158. Chapter 158

Chapter 158

The last few days in Europe sent sugar daddy Castle into a flurry of efforts to give his wife a few romantic and pampered days while they had time to themselves.

In Dublin, he had a signing in the morning in the Temple Bar District, so Kate went with him, signing some books herself and talking to fans along with him. Most of the fans seemed to love the easy back and forth between them, which generally included whoever was in front of them at the moment; but a very few women looked at Kate as if she were an interloper who was ruining their only chance to get close to Richard Castle.

After the signing, the couple held hands as they walked along the sidewalks next to the cobblestone streets of the Temple Bar District and looked for interesting shops or galleries. Then they walked arm in arm across the Ha'Penny Bridge and under one of its arches and stood at the rail to watch the soothing flow of the Liffy River from their vantage point. As they stood there with Castle's arms wrapped around Kate from behind, they heard a woman's voice ask, "Mr. Castle?"

He and Kate both turned, his arms still around her.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have intruded on your time. I was at the bookstore earlier and just wanted to thank you both for making us feel good about meeting you. They've had a couple of authors there whose books I might still read but won't enjoy nearly as much. Curmudgeons at best, and I'll be more polite than to offer a term for at worst. You shared a little bit of yourselves and made us feel included. I just wanted you to know it was appreciated."

"We both thank you for stopping to mention it. We were just taking my second daughter for a little walk," Castle told her, his hands covering Kate's middle.

"Congratulations. You already have a little boy, don't you?"

"We do. He's three years old, and our totally unbiased opinion is that he's smart, handsome, and absolutely adorable. He went home with my adult daughter and her husband yesterday, so we're on our own for the next couple of days."

"Well, I should get on about my business, then and let you enjoy it while you can, shouldn't I? Mine are grown now, but I remember." she answered with a teasing smile. "I only wanted to thank you."

"And we appreciate that."

The woman kept walking across the rest of the bridge, and Rick and Kate went back to contemplating the water. "That was nice to hear," he said quietly and kissed the side of her neck.

"And nice that she recognized the rarity of time alone for a couple with a small child."

"Mmmm. That, too," he agreed as he moved her hair aside to kiss the other side of her neck.

After soaking in a little more of the peace from their moment, Kate said, "Peanut and I are getting hungry."

"Well, never let it be said that Richard Castle doesn't take proper care of his girls. Surely we can find a place for lunch among the wealth of little bars and restaurants we just passed. Let's go back and hit the cobblestones again and feed you and Peanut."

Kate looked up at him with her "only for Castle" smile, and said," I love you, Rick."

He returned her smile in kind and wrapped his arm around her waist as he answered, "I love you, too, Mrs. Castle.

After lunch and an afternoon "nap" at the hotel, they dressed in casual clothes that had a dressy edge to them and went to dinner at a little place that had a speakeasy feel to it.

"I have the feeling this place had some history before it was a restaurant. Did you research it?"

"Yep. It was an old, Victorian butcher shop. We have reservations for the private dining area."

Someone asked for a name, and they were escorted to the private area.

"You're spoiling me again," she said after Castle had helped her with her chair.

"That was the deal, remember? I get to spoil you while you're not working." He put his hands on her shoulders and bent to kiss her head before seating himself across from her.

"It's kind of nice. I'll admit it," Kate told him. "This has been a good trip. We saw things I hadn't seen, had family to enjoy some of it with us, and had a chance to see Jamie finding new things and soaking all of it in for future use. He may not remember most of the details, but some of it will be in there to make something else make sense later."

"I can't believe you ever thought you might not be a good mother."

They talked about what they might do when they were back at home. Castle was still interested in outfitting the small apartment next door and building the gym he and Kate had discussed, and doing it sooner rather than later. They also talked about time in the Hamptons without the call of the precinct intruding and were looking forward to that. And they needed a nursery for Peanut…one at the loft and one in the beach house. Lots of decisions coming up, and they were looking forward to having the time to make them without as many distractions as usual.

After dinner, they went back to their luxury suite with the large soaking tub and took full advantage of its opportunities.

xxxxx

There was a very early flight to Edinburgh the next morning with a reading and signing at three.

