When he'd mentioned book parties and fancy events a few weeks ago, she thought he was kidding.
But here she stands, in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom, anxiously fiddling with the lace detailing of her dress as she gets ready to attend a book launch party. The latest Derrick Storm novel is coming out tonight, and she's his date. His actual date. She'll be standing arm in arm with him as they walk across the red carpet, in the photos, and sticking by him throughout the party.
The whole nine yards.
It terrifies her.
They've been together for three weeks and two days now—not that she's counting—but this is the first real public outing she'll be doing. They're still taking it slow, but it feels wrong to call it anything other than dating. It's a relationship, and she's becoming more confident in it with each passing day.
Pictures of them have, thankfully, stayed out of the paper, and she's sure he's had something to do with that. It's not that she's trying to keep this a secret, but it's still so new and she wants it to stay between them for a while longer.
Though, after tonight that won't be the case.
He's tried to give her an out multiple times already, for the past week and up until this morning. Not because he doesn't want her to go, no—he's been beaming from the moment she'd agreed—but because he knows this is out of her comfort zone.
But as terrifying and nerve-wracking as it is, she doesn't want the out. She wants to spend the night with him, celebrating his newest book success, and that's exactly what she plans to do.
She sucks in a breath, turning to the side and then back to the front as she takes in her appearance. Turns out this cocktail dress will get some use, after all. It's just as stunning as she remembers, but it's got everything to do with the actual dress and nothing to do with her as far as she's concerned. Her hair is curled just enough to make it look styled but natural, falling a few inches past her shoulders. Leaning closer to the mirror, she inspects her makeup one last time; a simple smoky eye paired with the perfect amount of eyeliner and mascara to make her eyes pop.
There's a knock on the door and she almost jumps out of her skin, a hand falling to her chest as she walks over.
"Go away, Castle," she drawls, assuming it's him again. He's been trying to see her for the past forty five minutes, even though she's told him repeatedly that she's not ready and that patience is a virtue.
"It's me!"
Oh, it's just Alexis.
She opens the door to reveal the girl in her penguin pajamas, a smile on her face. Alexis's eyes light up as soon as she's face to face with her, and Kate tugs her into the room, doesn't trust that Castle's not lurking around the corner.
"Kate," Alexis breathes. "You look beautiful!"
Kate blushes. "Really?" she asks, casting a doubtful glance back towards the mirror.
Though, she does look nice, she'll admit.
The girl nods furiously. "Definitely! You'll be the prettiest one there," she says confidently, and Kate laughs.
"I appreciate the vote of confidence," she says, pulling Alexis into her side. "Where's that father of yours?"
"Downstairs. I made sure he didn't follow me up."
"Is he ready?"
Alexis nods. "I think so," she says. "Grams should be here soon."
"And you're sure you don't want to tag along, be my buddy when all of the ladies woo your father away?"
The girl chuckles. "You'll be okay, Kate. And I don't think he'll be paying attention to any of the other girls," she tells her, eyes raking over the dress again. "I have excellent taste."
Kate nudges her, shaking her head. "That you do, kid. That you do." She grabs her purse from the bed, making sure to pluck her heels from the ground and hold the straps in her fingers. She debates just putting them on downstairs but decides to do it now, and she bends to carefully step into the subtle black pumps. "What do you say we head downstairs now, put your father out of his misery?"
She follows a nodding Alexis, who makes sure she goes down the stairs first. She can hear Castle stand, the shuffling of footsteps as he makes his way towards the bottom of the staircase.
"Where's Kate?" he asks Alexis.
"Coming, dad, relax," she tuts.
Taking that as her cue, she takes a deep breath and starts down the steps, trying to suppress the grin that wants to split her face at his expression. The second he sees her his eyes widen, mouth opened on a gasp, and she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth.
He's looking at her like she's the only person he's ever laid eyes on and it brings heat rushing to her cheeks.
"You look... wow," he manages, eyes taking her in as his feet finally remember to move. "You're stunning."
She chews on her lip. "Thank you," she whispers. "You look pretty dapper yourself."
His grin sends shivers down her spine. "I have to do my best to look decent when I'll have the most beautiful woman standing at my side, you know."
