A/N: Covering the gap between 2x24 and 3x01. A snapshot of Rick's summer in the Hamptons. Thanks to ChampionshipVinyl, Cait and Mollie for convincing me to post this. :)
Sway With Me
It's wedding season in the Hamptons, and Rick finds himself an unexpected dance partner.
Rick made his way back to the railing and handed Gina her champagne.
"Thank you, Rick," Gina smiled up at him.
"You're welcome," Rick nodded.
"I have to admit, Richard, this was an excellent idea. We've both been working too hard lately," Gina beamed and clinked her glass against his. Rick agreed with her. He'd cranked out two chapters this week alone, and when Gina wasn't proofreading his latest pages she was chained to her own desktop, remotely running her department from his living room. A break was just what the doctor ordered.
"To weddings," Rick proposed, tapping her glass with a mischievous grin.
"As long as it isn't ours. God, remember what happened with the caterer?" Gina leaned back against the railing.
"You mean when he gave himself food poisoning two days before the wedding and his assistant was in charge?" Rick smirked.
"And we got the wrong cake!"
"Hey now, aside from the questionable cake toppers that worked out just fine."
"I have always like strawberry shortcake," Gina waved at someone behind Rick and shrugged apologetically at him. "Looks like work never does end – that's Rachel, I should go and say hello."
"Go ahead. I'll people watch, it's what I'm good at. Maybe take one of the ladies for a spin on the floor." Rick grinned.
"You could always come with me," Gina offered.
"I'll tell you a secret," Rick whispered, sending Gina's curls trembling as he bent down to kiss her. "Rachel scares me."
"You're a wimp, Richard," Gina teased, moving away. "Just don't run off with any of the young ladies."
Rick leaned against the deck railing and watched the couples twirling around on the makeshift dance floor set up on the beach. The DJ segued into a slow song and ten couples abandoned the bar for the floor before the first verse was over.
"Oh!"
Rick was knocked off balance by a tiny blonde and his champagne sloshed dangerously close to the top of his glass.
"I'm so sorry," she exclaimed, "I wasn't looking where I was going-"
"Jenny?" Rick gaped.
"Richard Castle!" Jenny grinned. "Are you crashing weddings instead of homicide investigations now?'
Rick laughed. "No, I am invited this time. What are you doing here?"
"I'm the college roommate of the bride," Jenny smiled. "I heard Cassie was looking for a place to hold her reception out here and I offered her this."
"You're a party planner?" Rick asked, brow furrowed.
"God, no," Jenny laughed and winked at him. "I'm a teacher. This is my family's summer house."
Rick thought back to the name on the mailbox and gaped at Jenny again. "Not the media mogul Robbins family – your money can buy banks!"
"It's mostly my mother's side of the family," Jenny shrugged.
"Does that mean Ryan's here too?" Rick craned his neck, trying to pick the detective out of the crowd.
"No, Kevin caught a murder at three this morning. But even if he hadn't, he wouldn't be here. I didn't ask him to come."
"Trouble in paradise?" Rick asked quietly.
Jenny laughed and hastened to reassure him. "Everything's fine, Rick. Better than fine, actually. It's just… I haven't exactly told Kevin how much money my family has."
Rick thought he caught a blush on Jenny's cheeks as she continued.
"And there's the whole wedding vibe – I didn't want him to think there was any pressure. Or that I'd suddenly caught the wedding bug."
Now the blush made sense. "Have you caught the wedding bug, Jenny?"
"That's none of your business – oh, I love this song," Jenny sighed.
"You're a Journey fan?" Rick raised an eyebrow.
"More of a Faithfully fan, actually."
"Okay, come on." Rick put down his glass and grabbed Jenny's hand.
"Where are we going?" Jenny stared askance at Rick.
"To dance! You love this song, my date's busy networking and Ryan's in the city. You know you want to, Jenny." Rick grinned.
"Fine," Jenny grinned and let Rick lead her to the dance floor. "But those hands better stay somewhere appropriate."
Rick's jaw dropped and he laughed. "I won't do anything that might result in Ryan shooting me. Scout's honour."
"You're not a Scout – Kevin told me you already pulled that one on Kate."
"I'll be good," Rick assured her. "Now, why do you love this song so much?"
"Does there have to a reason?" Jenny asked as Rick twirled them.
"There normally is," Rick nodded.
"It's… it's hard to love a cop sometimes," Jenny said quietly, staring resolutely at the second button on Rick's shirt. "When Kevin asked me to move in, the first thing he did was take me to the shooting range and show me how to use his backup. I'd never held a gun before then, let alone fired one. I'm a decent shot now," Jenny laughed. "I worry about him and he worries about me. It works for us." Jenny looked up so she was staring at Rick. "It takes a lot of work but it is worth it, Rick."
"I – what are you talking about?" Rick wondered how she'd managed to switch it around on him. He was supposed to be the one asking questions, not her.
"There are some things you don't have to be a detective to figure out, just a woman," Jenny bit her lip. "You'll go back in the fall."
"She's dating someone," Rick said. He didn't mind admitting it to her now. Jenny had already figured it out, anyway, and her visit here was practically a secret as well. "I can't stay there and watch that."
"A lot can change over the summer, Rick. And either way you owe Kate more than a 'see you in the fall' and a disappearing act. It won't help either of you."
Rick sighed. "I'll go back in the fall."
"Good."
The song ended and Gina chose that moment to walk over to them.
"How's Rachel?" Rick asked.
"She's fine. And sorry she missed you," Gina smirked. "I told her you were dancing with a friend."
"Jenny," Jenny said, offering her hand to Gina. "Gina Cowell, right? My friend Stephanie couldn't stop raving about how amazing you were when you were editing her latest book."
"Nice to meet you, Jenny," Gina shook her hand. "Would you mind if I stole Rick for a few minutes?"
"Not at all – Rick actually intercepted me on my way to talk to a friend." Jenny stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Rick's cheek. "It was good to see you again. Thanks for listening."
Gina watched Jenny walk off and turned to Rick. "Who was that?"
"An old friend's girlfriend," Rick grinned at Gina as the DJ switched songs again. "Hey, it's our song! Want to dance?"
Gina laughed as Rick twirled them slowly around the floor. "This isn't really a slow song, Rick."
"We're different, that's all," Rick winked. "Being normal is boring, anyway."