And Castle had been busy again. About an hour after they checked into the hotel, he told Kate they had a couple's massage half an hour later. Then we can either soak in the tub or take a shower and be nice and clean and relaxed at the bookstore. You'll come with me, won't you? It's the last one, and I love having you with me."

"I'll be there." She stood close and put her arms around his neck. "It looks like you've been plotting behind my back again with more pampering. So, what else do you have planned for today, Mr. Sugar Daddy?"

"Well, while you were in the bathroom, I might have called the front desk and asked to arrange for one of my suits and that coral dress you wore to the party in Munich to be dry cleaned before tonight. We have a reservation for a romantic dinner. We're celebrating the end of the tour and having an entire day to ourselves tomorrow. No bookstores, no Gina, no Paula, no distractions at all except the ones we want."

"It sounds wonderful."

"Well, thank you, Mrs. Sugar Daddy," he said with the little smirk she loved.

Kate laughed. "You're such a goof."

"And you love me."

"And I love you," she agreed easily. He pulled her closer and kissed her thoroughly, and she pushed him away, saying, "Oh, no you don't. People will be here in less than half an hour, and I will not have them catch us in the act. We don't have time for that and a shower. But maybe after the massage?" she asked with a flirtatious little smile.

"That sounds wonderful, too," he answered. "Hey, I didn't think about Peanut. Can you still be comfortable lying on your stomach?"

"For a good massage, I'll figure it out. Maybe some well placed pillows and some towels to keep the oil from staining them? I'm sure the masseuse has dealt with pregnancies before."

Later in the day, massaged, sated, showered, and dressed for the bookstore, they went to lunch and then to the last signing. Before they left their room, Kate warned her husband against going in with a look that gave away what they had been up to not quite two hours before.

Again most of the fans were delighted to see the two of them together; and again, they provided the easy conversation and teasing that came naturally to them. Paula and Gina were happy to have had Kate there, and were just as happy as the Castles that the tour was ending.

All four of them were leaving Edinburgh for London early the next morning. Paula planned to be on the flight they had originally scheduled out of Heathrow that day. Gina was also spending another day in London to see Bentley before she left, and Rick and Kate didn't care what she did as long as they didn't have to be involved. She would be somewhere on the same flight home. That was all they needed to know.

Rick had arranged for dinner at a restaurant called The Witchery by the Castle. In the car on the way, he said, "The name alone, Kate. And the address is Castlehill. We're supposed to be here."

After he showed her a couple of pictures on his phone, she said, "I guess you know the history here, too. It looks like it's been here for a while."

"It was a merchant's townhouse…built in 1595. I think his initials are still on the door. I understand it's been steadily occupied for one thing or another since then. That's over four centuries. Hard to imagine, isn't it?"

"I can't wait to see it…maybe touch the wood and see if I can feel any of the history that passed in and out of that door."

"They have a few suites where you can stay overnight. Bentley knew somebody; and I was somehow lucky enough to get a reservation in the restaurant, but all the suites were booked."

"Did you have a problem with anything where we're staying?" she asked innocently while looking at him through her lashes anything but innocently.

"Not a one," he answered, and followed it with a quick kiss.

Their driver promised to be available within minutes when they were ready to leave, and they walked through the narrow entrance to reach the entrance. Once inside, the two of them were immediately taken by the opulence of the dark wood panels and the rich colors of the fabrics, the ancient look of the interior capturing their imaginations. They were taken down a stone staircase to a level below the main entrance and into a room where they would eat by candlelight.

"This room is called The Secret Garden. Good food by candlelight. Have I told you that you look absolutely beautiful tonight?"

"A couple of times. And you look particularly dashing tonight yourself."

"Why thank you. Now for our meal. Scotland demands an Angus steak, don't you think?"

"Rick, you haven't even looked at the menu yet. You plan on your steak, but I'll check the menu first."

The service was impeccable, the food was delicious, the atmosphere had a romantic old world air, and they left feeling that they had an experience, not just a meal.

"That was an amazing place," Kate said as they walked out to meet their driver. "It was almost like taking a step out of time for a little while. Thank you for finding it for us. I don't know when you find the time to plan all these things."

"I guess sometimes, because I'm typing, you think I'm writing…but I might not be."