Dipping her head, she hides her smile, lets her hair fall into her face. A hand comes up, tipping her chin and pushing the offending hair behind her ear. When she looks up he's smiling down at her, eyes so bright and sparkling that it takes her breath away.
She arches up when he leans in, covering her lips with his in a soft kiss, his hands falling to her shoulders.
"We could always just stay here," he murmurs against her lips.
Laughing, she shakes her head. "No, we can't."
"Kate," he whines.
"You've got a book launch to attend, Mr. Big Shot."
He pouts. "What if I don't want to share you with the press?"
She smiles, one of her hands caressing his cheek. "Not sharing me with anyone, Castle. Just yours."
"What about me?"
They turn to see Alexis standing beside them, a small hand on her hip, eyes moving from one of them to the other.
"Hmm," Castle hums. "I guess I could share Kate with you, pumpkin."
"Of course, Alexis," Kate promises, beckoning the girl over into a hug. "There's enough of me for the both of you."
"Good," she says, arms tightening around her waist. "Because I'd really hate to fight daddy for you. I'd win and then I'd have to watch him cry."
The adults break out into laughter at that, and they tug Alexis between them, into a three-way hug. She's too much, and Kate has absolutely no idea what she did to deserve having this kid in her life, but she's so very grateful.
A knock on the door signals Martha's arrival, and Castle detaches himself from the girls to let her in.
"Mother, you own a key."
"Hello to you too, Richard," she drawls, tugging off her gloves. "You answered quicker than I'd have been able to dig the key out of my purse."
"What I meant to say was thank you for coming and watching Alexis," he amends with a laugh. "You know how bored she gets at these events."
His mother waves a hand. "You know I love spending time with my girl." She steps into the loft and her eyes land on Kate. "Oh, Katherine. You look absolutely divine."
Kate can feel the blush creeping back onto her cheeks. "Thank you, Martha."
The older woman comes up to her, wrapping her fingers around Kate's wrists and holding them in her hands before pulling her into a hug. It's a soft hug, but there's so much in it, so many things being said. She's pretty sure she's officially gotten his mother's approval.
"Lovely," she breathes again as she pulls back, a smile on her face. Her hand comes up, a finger pointed in the air as if she's just had a revelation. "There's just one thing that would make it perfect."
Martha reaches behind her neck, unclasping her necklace and tugging it to the front of her, and then she's moving past the younger woman, coming up behind her. Kate barely has time to react before there's a brush against her hair and his mother's hands are in front of her, draping the necklace against her chest.
"Oh, Martha, I couldn't—"
"You can," she cuts her off as she finishes clasping it, pushing her hair back into place. She comes back in front of Kate, eyes looking approvingly over her newest addition. "Perfect."
"I—thank you," she whispers, unsure of what else to say to the woman's generosity.
It's a beautiful necklace, and the sparkling silver of the embellishments give a dash of color to the otherwise black ensemble.
"Okay, we need to get going if we're going to make it on time."
"As if it'd start without you," Kate jokes.
He raises a brow. "You'd be surprised."
Kate laughs, and they both turn to the other two.
"Mother, I trust that the loft will be in one piece when we return?"
Martha purses her lips. "Ye of little faith, Richard."
"Ye of past experience, mother," he returns. "There's takeout and leftovers in the fridge, so cooking will not be necessary."
"Everything will be fine," she says, shooing them towards the door. "Go, darlings. Enjoy the evening."
They're practically pushed out the door by Martha, but manage to send Alexis one last wave over their shoulders before they leave.
The limo ride to the venue is far quicker than she anticipates, far quicker than she'd have liked, and before she knows it they're sitting out front, parked against the curb. Her heart hammers in her chest, clashes against the cage of her ribs for release. She's been chewing on her nails the entire drive, has to keep willing her hands to stay in her lap so she doesn't completely destroy her nail polish. Getting photographed is bad enough without the zooming in that'd undoubtedly happen if she had chipped nails.
"You okay?"
She turns at the hand that finds its way onto her bare knee. "I'm... okay."
He gives her a knowing smile. "Nervous?"
"Am I that obvious?" she breathes.
"You've been shaking the entire ride," he says, the hand on her knee squeezing. She hadn't realized her legs were bouncing in place.
She chuckles. "So that's a yes."
