Chapter 6 – Revelations

His offer of another coffee was more than welcome. It wasn't just that the coffee was pretty good, nor that during the last twenty minutes she'd only thought of Maddie the once, when Dumbo here had brought it up, but she had actually enjoyed the bantering conversation. She was still struggling to equate this version of the writer with her concept of Richard Castle as gleaned from The Ledger's page six Cornucopia of Castle Facts.

Nodding, she placed her cup and saucer back on the tray as he stood up, and then asked if she could help him. Kate thought he was about to say no … when something made him change his mind and she was quite happy to follow him in to the bungalow when he suggested she help him cut up some fruit for breakfast.

She glanced around as they entered the bungalow and took in the square room, seating area to her left with comfy looking rattan couch, coffee table, a couple of seats and the large plate glass window overlooking the beach. To her right was a small dining table with four chairs pushed in beneath it, a cabinet against the wall probably holding all the tableware. The back of the room had a closed door to the side, shelves holding an amalgam of items from books, to seashells, to candlesticks and vases covering the left half of the back wall and a kitchenette slotted into the other half. It wasn't that much different to the one she and Maddie were sharing and she guessed the door on the left led to the bedrooms and bathroom beyond. He led the way to the small kitchen, set the tray down on the counter and pointed to the bowl full of fresh fruit on the end.

"Any preferences?" he asked and she shook her head, eyebrows slightly raised as she stared at the large amount of fruit pyramided in the bowl.

"All looks pretty good, what about you?"

"I like a kiwi, mango, caimito, and star fruit mix … sort of fruit salad but without the syrup."

"Ok," she nodded, "point me to the knife and chopping board … and point out the caimito to me … never seen one" she grinned up at him and then raised an enquiring eyebrow as he just stood there staring back at her. She was about to clear her throat when he seemed to shake himself and began turning his head as if trying to remember what he was looking for. She bit her lip in amusement, attempting to keep the laughter in and wondering if this was the real Richard Castle, or just the early morning, jet-lagged version of him.

He set out the chopping board, knife, teaspoon, peeler and a couple of glass bowls on the counter for her and then picked out a purple-skinned fruit she'd never seen before from the bowl and sliced it in half as he explained how to prepare it to her. His voice reminded her of warm summer evenings and then he was holding out the spoon to her so she could taste the caimito. Unthinkingly she leant forward and took the spoon in her mouth, almost choking as she saw him grin and realising she would have been better off to have taken the spoon from him first … then the refreshingly sweet taste hit her buds and she hummed in appreciation.

She picked out a couple more caimitos and began to slice and scoop the flesh into the bowls, piling discarded seeds and skin to one side. She was aware of him standing less than a foot away as he unscrewed the top of the coffee pot and the sudden realisation that she was preparing breakfast with Richard Castle almost made her catch her breath. She squeezed her eyes closed for a second, took a slow, silent, deep lungful of air and started on the mango. She kept throwing sideways glances at him, through the curtain of her hair, watching him as he tamped home the coffee grounds. Her next glance caught him staring at her, cerulean eyes wide, fingers stilled round the filter and as she turned her head to look at him inquiringly he suddenly ducked his, grabbing the top of the filter and Kate had to hide a grin, it seemed, for some strange reason she couldn't quite fathom, that she wasn't the only one affected by their close proximity … but surely he could be a bit more suave about it than her? After all, she was just a Big Apple Detective; he was supposed to be the sophisticated playboy round here.

Her slicing of the starfruit came to an abrupt stop as she felt his hip brush against hers, felt him freeze in place even as her skin tingled at the contact. Her summer dress and his shorts were hardly thick enough to minimise the heat she could feel where their hips were inexplicably joined. Unfortunately the contact had her picturing the rest of the contents of those blue shorts and a sudden flush of heat developed in her chest, shot up her neck and tinged her cheeks, the heat in her face overshadowing that at her hip. She swallowed, dropped her head forwards so he wouldn't be able to see her face and resumed slicing the fruit, her rather unsteady hand making a more than imperfect slice.

It seemed ages before he moved, straightening up and she could feel him looking at her, but there was no way she was going to let him get a glimpse of her face, not at least until she could assume her cheeks were no longer giving her away. Oh shit! That sigh of relief he'd just exhaled did nothing to calm her down!

She finished peeling and slicing the kiwis in silence, aware of him standing tall beside her, and she really wished she had her heels with her, barefooted as she was, every time her eyes wandered sideways she became aware of his shoulder just a few inches away, of the shirt hanging open and his arm almost brushing hers. It really wasn't fair! How the hell was she supposed to concentrate when they were standing so close together!

Her movement as she scooped the fruit into the bowls seemed to drag the writer out of whatever reverie he'd been in, and he threw her a guilty look which partly amused, partly intrigued her. She was wondering what was keeping him so quiet when he said, "Sorry, daydreaming!" and then he was moving around her, turning the gas off and placing the gurgling coffee pot back on the tray. He handed her a couple of spoons and then began rinsing the board and knife adding, "Leave any of this lying around for five minutes and you've got The Naked Jungle"

It took her a few seconds to place the reference, suddenly remembering the old fifties film with Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker, one she'd watched a couple of times with her parents back in the day and again with Lanie on one of their girls nights; the TNT channel had supplied them with plenty of golden oldies. A further recollection of how the film began, had her biting her lip in amusement and she couldn't help turning to face him, hands on hip and playfully asking "Really, you're going with that? And who's your mail-order-bride?"

She'd expected him to be embarrassed, given his far from sophisticated performance so far, but he surprised her by saying, "I don't know, any suggestions?" and waggling his eyebrows suggestively at her.

Pretending to ignore the innuendo, and hoping her face wasn't giving her away, she went with "Not off the top of my head," and trying for casualness, asked "All set?"

Castle nodded, his grin telling her he was quite aware of her discomfort and then he picked up the tray and followed her back out onto the deck. By now the sun was well above the horizon, the heat beginning to build. She started to set out the bowls and coffee cups as he moved to the large umbrella and began to turn the crank handle, the white canvas opening up and spreading wide above them.

They sat down and he poured their coffees, adding milk to hers and handing it to her with a smile. She turned her head to look out at the view, noticed how the light bouncing off the blue sea tinted the white canvas above them. The rustling palm fronds, the rhythmic swish of gentle waves breaking on the beach and the muted sound of the generator running somewhere round the back of the bungalow were the only sounds to disturb the quietness.

She loved New York. Loved the hustle, the noise, the people. But for now, this peace and quiet fed her soul in ways the city couldn't. Her train of thought was interrupted by his "Penny for them?"

She shook her head to clear her mind, turned to pick up the spoon and said, "Was just enjoying the view and the lack of traffic."

He nodded in understanding, hummed in agreement and added, "I try to make it out here once a year, spend a month unwinding, away from all the glitz and glam and crap that goes on around me most of the time."

She was startled by the revelation, "Really?"

He looked a bit sheepishly at her, "Oh, don't get me wrong, I love what I do, the life I have, but this time of year, the endless functions, the book tours, the interviews … I end up with lockjaw from having to smile all the time. Add the two witches into the mix and I'm telling you, one month is barely enough! I just wish my daughter was out here as well, that would make it just perfect!"

Kate stared at him, lips parted in surprise, spoon paused halfway between bowl and mouth.