look of confusion, clearly seeing what Maddie was.

What’s happening? Maddie asked, alarmed.

Time to wake up, honey.

It was Evelyn Sutton’s voice that broke through Maddie’s dream. Evelyn kissed her daughter’s forehead and then shooed her into the bathroom to shower and change. Inside the bathroom, Maddie let out a strangled sob. Thankfully, she was already under the shower, drowning out the sound when it escaped. The dream felt so real to her, more so than any dream she had ever had. The experience felt almost as real as actually being at the park with her parents the day before, though she had to admit that the dream had been way more fun. And it wasn’t just because the park was empty and catered to her every whim. It was her two dream companions, or rather the current lack of them, that had her sobbing as she held her head under the spray of water. She just wanted to crawl back into her hotel room bed and dream of them some more.

Maddie had plenty of friends at school. She was outgoing and funny and easy to get along with, but for some reason, she never felt close enough to anyone to consider them a best friend. She seemed to always lack that special connection no matter how much she liked a person. Charlie and Cole had changed all that. She felt them in her very soul the instant she saw them. She cried harder when that realization hit her.

I wish they were real, she whispered to no one.

Months had passed before she saw her dream boys again. She had been going to bed each night hoping and praying that they would once again show up in her dreams. And every morning she would awake crying at her disappointment.

Maddie could not help the depression that settled over her. She felt as if something precious had been stolen from her. Her constant moping did not go unnoticed by her parents and neither did her declining grades. At one point, they had even suggested counseling. It wasn’t until Maddie saw Charlie and Cole again that her depression faded and with it, the concerns of her parents.

For months, Maddie had been worried that Charlie and Cole were lost to her forever. When she finally saw them again in her dream, standing by the swings in an unfamiliar park, she cried out and ran to them. She didn’t care if she made them up. She would take them any way she could, even if it were only in her dreams. She looked them both over, drinking them in, and better committing them to memory so that when she awoke, she would be able to draw them. She vowed to herself right then and there to perfect her technique enough to one day capture them just right.

Charlie and Cole appeared to be equally overjoyed to see her and each other for that matter. All three of them expressed how hard they tried to see each other again and how much it had taken a toll on them when they weren’t able to. Maddie felt an unbreakable bond form between them.

Where are we? Maddie finally asked after she managed to pull apart from their embrace.

We are at a park my dad used to take me to a few years ago, Cole replied. Maddie could hear the sadness in his voice. It’s in Silverdale, Washington. It’s where I’m from.

Oh, Cole, what’s wrong? Maddie slipped an arm around his waist, urging him to continue.

He died a few years ago from a heart attack. I still miss him every day, but I have my mom and now I have you guys. I was actually thinking about this place when I went to sleep and then I found myself standing here in front of the swings. Then Charlie appeared, followed by our Maddie. He added the last line with a smile, a wink, and a pat on the head for Maddie.

Before long, they had her squealing with glee as they took turns pushing her on the swings. The boys then took to performing death-defying stunts on the swings and the bar on top. Maddie giggled when Cole was upside down hanging from the bar. She half expected Baloo to come along and do a song and dance with him.

They laughed and played in the park until the scenery swirled around them, signifying the end of their dream. They stood in a circle, smiling at one another and holding hands until the dream had faded.

Maddie didn’t dream about them every night. Sometimes days, weeks, and even months, though that was rare, passed by in between, but she no longer worried that she would never see them again. As the years went by, her diaries and sketchbooks became filled with adventures she experienced with them. Every time they saw each other, it was at a different location. Sometimes they were places that one of them had actually been to, while others were just fusions of their collective imagination.

Progressively, they discovered more and more details about each other. For instance, Charlie lived in Florida but would soon be moving to San Francisco with his parents. Maddie let them know she was from upstate New York. Cole had three dogs and couldn’t wait to one day become a veterinarian. And all three of them were only children.

They were real enough to her…

CHAPTER 2

Six years later

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I kissed my first boy today, Maddie announced. Cole and Charlie seemed to both stiffen at the news.

So what was it like for you? Charlie asked. His voice sounded tight and controlled. The kiss, I mean.

Oh, you know, it was okay, she replied in a tone that suggested she was already bored discussing it. He was kind of slobbery. I thought it would be better.

Charlie and Cole, being seventeen and eighteen respectively, had already had their share of kisses and so much more. Though they never boasted about their experiences, they shared them openly with each other, perhaps just leaving out the finer details. There were no secrets between the three of them. No dream or fantasy that they could not share with one another if they wanted to. But suddenly Cole and Charlie were wrapped in their own private conversation as they sat in the Tacoma Dome watching a concert.

Wow, Cole! I can’t believe you saw U2 in concert yesterday, Maddie said. She glanced behind her and noticed that Charlie and Cole were whispering, but decided to ignore them. She was too busy jumping up and down, singing and swaying to the music, as her favorite band played just for them. She had the front row all to herself while Charlie and Cole sat directly behind her. They’re amazing. Just wow!

The stadium was empty of course, except for them and the band. And though the music was loud, it wasn’t as loud as an actual concert would have been. No earplugs required. Charlie and Cole each had a beer in hand, though they wouldn’t let Maddie drink. They laughed heartily when she pouted and said, You guys are like the big brothers I never wanted. And you two aren’t old enough to drink either by the way. And, this—she gestured wildly—is a freakin’ dream. It’s not like I can actually get freakin’ drunk. Oh, and you two are not the bosses of me.

And a surly teenager is born! Cole said.

Maddie ignored Cole’s comment and didn’t bother with a reply. She was fully aware of losing that battle, though at first she thought that Charlie would have eventually given in. Cole was usually the responsible diplomatic one, while Charlie just wanted them to let loose and run rampant.

What’s eating her?

A bit of bad kissing, I would say, Cole replied without humor.

Maddie never shied away from voicing her opinion. She was smart, strong willed, and very spunky. Her boys loved that about her. But she was also somewhat shy and reserved when it came to the opposite sex. Charlie and Cole, being her best friends, were the exception. She had once told them that she wished she had friends in the waking world who she could talk to and be herself with as freely and easily as she was with the two of them and how she hated feeling completely awkward around boys. So while Charlie and Cole had discussed their various dates or girlfriends, even though neither of them had ever been serious with anyone, Maddie just listened or chimed in whenever she could offer any advice. Now that it was her turn to kiss and tell, she had a hard time classifying the feelings that Charlie and Cole were emitting. There was a hint of possessiveness in their tone of voice. Or were they just being overprotective? Or could they possibly be jealous? It certainly seemed that they did not like the idea of their Maddie kissing boys.

Maddie had fantasized about getting her first kiss ever since she hit puberty. To say that she had been disappointed with Sean’s delivery was an understatement. And if she were being honest with herself, it wasn’t just because Sean’s kiss was slobbery. His lips were simply not the lips that she secretly desired, or rather the two sets of lips she secretly desired. She wasn’t surprised at the amount of girls who chased after both Charlie and Cole at their high schools. She was definitely jealous though.

Ha! Leave it to me to be jealous of girls chasing the boys I made up.

Maddie had witnessed firsthand how both boys had grown into their