"There's nothing to be nervous about, Kate." At her unconvinced arched brow, he continues. "I've got you, okay? I'll be right beside you the entire time."
Her heart calms down some, and a small smile plays on her lips. He's right. She's not alone here; she'll be walking the carpet with him at her side.
"It's just... different. All of those cameras, all of the questions that they'll ask."
"We don't have to answer anything we're not ready to."
She nods. "I know. But I don't want to lie."
"Do you want to tell everyone we're dating?" he asks. "Because we can just decline to answer."
"Declining to answer is basically as much of a confirmation as an actual confirmation," she laughs.
He lets out a breathy huff. "You're right. So, we'll tell them?"
She exhales. "Yeah," she decides. "If they ask, we'll tell them."
His grin is so wide that she can't help but match it, let her face break out into a smile that reaches far past her eyes. She leans in and presses a kiss to his lips before they exit the limo; she may be okay with announcing their relationship, but she doesn't want a picture of their PDA to accompany the blurb just yet.
"Shall we?" he breathes once they pull apart.
"We shall."
The flashing of the cameras starts almost immediately, the second they step out of the limo and onto the carpet. Reporters line the walkway, yelling out questions asking who she is, what she's doing with him, and whether or not he's off the market. They're not formal interviews so they don't give a reply, but one reporter yells out above the rest.
"So, this the next notch on your bedpost?"
She feels Castle's hold on her tighten as he stops them in their tracks. His arm is a firm weight across the small of her back, his fingers curled at her hip bone, brushing over the fabric of her dress.
"No," he says seriously, turning to the reporter who called out so rudely. "She's not."
The guy is unfazed by the blunt response. "Who is she then?"
"My girlfriend." Kate's breath hitches at the command in his voice, the pride swirling around the declaration. "And I'd appreciate it if any and all articles referring to her as a 'notch on my bedpost' are sidelined. If she's to be mentioned at all, it'll be as a woman I am in a committed relationship with and nothing but."
He starts moving again, tugging her with him and away from the hoard of reporters and their oncoming questions. She manages to meet his gaze as they walk, her eyes wide and masking as much emotion as she can manage, but matching smiles break as soon as they lock eyes. They keep walking, smiling for the cameras and for each other, until they're finally inside the building.
Gina's waiting for him as soon as they enter.
"There you are, Rick," she says. "I was wondering if I'd have to send out a search party."
"No search party needed, Gina. I told you I'd be here."
She huffs. "You can't blame me for being hesitant." Her head turns. "You must be Kate. It's nice to meet you."
Kate nods, offering a smile. "You too."
"Go," she says, waving inside. "Go mingle. This is your party, Rick, make it worth it."
He laughs as Gina excuses herself, muttering something about talking to one of the other Black Pawn employees, and he turns to Kate.
"Drink?"
She grins. "Please," she breathes. "Vodka martini would be incredible."
"One vodka martini coming up," he announces, linking his arm with hers as he guides them towards the bar.
He's stopped a handful of times on the way over, and he introduces her with such pride that she almost explodes right there. Everyone's nice, if not a bit high strung, but she was expecting much worse.
"She's a beauty, Rick," Connolly laughs. "How'd you end up with her?"
Castle just smiles, pulling her closer into his side. "I have no idea," he says, and her heart melts. "I just know how lucky I am."
"Castle," she chides.
"Don't let him get away with anything," the author tells her. "Knock his ego down a bit. He could use it."
She laughs. "I'll do my best," she promises with a nod.
Connolly talks to Castle for a few more minutes and she smiles along, though she's not entirely up to date on their topics of discussion. When he leaves, she swivels towards him with a smirk.
"That's the seventh time we've been stopped on a five second walk over to the bar," she jests. "Somebody's Mr. Popular."
"I can't help it if everyone wants a piece of me," he says, waggling his eyebrows.
She groans, tugging at his arm. "Let's go get those drinks before you're carted off again."
With fresh drinks in hand, they make their way to the center of the room, near the stack of Derrick Storm novels piled in pyramid.
"Go," she urges.
His eyes widen. "What? I'm not leaving you."
"I'll be fine for a little while," she assures him. "You can't be standing here the whole time, and I'd rather not venture into the crowd. There are a bunch of other people here who I'm sure want to talk to you."