"Well, you're very good at it, however you do it. I couldn't have asked for a more romantic place. All the old world ambiance, holding your hand in a room lit almost entirely by candlelight… You did good, husband."

The driver held the door for them, and when he closed the door, Castle whispered, "Does the romance stop here?"

She leaned in and whispered back, "Not a chance. You should be rewarded for all this."

"Back to the hotel, Jeremy," he said to the driver. When they arrived, he thanked the man, gave him a good tip, and shook his hand; then he and his wife walked through the lobby and spoke to the two young women at the desk, unwittingly turning heads at the elegant appearance of the tall, confident couple heading for the elevators.

"I'm so jealous," one of the women said to the other. "He's so handsome and so nice, and so in love with her he barely sees that we're women, and she's so easygoing and friendly, and doesn't even seem to know how gorgeous she is."

"Me, too. I'll bet they don't even know everybody in the lobby is watching them, and all of them are probably just as jealous as we are."

And the Castles didn't realize. They entered the elevator focused wholly on each other, returned to their suite, and took their time settling back into normal. Castle found music on his iPhone; and skipping all but the slow songs, they danced, still wearing their evening's finery, simply enjoying being close and sticking to their agreement that the romance didn't end at the restaurant. They let the residual romantic feeling guide them and slowly lead them into sweet, gentle lovemaking and appreciation that they were attuned to each other well enough for that to happen. Still in each other's arms, both of them fell asleep in the romantic haze of the evening.

xxxxx

The next morning, they were in a taxi to the airport at six-thirty. The flight probably wouldn't take much longer than navigating the two airports and dealing with security. Then they had the entire day to do as they pleased.

Castle had booked a more upscale hotel for their day in London than the places they had been on their tour. He knew it didn't matter to Kate; but while he had the chance, he was going to spoil her. The fact that she didn't demand it the way his other two wives had didn't mean she didn't deserve it. To him it meant she deserved it more.

After checking into their suite with its luxurious amenities, Castle looked over what the hotel had to offer and spotted the nail salon advertising spa style mani/pedis. "You should go," he insisted. You love that."

"No. It's our last day for just us, and I'm not spending any of it without you…unless you want a little break from all the togetherness."

"Then I'll go with you so you still get a little pampering."

"Go with me?" she echoed, looking amused. "For a mani/pedi?"

"Hey, I've had the odd mani/pedi."

How odd?" She snorted a little laugh.

"You should be nicer to me. I had a little girl who didn't have a mother around when she wanted to try out girly things, so sometimes I took her and kept her company. One time when she was about six, she turned the puppy dog eyes on me and talked me into letting them paint my toenails bright pink. I drew the line at the fingernails, though."

His wife fell into a fit of giggles and finally managed to say, "I can almost see that happening."

"When we got home, she made me go barefoot for the rest of the day so she could see them. And then I realized that we didn't have any nail polish remover. I had a meeting first thing the next morning, so I spent the whole time I was away from home praying I wouldn't have an accident that required removing my shoes and socks before I got back home with the polish remover."

Kate fell into another fit of giggles, finally getting out. "You really are a great dad. And you must have impressed those people at the nail salon…that you would do that for your daughter."

"Yeah, well you get to share bright pink toes with my next daughter." There was a little pause before he added, "Either that or make sure we never run out of polish remover."

She barked a big, short laugh and then kissed the broad smile on his face and said, "Okay, you're on. This should be interesting. I'll call and see what they have available."

When she called and asked for two appointments, she was told they had two openings if they wanted to come right then; so she took them, turned back to her husband, and said, "Let's go."

The woman at the appointment desk seemed surprised to see a husband and wife, but said nothing except to tell Kate to choose a color while she called their nail technicians. They looked through the colors together, Castle pretending to choose one for himself, too. He picked up a bright shade of lavender and asked, "What do you think?"

"I don't know, Babe. This blue might be better. It matches your eyes. They weren't making a lot of noise, but after a little more silliness, they were gaining an audience in the smallish salon.

Picking up two colors, black and white, Castle excitedly decided he could have stripes. Then he put them back and picked up three shades of green, light to dark, and said, "Hey, this might work. They could swish a little of all three of them together and make it camouflage. That's manly."

At that point, Kate was having trouble not laughing out loud, but their audience had no such trouble.

