A/N: Thanks to everyone who's left a review. I'm still floored by the positive response and the numerous follows and favorites. You guys rock!
"So how about that Jared, huh?" Castle clapped his hands together.
"You're engaged?" The women chorused and Castle regretted that he was not in the same position as Kate, who could just simply thrust out her left hand and let the engagement ring dazzle and distract people from their questions. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at them sheepishly.
"When were you going to tell me?" Paula shook her head at him in irritation. "The book party's only two weeks away, how on earth am I supposed to turn it into an engagement party on such sort notice?"
"No, Paula." Castle shook his head adamantly.
"What do you mean no?"
"There'll be no flashy engagement party this time. She's not that kind of girl. She's not in it for the fame and money. She couldn't care less for the media hype around Richard Castle, she just wants Richard Rodgers, the goofy guy who makes her smile at the end of a long day. She just wants me. She loves me for who I really am. In spite of who I really am."
"Ricky, you're killing me here. I've got a book to promote and you know this kind of news will generate free publicity until Deadly Heat drops in four and half weeks, if not longer. You can't drop a bombshell like this on me and expect me to do nothing about it!"
"I mean it, Paula. Don't leak this behind my back or we're through. She's just started her new job in DC and I don't want reporters hassling her at work. Things are tough enough for us as they are. The last thing we need is the press poking their nose where it doesn't belong."
"Who's that girl anyway that she's got you wrapped around her little finger like that? I hope she's worth it!" Paula grumbled.
"Isn't that obvious?" Gina, who had been quietly studying her ex-husband the whole time, finally broke her silence. "He's marrying Kate."
"Kate? Who?" Paula looked at them confused. She hated it when she felt left out of the loop.
Gina rolled her eyes and tapped her fingers against the large Deadly Heat cardboard poster propped on the easel next to her. Paula's jaw hit the floor.
"Nooo! Thaaat Kate?" She drew out the vocals and looked at Rick for confirmation, who only shrugged his shoulders. "I thought she hated your guts? The last time I saw her was at the party for Heat Wave and you guys were to jumping down each other's throats."
"Well, and now we're jumping each other's bones." Rick shrugged with a smirk.
Paula gasped and clutched her hand to her chest as realization hit her. "Oh my god! You're marrying Nikki Heat! Rick, you're engaged to Nikki Heat."
"Would you stop calling her that? She's not Nikki Heat. Her name's Kate."
"But you're marrying freakin' Nikki Heat!" Paula exclaimed. "Don't you remember the sensational run we've had with Derrick Storm when you hooked up with Gina. Writer and publisher was great. Writer and muse? That's better than great, Ricky, that's awesome with a capital A."
"Would you please stop looking at my engagement like a cash cow you can milk? This is my personal life we're talking about. I love this woman and I will not let anyone exploit that love for money or personal gain!" Castle erupted in anger.
"Gina, will you please talk some sense into your ex?" Paula rolled her eyes. "Okay, Ricky, let me get this straight. You just told your publisher and book agent that you've proposed to the woman on whom you based an entire series of best selling novels, which for all intents and purposes mirror your real life and you seriously expect us not to milk this for the release party of the latest novel in said series?"
"Umm, yes!" Rick smiled relieved.
"Is he always that dumb?" Paula turned to Gina, "Whatever did you see in him?"
"I don't see what the big deal is? Nothing has changed!"
"Everything has changed, Ricky. I'm sorry but I can't sit on this. Do you have any idea how much publicity this will generate? The fans will eat out of your hand at book signings; they've always loved Detective Beckett. I'm pretty sure quite a number of them ship you and Beckett in real life. The pre-sales will be off the charts because everyone can't wait to read about you and Kate in the latest book. A story like that is too good an opportunity to pass on. I can see already the headlines: Life imitates art, or is it art imitating life? Richard Castle to marry his longtime muse."
"That's not how it happened and you know that. I didn't sleep with Kate while I wrote the books, so don't make it sound so dirty."
Paula cast him a look of disbelief.
"Well, fine. We hooked up just before I started Deadly Heat. But that's not the point. I purposely kept Rook and Heat's characters separate from me and Kate."
"That's not how the fans and the media will see it and you know it." Paula interjected. "There's enough in Rook to know he's based on you for anyone familiar with your life story. They'll apply the same logic to Kate and Nikki Heat."
"I've dated other women over the past few years." He looked at Gina and pointed at her, "We even made it to page six with our public break up!"
"Which the press will now say was because you've been screwing your muse on the side all the time." Paula shook her head. "Please Rick, at least let me do a press release. You know it's always better when the information comes from us, saves us a lot of damage control afterwards."
"They'll say that anyway." He pouted with a guilty look. And they wouldn't be completely wrong. He may not have cheated on Gina with Kate by sleeping with her but he certainly lusted for her since the day they met.
"We could do a press conference before the party. Kate doesn't even have to be there. You can field the questions alone, just in case it turns awful. I'll call in a few favors from friends and we plant questions with the promise of exclusive interviews afterwards. Maybe with Kate there as an added incentive. Provided they refrain from printing defamation and lies. Hopefully we can steer them away from the gossipy part and get them to focus on the romantic part about the writer falling in love with his muse after all those years of shadowing her at work."
"Let me talk to Kate about it over the weekend." Castle finally acquiesced, knowing Paula had a point. Gina nodded at him in agreement. "Don't do anything before you hear back from me. I mean it, Paula. Don't leak it "for my own good", if you can't promise me this doesn't leave this room, then I'll dash down to legal and bring back a lawyer to draft a confidentiality agreement."
"Good luck with that, legal gets to leave at 5pm like normal people, unlike us who have to work insane hours." Paula grumbled. "But okay, fine. My lips are sealed until I hear from you. But don't wait too long. I need to know by Monday to make necessary arrangements. If it's too short notice, I won't be able to call in too many favors."
Rick nodded, then he turned to his ex-wife. "I'm sorry, Gina, this is not how I wanted you to find out."
"Yeah, I think I would've preferred reading about it in the Ledger." She gave a humorless laugh. "I just hope she doesn't break your heart again." Gina sent her ex a knowing look.
"Not gonna happen." Rick shook his head. "This is the real deal, Gina. I love her and she loves me. This is the best relationship I've ever head." He winced when he realized what he'd just said. "Sorry, I don't mean it like that."
"No, it's okay, Rick. I'm a big girl. We gave it two shots, that's more than most people. But I won't care if she's just taken a bullet to her heart, when she runs away from you again and you can't finish your next novel because thinking about her hurts too much. I won't go easy on you, I'll just cut you loose next time."
"Fair enough." Rick nodded.
"It's getting late," Gina announced checking her watch, "and I'm hungry. How about we stop here and pick up again in the morning? Maybe Jared has come up with a solution by then as well."
"Sounds good to me?" Rick looked at Paula who nodded. They started to gather their personal belongings and threw out the trash.
"Wait a moment!" Paula suddenly said, "Did you just say Kate works in DC now?"
"About that, I was going to tell you tonight but then you two got sidetracked fighting over who gets to behead Jared."
"Richard Edgar Castle," Paula hissed and moved to block his exit to the door, "when were you going to tell me that you're moving to DC?"
Dammit, Rick thought. So close. So very close. This was going to be a long night. If he was going to make it out alive of this meeting at all. He wondered if Ryan and Esposito would find his mangled body in a dark side alley in the wee hours of tomorrow morning.