"But I probably don't want to talk to them," he whines.
"Castle."
"Fine," he relents. "You're sure you'll be okay? Because I can—"
"Yes," she repeats, nudging him towards the sea of people before them. "Go mingle, chat up your buddies. I'll be... somewhere around here when you're done."
He dips to press a kiss against the corner of her mouth. "I won't be long."
It's been forty minutes since she'd pushed Castle into the crowd and insisted he talk to people other than her, because as much as she'd love to stick with him all night, she knows that this is his book launch and he's expected to make the rounds.
She just wishes he'd hurry up, cut in and save her from being hit on by another well-dressed society man.
"So, you come here alone?"
Well, so much for that.
This one leers at her, eyes not so subtly trailing over her body.
"Actually—"
"I have a hotel room right across the street," the guy continues, placing a hand on her shoulder. She shakes it off, giving him a glare that he ignores. "We could make good use of it, if you know what I mean."
It takes most of her will power to avoid throwing up on this guy.
"No, I'll pass," she declines as politely as she can. The only thing keeping her from kicking his shins is the fact that this is a celebration for Castle, and the last thing either of them needs is a brawl ending up on page six.
She can see the headlines now: Richard Castle's girlfriend beats society man to near death at book party.
Not the best route.
He sparkles his brown eyes at her, moves in even closer. "Come on," he tries again. "This party's a bust. I haven't even seen the host yet. He's probably off bedding one of his girls right now, anyway. Might as well join the party."
She purses her lips. How did this guy even get in? "Oh, he's here, actually."
"You saw him?" he questions.
"I did."
Sipping at a third vodka martini, she angles her body away from the man with the ash brown hair and absolutely no sense of personal space.
"This dress is stunning." He just doesn't quit, does he? "It'd look even better on the floor of my room."
"I don't think so."
"You with someone? Cause they don't have to know. I'm very discrete," he promises, as if this is a selling point.
Her stomach twists. Absolutely disgusting.
"She's not interested," Kate hears, turning to find Castle sliding up behind her, curling an arm around her waist. He presses a kiss to her temple. "Hey."
"She belongs to you?" the guy asks, shock in his voice.
Castle just smiles. "She doesn't belong to anyone," he corrects. "But she is happily taken, so if you could leave that'd be great."
"Could've been amazing," he mumbles at Kate, who just offers a sarcastic wave of her fingers as he departs, slinking through the crowd to hit on some other poor, unsuspecting victim, probably.
"Thank you," she sighs, tilting her head back against his chest.
He laughs. "I'm sorry I left you to the vultures. I should've known you'd attract some."
"It was amusing, to say the least," she admits. "But I'm glad you're back."
Castle hums. "Me too," he breathes. A slow song takes over the speakers, and he presses his chest against her back, leans over and turns his head to face her. "Care to dance?"
"There's no dance floor, Castle."
He shrugs. "My book launch. There's a floor, who's to say it can't be danced on?"
She shakes her head but accepts his hand when he pulls her off of the stool, snaking her arms around his neck. It's a new song, something she hasn't heard before but sounds beautiful, and they sway to the music. His hands fall to her hips, moving over them in time with the rhythm.
Letting her head fall against his chest, just at his collarbone even with the added assist of her heels, she lets out a contented sigh. She's acutely aware of photographers taking their picture, the stares of fellow party goers and attendees, but she doesn't care.
Nothing else matters except this.
They don't get back to the loft until almost one in the morning, after leaving the after party early, and it seems as though both Alexis and his mother are, surprisingly, already asleep.
She toes off her heels by the door, sighing at the beautiful freedom that comes with the release. She loves heels as much as the next girl but, after a long night, her feet do not feel the same way. Fatigue washes over her, but she can't wipe the smile off of her face, her entire body still on an emotional high from the evening.
Biting on her bottom lip, she tries to suppress her grin.
"Thank you for coming tonight," he says, coming up behind her.
Smiling, she lists into his body. "Of course. Thank you for wanting me there."
"No one else I'd rather have by my side." She lifts onto her tippy toes to brush a kiss against his lips. "Tired?"
She nods. "Exhausted."
