Richard Castle has it all: fame, fortune, and Kate Beckett, the best friend anyone could ask for. Yet, when they're separated by her job abroad, Castle realizes he wants to turn their friendship into more. Before he can tell her, she returns...with her fiance. He's determined to stop the wedding, but will he be able before they say 'I do'? (Rom-com fic based on the movie Made of Honor)

A/N: I love the movie Made of Honor - I love it so much. I remember when I first saw It my only thought was "this feels like a fic I would have written" so I was all too happy with Alex's list of rom-com prompts. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Updates will be Saturdays and Tuesdays. There are 16 chapters + an epilogue - AND a sequel :)

Chapter One

Richard Castle stepped inside Ruby's on Fourth, plucked the sunglasses from his face, and inhaled deeply the scent of the classic diner atmosphere. Ah, finally; he was home.

He didn't suppose Ruby's had changed much in its forty-six year tenure. The tables and chairs were weathered and rickety after nearly five decades of patrons sliding in and out. The flooring was well-worn and cracking in the higher traffic areas. And, judging by its ever-yellowing tone, the wallpaper most certainly had not been changed in any recent decade, but none of that mattered. The atmosphere of Ruby's merely added to the charm and Castle didn't mind that one bit.

"Well, well, look who it is." Ruby's most loyal employee smiled up at the large-framed man as he walked through the door. She sat on her usual stool by the entrance, stack of menus on the kiosk beside her. Sister of the diner's namesake, Denise had been a waitress since the day the doors opened, but eighteen months earlier—after her second knee replacement—she'd been unable to keep up with the fast pace and heavy loads required of a server. Instead, she stuck by the door greeting each patron and giving special treatment to her favorites.

"Denise, darling." Castle flashed a grin to the white-haired, round-faced woman. "You look lovelier every time I see you."

She let out a giggle not unlike those heard from girls one quarter her age. "Stop it Ricky! You're such a tease!"

"Never!" He proclaimed, a cheeky grin displayed across his face.

"Your usual table for two?"

Castle bobbed his head in conformation. "She didn't beat me here, did she?"

"Not this morning," Denise said. Then, after plucking two menus from her stack, she directed Castle towards his preferred spot: the two-seater dead center in the diner's front window. The hostess knew the loyal customers well; people watching while eating their brunch was most definitely a shared guilty-pleasure.

Castle took the menus, thanked the elder woman, and began tip-toeing his way through the occupied tables and chairs of already crowded diner. Just as he reached their table, the mixed scent of industrial-strength coffee and greasy bacon wafted beneath his nostrils. He breathed in deep and shut his eyes with pleasure; yes, he had missed this—even if it had only been two weeks.

For Castle, Sunday brunch was not Sunday brunch unless it was at Ruby's. He and his brunch companion had probably tried dozens if not well over a hundred eating establishments in Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs during their near decade of brunching together. Some were horrible. Some had good food but a terrible atmosphere. For others, the opposite was true. They'd tried food carts, high-end eating establishments and everything in between, but they continually returned to Ruby's.

Castle slid into the seat facing the door so he could watch for his friend. Out of pure habit, he picked up the menu and skimmed his eyes down the page. Truly, there was no reason to do this. He probably knew the menu at Ruby's better than half the waitresses, but there was always the chance something new might appear (though, if his memory served him right, it had been at least two years since anything new had been added—at least, to the breakfast menu).

Not three minutes after he sat down, Castle's attention was drawn immediately to the door when a stunning brunette stepped in. She adjusted the purse strap on her shoulder, nodded a polite "Good Morning" to Denise and then scanned her eyes towards their usual spot. Her eyes fell on him and a smile immediately spread across her face.

Castle let out a slow exhale as he stood to greet her. Just the sight of her made everything better. Hazel eyes and cheek bones that could be seen from a mile away. Hair that usually fell in soft curls, but at that moment was knotted in a messy bun near the crown of her head. Pale skin dotted with gentle hints of freckles. But, for Richard Castle, the feature he most admired—the feature he showed up every Sunday morning promptly at ten thirty a.m. for—was her smile. Kate Beckett's smile disarmed him each and every time he saw it and, a decade after their first meeting, he doubted that would soon change.