"Oops. I didn't mean to disrupt the place, he said to the woman who had returned to the desk with the two people who would be working on them. Then he turned back to Kate and asked with his little smirk, "Oh…am I embarrassing you?"

"An older woman in their audience called from one of the manicure tables, "Deary, if I had a man who looked like that and looked at me the way he looks at you, he could embarrass me any time he wanted to."

Castle walked the few steps to where the woman was seated, took the hand that wasn't soaking yet and kissed the back of it, saying with a slight bow, "Thank you. Sometimes that's how we have to operate." Kate had one hand over her mouth, but the twinkling eyes above it gave away how much fun she was having.

"I'd keep an eye on this one if I were you," the woman said with a laugh.

"Constantly…in self defense," she answered as Castle returned smiling. She had a color in mind when she came in and had it in her hand, so they were ready and went with their two guides. He put one hand at the small of her back as they followed their two nail techs to manicure tables. Castle settled for having them shape and shine his nails while Kate had new color, and they both talked and joked with the people who worked with them and occasionally with other customers. The pedicure went the same way, the nail tech eventually asking Castle if he was sure he didn't want the camouflage on his toes. He laughingly declined and Kate reminded him the blue like his eyes was probably still available.

When they left after charging the work to their room, he left generous tips, and the couple expressed appreciation for putting up with them. The entire staff assured them that was the most fun they'd had at work since they'd been there, and the rest of the customers waved goodbye as well.

"I'm a little disappointed that you didn't leave with camo toes," Kate teased.

"I didn't see any complimentary polish remover in the room," he shot right back, and they both grinned.

"I don't know what you have planned for tonight, but if it's another romantic dinner, let's cancel it. We couldn't outdo last night, anyway. It was perfect…the restaurant and the time after. Let's let today be random and enjoy just being us. There are plenty of places to walk around here, lots of things to see without having to hit all the tourist spots. I just want to be with my goofy, lovable husband without having to worry about when the next tour starts or when the next book signing is."

"I did make reservations for dinner, but I can cancel them."

"I don't care if we get fish and chips from a street vendor. We don't have to have top of the line everything to enjoy being together. We just had a mani/pedi adventure, for heaven's sake. And everybody there looked like they were enjoying it as much as we did."

"We were probably lucky that went as well as it did. I did get a little out of hand. I expected some overly proper old biddy to put me in my place any time."

"Yeah. We probably were, but it was fun. I'm glad you went with me."

By then they were standing at the front door of the hotel, and Castle pulled them aside long enough to take out his phone and cancel their dinner reservation.

"I don't need fancy reservations…just you."

"I can live with that," he answered. "So we just wander aimlessly and see what's out there? That's the plan?"

"That's the unplan, oh king of the adventure," she answered mischievously.

"Works for me," he said as they emerged onto the sidewalk. "Right or left?"

"Right. If that turns out to be boring, we can always come back and try left."

They walked and explored and window shopped, and found a street vendor where they bought lunch, took it to an open, green area and sat on a bench to eat.

They were near the river and in the shade, and the area was almost empty except for them. The summer sun wasn't as harsh there, and it was relaxing to just sit. Kate put their trash in the bin and came back to sit with her husband. She put her arm on his shoulder and gently scratched the nape of his neck with her fingernails, slipping her fingers into the soft hair there. He looked at her and leaned in for a quick kiss.

"Are you ready to talk to me about your father yet?" she asked.

"I'm still trying to figure it out."

Kate put her other hand on his arm and smoothed it up and down a couple of times. "Was it better or worse that he just appeared and then disappeared again?"

"Better, I think. At least I have some answers I never had before…some indication that he's been interested enough to keep track of us. Like Mother, I think it's a little creepy; but he didn't seem to mean it that way. There were things that felt like a connection to a man I had wondered about all my life. His sense of humor…he gave me the kind of answers I might have given you or the boys."

"His eyes weren't the same color as yours, but the first thing I saw was the humor that lit his eyes up. He seemed amused, maybe even pleased that I came in and cleared the room and checked for other exits or anything suspicious before I let Martha go in. He said he should have expected it, might have been disappointed if I hadn't been there. I told him you had his eyes because there were the same laugh lines, the same little light of humor when he smiles. The corners of his eyes crinkle the same way as the ones I love. I can't imagine his life could be as awful as he made it sound if he could still hold on to that."

