Richard Castle turned a benevolent eye to the two women embracing each other a few feet away from him. Their honeymoon was drawing to an end, and his wife had insisted that they visited an old friend of hers who was now Senior Agent for the California Bureau of Investigation.
Despite being shorter in stature, Teresa Lisbon shared Kate's commanding presence and feisty demeanor. It was no wonder that the two of them were friends, even though they seldom got to see each other; both of them were officers of the law, and they lived at the opposite ends of the country.
A moment later a man in a three-piece suit wandered towards the pair, then perched on the edge of a desk. He was balancing a cup of tea and a saucer in his hand, but his eyes never strayed far from the petite brunette who was deep in talk with her friend.
"You should ask her out, you know," Castle dropped casually as he crossed paths with the same guy on his way out of the building.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Your pretty boss. I'm sure she wouldn't say no."
The blonde man only smiled and walked away.