"Kate, darling, you're looking particularly lovely this morning." Castle swooped in and planted a kiss on her cheek before gesturing for her to sit across from him. "Is that a new coat?"

Kate set her purse on the floor and unbuttoned the jacket before arching one eyebrow at her friend. "Okay," she said, plopping down on the seat. "Spill it."

He sat back down and gazed at her delicately, his expression oozing innocence and charm. "Spill what?"

She folded her hands together and rested her knuckles against the table. "You want something, Castle; I know it. You only compliment me like this when you want something." She was no fool. In ten years, she'd come to learn each and every trick Richard Castle had tucked up his lengthy sleeves. Of course, she'd had him figured out in less than half that time, but the added years gave her the benefit of a highly sensitive bullshit meter and right now it read off the charts.

Castle faked a gasp and placed his right hand over his heart. "I am offended by such an accusation! But…now that you mention it…" He smiled and leaned in towards her. "I do need a date to my mother's wedding."

"No," she said simply. Then, she picked up the menu before her and studied it as though she would later be quizzed on the exact font sizes and styles used on each different menu item.

"Kaaaaate." The man whined in a tone far too childish for his age.

Kate pushed her menu down against the table in one swift move. "No, Castle; no way."

"What? C'mon—she loves you!"

"And I love her," Kate continued. "But after the circus fiasco from two years ago I vowed never again."

Castle skimmed his fingertips against his chin at the memory of his mother's prior nuptials. Unfortunately, Kate's descriptor of "circus" was not one of exaggeration. "Who knew elephants could stampede a buffet table like that, right?"

"Castle!"

He chuckled. "C'mon, Kate; it wasn't that bad."

She let out a squeak of indignation. "That bad! That bad!? There was a nude trapeze artist, Castle—nude!"

A smirk crossed his face as he shut his eyes in memory of the flexible young woman's high-flying act. "Yeah, she was hot wasn't she? Ah!" He yelped and his eyes popped open when his companion's foot came in swift contact with his shin.

Grumbling at her, he continued. "Kate, I swear there are no clothing-optional entertainers this time. It's going to be a low-key affair. At least, compared to last time…" As a skeptical expression remained on Kate's face, Castle reached across the narrow table and snagged her right hand before she had a chance to snatch it away. Pulling it close to him, he turned to begging. "Please Kate? Please? If you come with me I promise I'll be your best friend forever."

Kate rolled her eyes at this. "I think I'm stuck with you forever regardless."

He grinned at this true statement before his groveling continued. Flipping her hand over in his grasp, he peppered her palm and wrist with kisses in-between begs. "Please Kate? Please, please, please!"

"Okay, god, fine," she grunted, yanking her hand back and wiping the palm against her jeans. "I'll go with you just don't get your slobber all over my new coat!"

The smile across Castle's face could not have been prouder. "I owe you, Kate. Really."

She waved her hand casually at him indicating it was no big deal. As she did so, their waitress showed up, pouring them each a large cup of black coffee (the extra-black diner kind that, as Castle described it, would put hair on anyone's chest—man or woman) and offered to take their orders.

Their ritual dated back nearly to the beginning of their brunches together, though neither of them quite knew how it started. Whenever they tried a new restaurant the task became a bit more interesting, but at Ruby's their orders were almost always the same: two eggs over easy, hash browns and white toast. The only difference was that one chose bacon and the other sausage so they could have a little of each breakfast meat.

Once their order was placed, Kate stood from her seat and shrugged off her jacket before sitting back down. Though overnight a spring rain had fallen lowering the temperature to the low-fifties, the springtime sun beating through the diner's glass window had warmed the restaurant nicely. "So your mom's really marrying Chet, huh?"

Castle shrugged as he set down his coffee mug. "So it would appear."