"Why don't you head up to the room," he suggests. "I'll bring up some water so you're not hungover tomorrow if you want."
"It should be fine," she says. "I didn't have that much."
Only a few vodka martinis; she'd stopped after they hit the makeshift dance floor.
Nodding, he nudges her towards the stairs. "Sleep, then. I'll see you in the morning."
"Goodnight, Castle," she sighs as she makes her way up the stairs.
Once she's changed into her pajamas and tucked into bed, she turns onto her side, flicking off the light. She stays there, her mind still awake and replaying the events of the night. It all flashes before her.
The way he'd defended her on the red carpet, refused to let her be called a conquest, a notch on his bedpost. His comforting arm around her waist. The brush of his lips against hers, the curl of his fingers intertwined with hers. The dance he'd insisted on having in the middle of the floor, of the party dedicated to the release of his own book.
Her lips twitch, tug up at the corners. He told Connolly that he's lucky, but she's positive that she's the lucky one.
So incredibly lucky.
She realizes now that she's not going to be able to sleep, not with all of this pent up energy still coursing through her system. Throwing the covers to the side, she steps out of the bed, tiptoeing her way down the stairs so as not to wake up either of the sleeping inhabitants behind her.
Her first thought is to get a glass of warm milk, something her mother would make for her when she couldn't sleep, and just wait for it to make her sleepy. But on her way to the kitchen she's suddenly going off course, making a detour to somewhere else she'd rather be.
Sliding through his office, she takes a few hesitant steps towards his bedroom. She's been in here before, a few months ago, but it was brief and never at night.
He's tucked into bed, curled onto his side with his arm on top of the blanket. It's adorable, actually. Looking around, she takes in what she can with the limited amount of light she's given—it's dark, but it's not a total blackout.
To her right is his dresser and she finds herself walking towards it, intrigued by the contents of its surface.
Her heart jumps into her throat as her hand reaches out, fingers brushing against the glass frame that takes the center spot. It's a picture of her and Alexis, back when she'd tucked the girl in and fell asleep reading to her. They're both knocked out, Kate's arm around the girl's small body, Alexis's arm slung across Kate's torso and her head on her chest.
He took the time to take this before even thinking to wake her up, and now he has it in his bedroom. On display.
A picture of her and his daughter, cuddling together with an open book in her lap.
She can't help the emotion that wells up in her chest, the way her heart softens, melts even more the longer she stares at the picture. This man. He's something else, something she doesn't deserve. Putting the picture frame back in its place, she backs away from the dresser, ready to drag herself back up to her room with a soft smile on her face and that glass of milk.
The floorboard creaks beneath her weight when she takes one more step and she freezes in place. Castle rouses, bleary eyes squinting into the darkness. Shit. This was a mistake. She doesn't know what she's doing in here; she's watching him sleep, standing at the foot of his bed.
She's been telling him that staring is creepy and yet here she is.
"Kate?"
She swallows. "Yeah, sorry. Go back to sleep."
"What're you doin'?" he mumbles drowsily.
"I—I don't know."
It hits her all at once and almost knocks her off her feet. All she wants to do is crawl into his bed.
It's not something they've done before—she's fallen asleep on him on the couch during movie nights, which have admittedly been some of the most restful sleeps she's gotten, but never in his bed—but the comfort brought on by his presence is unprecedented and the thought of cuddling with him while they sleep is all too appealing.
She doesn't know how he knows but he must, because he lifts one side of the comforter and pats the mattress. "Come?"
Sidling up to the other side of the bed, she takes a second before she accepts, climbing into the bed and sliding beneath the blankets. His arm bounds around her waist and tug her into him, closing the space between their bodies until her chest is pressed against his. One of her legs tangles with his, and the palm of her hand rests against the fabric of his shirt, her head falling to the pillow beside his.
"This okay?"
She doesn't let herself overthink it.
Instead, she hums, curling further into him in response.
He presses a sleepy, uncoordinated kiss to her hairline. "Night, Kate," he murmurs.
The warmth of his arms wrapped around her body soothes the remaining restless energy, and the sound of his heartbeat lulls her in to a deep, content sleep.
Since I won't be able to update Thursday, here's my early Thanksgiving gift to you all. Thank you for being amazing.