Chapter 11
Later that night they were having dinner together at his apartment. They chatted about various things, the progress of his second Nikki Heat book, how Stephanie had made a full confession. Apparently Judy was her sister. Stephanie knew her brother in law was responsible for her sister's death, and had decided that the judicial system would go too easy on him.
Rick was quiet for a moment. He was recalling that awful look of betrayal on Kate's face, before he could signal her as to what was REALLY going on. That whole experience had occupied his thoughts, and motivated some actions, for most of the afternoon. He excused himself from the table and came back holding a small gift box. He placed it in front of her, dropping a soft kiss on her lips, before sitting back down at his plate.
Kate eyed the box warily. Then she reached for it and lifted the cover off the box. Nestled in the cotton were two diamond slides. She looked up at him, smiling but shaking her head.
"I owed you. You saved my ass. AGAIN. The second one is because I counted wrong before, forgot about that sadistic jewel thief that tried to carjack me." His eyes were sparkling.
"And you didn't even disobey me, either time. Still, I let you out of my sight for 5 seconds and you get in trouble," she said teasingly.
Rick's look turned more serious. "There's something else in that box, that might solve that problem."
"Oh really, and what's that? A radar collar so I can track you?" she asked, mostly kidding. He still wasn't smiling as much, so she took a deep breath and peeked under the square of cotton. There, resting at the bottom of the box, was a key on a keychain with a tiny pewter castle. Her gaze flew to his face. She was trying to form words but none were coming.
Seeing her shock, Rick said "Kate, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone. Today I saw a look of doubt on your face that I NEVER want to see again. Seeing you hurt like that just about killed me. There was a small part of me that was offended that you didn't have more faith in me, but I guess I haven't always demonstrated the greatest judgment. I wanted to give you the security that you could come by any time, day or night, and I have nothing to hide from you. If you'd like to view it as an invitation to move in, that would be ok too." He was careful with the tone of the last sentence. He wanted it to seem casual enough that she didn't feel pressured, but not so casual that she would think her answer didn't matter to him.
She lifted the key out of the box and dangled it, considering. "Tell you what. Let's just put that in the maybe column for now?" she asked.
He grinned, content with maybe, because he actually expected NO. He picked up his glass and held it toward her. "Here's to maybe, then."
A few weeks later….
Kate let herself into the vestibule of her apartment building. She pulled out her keys, rearranging them to isolate the mailbox key. She felt the little pewter castle tapping against her wrist, a daily reminder of what Rick had offered her. She fished the wad of mail out of the box and began sorting through it, automatically dumping the junk in the recycle bin in the corner. She moved the D'agostino flyer to the bottom of the pile, revealing an ivory velum envelope with her address written in calligraphy. She assumed it was a wedding invite from one of her college friends, so she flipped it over to check the return address. Kate's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Gracie Mansion? The Mayor's residence?
She slid her finger under the flap and teased open the envelope. You are cordially invited to attend the Mayor's Ball. Black tie, 7pm , July 23, 2010.
The next thing Kate knew, she was at the door to her apartment. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten there, but she still had the stack of mail in her hand, so that was good.The Mayors ball?
She'd heard about it, but had never actually been invited. She wondered if Castle had anything to do with this. She debated calling him, but he was due to come over in an hour anyway.
Kate went in to change, smiling to herself. Normally she hated the idea of going to an event like that, but this year, she had a guaranteed date. Handsome, a good dancer, and fun.
Her buzzer sounded a while later, and she went to let him in. She had considered giving him her spare apartment key, but she did worry he would come in and do "research", or what she preferred to call snooping. Maybe once she got one of those teddy bear nanny cams to keep an eye on the place for her.
When she opened the door, Castle was grinning like a fool. It was definitely Castle standing there, not tender, loving, passionate Rick. She actually considered them two people. And tonight she got the 12 year old. She sighed, and stepped back to let him in. "WHAT, Castle?"
"What what?" he asked innocently. His hands were behind his back.
"You've got something to say, or show me, and I can see you are about to explode, so, out with it."
He brought his hands into view, and in the right one was a velum envelope with calligraphy. Kate sighed again. Surprise, surprise.
"I know what we're doing on July 23rd" he said excitedly.
She smiled coyly. "What WE'RE doing? How could YOU possibly know what I am doing? Maybe I have plans." She turned away, sauntering to the kitchen to start making dinner. She had decided to broil some steaks, make some rice and steam some vegetables. She went into the fridge after the steaks, and when she stood up again, she glanced in Castle's direction. He looked slightly crestfallen. She pulled her invitation from the drawer. "Maybe I am going to the Mayor's Ball! Of course, I will need a date…" She tapped the envelope on the counter, appearing to think hard, before she continued. "I should check if Esposito's free…" He growled and rounded the counter, pulling her into his embrace.
"The HELL you will…." Rick made his appearance. He kissed her until she needed to come up for air, pushing at his shoulder. "Very funny" he said. "You actually had me going for a second."
"So, you seem surprised that I got one too. Your poker buddy 'Bob' didn't clue you in about that?"
"He did, I was just hoping you hadn't opened it yet. I was also assuming I would have to work to persuade you to go.
"Yeah, well, much as I hate to admit it, I had fun with you at that charity auction thing, even though we were working."
"Me too," Rick responded. "Right up until I was auctioned off along with my book. I still can't believe you wouldn't bid on me."
"Really, and I thought you would have loved having all of those people vie for you, even if they were going to have to pay. You know in a really weird way, that means your mom pimped you out." Kate said with a faint chuckle.
"Thanks" he replied darkly. He pulled away, and Kate took the opportunity to put the steaks in the broiler and the rice in the microwave.
When she was finished, he pulled her back into his arms. He took a deep breath, hesitant as to how to begin. "Kate, I would like you to do me a favor."
Kate's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously, before dinner? Sorry, Romeo, I don't want those steaks turning into shoe leather. Your 'favor' is going to have to wait until later."
Rick laughed at that. "Not what I had in mind, for once. No, I would like you to let me get you a dress for the ball."
Kate stiffened a bit. "You're asking permission? You didn't seem to need it last time. What are you up to?"
"I've had something in mind for a while, this is just the opportunity I've needed. I had to ask you because I want to send a seamstress to take some measurements. Please, let me do this for you?"
It seemed bizarre to her, normally he just did what he wanted then charmed her into forgiving him. Maybe "Rick" was starting to win out over "Castle".
She met his gaze, and as she considered him, he switched to "puppy dog eyes". "Castle" was starting to bleed through, but this time she didn't mind. She relented, nodding. "I will meet her tomorrow night, at your place."
He agreed eagerly. They could hear the steak sizzling, so they went and finished cooking dinner together. After the clean up they sat on the couch. "Now about that other favor you were offering?" Rick asked, nibbling on her ear.