"Maybe not. We'll probably never know. He said he was a CIA asset. That doesn't exactly put you out in society…not the kind I'd want to be in." He stopped and stared out across the open space for a long moment. "Regardless of what he may have done or what he should have done, which isn't as clear now as I used to think it was, Alex provided a lot of help to take Bracken down. He was the one who took down the guards at all the entrances when Simmons had you in Scarsdale. It would have taken the others a lot longer to find you if he hadn't done that. I might owe him for still having you and Jamie, and that's a debt I can never repay."

"Me, either."

"He said he's had to do things he wouldn't want to tell me about even if he could. I think maybe I'd rather not know some of that could be in my DNA, but I remember beating Lockwood until I was pulled off him. If that hadn't happened, I might have kept it up until I killed him with my bare hands. It scares me that I could do that…or that I would want to…and I think I may have…wanted to." He stopped again and looked at her, putting his hand over hers. "But even then, in my heart you felt like my family…like someone I had to protect."

"I think that kind of protective feeling is in everybody's DNA to some extent, Rick. We might not know it until the chips are down, but normal people instinctively protect the ones who are most important to them however they can. I'd probably do the same thing if it were you, or anybody in our family at risk."

He kissed her forehead and said, "Maybe you're right…but it still scares me." He stopped talking, staring across the open space again and then finally looked at her and said, "I think you impress him. He referred to you as a force to be reckoned with."

"He did?"

"He did. And if even half of what he told me is true, he'd know what that is."

"I guess I should feel flattered?" It came out sounding like a question.

"I told him he could still show up at events now and then. He told me he'd stop if I wanted him, to. Then my father, the CIA asset, mentioned that I'd always liked a good challenge." Rick chuckled and looked at his wife. "He actually suggested that I could try to spot him at big family events…like that Find Waldo game."

"Really?"

"He did."

Kate shook her head and "He did not strike me as a Find Waldo kind of guy. Why did you decide to agree to that?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe he had me pegged. Insatiable curiosity. Maybe it was the challenge." He paused and looked down and added quietly. "Or maybe I was just hoping to see him being interested in us again." He exhaled a long breath and explained, "I didn't dwell on it all the time when I was a kid, but sometimes it was hard…always wondering but never knowing anything at all. I used to think maybe mother just didn't want to tell me, but now it looks like she didn't have any answers until now, either."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." His arm instinctively went around her shoulders and pulled her to him for a hug.

"God, I love you." He held her for a long moment and told her, "He said that he was at our wedding and told me I got it right this time…said he didn't bother with the other two because the writing was on the wall before they ever happened."

Kate chuckled against his chest.

The short time I was there, I noticed another couple of similarities."

"Yeah?"

"He's in good shape, and he's a very good looking man. And I'll bet he was a real charmer when Martha met him, probably still could be."

"Yeah, but I'd bet he could turn it off just as fast…and probably turn into another man completely."

"Did he give you a full name?"

He leaned back against the bench, leaving his arm around her. "Alexander is all I got of the real one. I was promised that I'll get the last name before he dies. He didn't want me looking up the family name until any of his enemies are on their last legs, too. He goes by Jackson Hunt to people who know him, but I doubt we're supposed to spread that around. I have a phone with a pre-programmed number so we can reach him if we need his help again. That probably means he trusts me to know what not to make public. He said I could tell you and Mother and Alexis where to find it. That's probably as far as he intended it to go."

"You know you can talk to me anytime about anything, right? You've listened to enough from me, even though sometimes you had to drag it out of me. I'm prepared to do the same if it looks like you need it. I didn't mean to put a damper on the day."

"You didn't. It feels good to get this much out in the open. And to have somebody I can trust enough to do that. So, on that note, are we ready to get on with our completely free day?"

"Yes, we are. Are you ready to go left now?"

He grinned, took her arm, and walked to where they could hail a cab to take them back to the hotel. Standing in the same place they were standing when they decided to go right, she took his arm, and they went exploring to the left. When they were tired of walking, they found a little restaurant they overheard someone near them praising earlier and stopped in for dinner.

Then they went back to the hotel and spent the rest of their day enjoying being together and in love.