Kate dumped two sugar packets into her coffee mug before taking a tentative sip, scrunching her nose, and adding two more. "I thought she'd sworn off marriage after the magician," Kate said, emphasizing the profession of Castle's prior step-father. To be honest, she did not remember the man's name, though she remembered his occupation quite clearly. Being a magician in a traveling circus was a unique enough job that she would have remembered regardless, however that particular gentleman had the irritating habit of working the fact that he was a magician into every conversation no less than eighty times.

"You know her—that lasted all of five minutes. At least this time they're doing it right—and by right I mean with a pre-nup."

Kate smirked at this. "Really? I didn't think she had any money left to steal." While she believed his card tricks to be elementary at best, the former Mr. Martha Rodgers had pulled the greatest magic act she'd ever seen: making the balance of Castle's mother's bank account vanish into thin air.

Castle leaned back in his seat with a sigh. "That would be funny if it weren't true—but no, it's Chet's idea. He's protecting his assets. Mother threw a dramatic fit about it, but ultimately she agreed."

"Romantic."

"It will be once she moves out of my loft," Castle told her with a poisonous smile. He loved his mother, truly he did; he just loved her more from afar. And he loved her much, much more when her incredibly poor decisions did not directly affect his cushy, bachelor existence. Did he feel bad that all of her money had been stolen by a man who served her with divorce papers from his new residence in the Cayman Islands? Sure. But he would have felt more sympathy towards her had she not married him four weeks after meeting him and had that marriage not taken place inside the third ring at a literal three ring circus.

Once their meals arrived and Kate swapped two of her sausage links for one of his strips of bacon, she asked, "So when's the big day?"

"Two weeks. She's trying to snag him before he sees the real Martha Rodgers…or before he dies of a heart attack; whichever comes sooner."

"Castle!"

"What?" He shrugged off his companion's scolding tone. "He's had two already—that's a valid concern."

She gave a conceding nod. "Especially since your mother is a tiger in the bedroom."

Castle felt his stomach lurch in his gut. He shut his eyes tightly and gulped. "Kate…"

She giggled, knowing full well the only thing Castle hated more than talking about his mother's marriages (Chet would be her fourth husband) was discussing her bedroom habits. Much to the chagrin of everyone around her, Martha was never too shy to discuss those. "Sorry, but that was for getting your drool on my jacket."

After shooting her a pointed look, Castle turned back to his breakfast. "So you wanna take my Black Card to go and get yourself a new dress."

Kate glanced up at her famous mystery writer friend; rarely did he miss an opportunity to mention the fact that he possessed one of the oh-so-elite AMEX Black Cards. "No, because unlike you I don't spend money like it's water."

"Hey," he said, stabbing his fork in her direction. "I needed each and every one of those light sabers."

"I'm sure." They exchanged smiles before Kate continued. "I have something I can wear."

"Really? Because you know this is the social event of the season!" Though he added an extra dramatic flair to the statement, Castle had heard his mother use a phrase similar to that one when describing her upcoming nuptials. "You know Mother will shame you if you wear something she's seen before."

Kate pressed her lips tightly together in recollection of the events Rodgers-Castle family Christmas party from two years earlier. She still heard about the two holidays in a row she wore the exact same dress. "Valid point."

He beamed at her. "Shopping it is then! You doing anything after this?"

Kate let out a snort. "I do have a life, you know."

"Do you?"

"Castle."

He laughed under her glare. "Just kidding—you are a very important, very busy professor and you are on the brink of sanity because it's almost the end of the semester and soon you're going to have ten thousand papers to read and grade."

Kate smiled, proud that after several years of impressing upon him just how ridiculous the end of the semester could be he was finally beginning to understand. "Exactly."

A wide grin crossed his face. "See, Kate—I know you better than you know yourself."

Kate rolled her eyes and turned back to her hash browns, though when she lowered her chin a small smile did creep onto her face. Did he know her better than she knew herself? Kate didn't think so, but she could not deny there were some days he got pretty damn close.