I stared, wide-eyed, at the heavy material in my hands. FBI? Why did Nick have a federal agent's jacket? My curiosity ran wild provoking me to feel inside the pockets. There was nothing in the two front pockets but inside the jacket I found another pocket with something hard in it. I pulled the object out, realizing it was a black leather wallet. The same wallet Nick had flashed Kelly at the hotel. I had to know what had made her eyes widen like that.

I opened the wallet. Inside was the culprit: a shiny gold badge and an ID with big blue block letters that said F.B.I. It had a picture of Nick and below it was his name, Nicholas Granger.

I nearly dropped the wallet out of shock. What the hell had I just discovered? Nick was an FBI agent?

I quickly placed it back inside the jacket pocket and folded the jacket back over the arm of the couch just like it had been when I found it. I suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.

Shock hummed through my veins. I thought I'd had enough on my mind, worrying about things with Derek. I thought cheating was my biggest problem. Now I didn't know what to think. If Nick was an FBI agent, why the hell was he working as an attorney for Hampton, Burns and Hampton? Was he undercover?

I wondered if the feds had an ongoing investigation that one of the firm's cases pertained to. I wondered if Nick had been assigned to investigate an attorney or client. I wondered if it had anything to do with Derek's firm at all. What if Nick was investigating the firm I worked for? Maybe that's why he picked me out of the crowd when he could've had any other woman at that party - especially single women. But if that was the case, if Nick was investigating me or someone I worked with, it didn't make sense to me why he would be working at Hampton, Burns and Hampton. Why not go undercover at my firm?

My head was spinning with questions but I didn't dare let Nick know I knew, for fear he'd blow up at me for sticking my nose where it damn sure didn't belong.

But what if all this - the sex, dinner, everything - was all an act to help him further his work? What if I was being played like a fiddle? What if Nick actually didn't care about me at all?

I decided to do a little investigating of my own. I remembered the texts I'd read on Nick's phone the morning before where he'd been talking to a detective. I itched to get my hands on his phone again but I knew it was too risky to try sneaking it away from him when he could wake up any minute and catch me snooping. Instead, I opted for the next best thing.

I tiptoed down the hall to what appeared to be his at-home office and quietly turned the knob, trying to avoid making noise as I sneaked inside room.

There were two filing cabinets, a desk, a bookcase, and a nightstand being used as a printer table. My eyes zeroed in on Nick's computer lying on the desk and I walked over to it, taking a seat and opening the computer.

Of course, his laptop was password protected. What did I expect? I knew it would be a miracle if I cracked the code, but I tried and tried until the system locked me out for too many unsuccessful attempts.

Thinking I might find something in one of the filing cabinets, I went to the first one, a tall oak unit with four drawers. Each one was labeled with letters in alphabetical order. I opened the first drawer, trying to be as quiet as possible. Inside were tons of manila folders. I tried to determine which drawer or file might have something to do with me. I picked up the first folder, flipping through the papers. It contained information on a homicide from three years ago. I put the file back in its place, feeling my stomach churn from seeing the gruesome photos. It seemed like Nick had everything ordered by the last name of whomever the file was on. I decided to look at the drawer with the letter D for my last name, Donovan.

I opened the second drawer from the top, finding the D's and searching for anything that might have my name on it. Nothing. I couldn't find a single thing. I was becoming more frustrated by the second.

Then I got the idea to search for a file on Hampton, Burns and Hampton.

I pulled open the third drawer, searching for anything that said Hampton on it. Bingo.

Derek Hampton.

I was about to grab the folder when I heard the refrigerator close. I hurriedly shut the drawer but as I was about to sneak back into the hallway, Nick opened the door.

"What are you doing?" he asked sleepily.

"I... I was just exploring," I lied. That sounded so stupid.

He leaned against the door, raising a suspicious eyebrow and yawning. "Why?"

"I couldn't sleep so I decided to look around." I started running my fingers through my bangs anxiously.

"Why are you nervous?" Nick frowned.

Surely he knew I'd been up to something. I tried to keep calm and act like I wasn't about to lose what little was left of my sanity.

"I'm not," I attempted to laugh off his question. "I'm just tired. That's all."

Nick eyed me narrowly like he didn't believe me. I wondered if he was experienced in interrogations and if he could see right through my act. He probably could.

"Right," Nick nodded slowly. "Why'd you come in here?"

"I told you," I breathed. "I was just looking around."

Nick seemed to consider this for a moment before finally giving up and nodding. "Alright."

He turned to leave the room and I followed as he walked to the kitchen. His jacket wasn't slung over the couch anymore. I didn't see it anywhere. I figured he'd hid it so I wouldn't see it, probably thinking I hadn't yet. I decided against mentioning anything about it.

"What time is it?" Nick yawned. He was getting a glass of water.

"Four-oh-three."

"I should be getting you back to the garage soon," he said, leaning against the island. "You'll need time to get ready and head to work."

Right. My SUV. I'd forgotten all about it.

I dreaded the thought of going to the office. I just knew one of the partners would be furious with me and want to "have a word."

"I wish it would be acceptable for me to call in sick today," I groaned, lolling my head back and staring up at the ceiling.

"How come?"

"Well, because of our little incident the other night, I was so late for work and miserable, I ended up not going in and standing up like four clients," I explained. "I'm not looking forward to hearing how my boss feels about it."

"Oh."

I studied his expression. His brows were pulled together in a frown. He was leaning against the counter, nibbling on his bottom lip. He was obviously in deep thought.

"What's on your mind?" I asked.

He sighed, running a hand through his bedhead. "Too much, babe. But I've got to go to work also, so I better take you to get your car soon."

I wondered if Nick might come home for lunch or if he'd spend the whole day at work. I made a mental note to find the file on Derek when Nick wasn't around.

Shortly after five, we left Nick's house for the parking garage. It was a comfortable, peaceful morning. The sunrise had just begun with a thin line of light on the horizon. It was chilly, but I liked the cool breeze on my body as we drove back down Lakeshore with the windows halfway down. Neither of us said a word on the way. There was an awkward tension and I knew he was still wondering what I'd been doing in his office. Surely he didn't buy my exploration story. I was still focused on the folder with Derek's name on the tab. I wanted - no - I needed to get my hands on that file. I needed to know what the hell was going on. I started to wonder if Nick and Derek didn't like each other because of work ethic differences, like they said, or if it was something more sinister.

We pulled into the parking garage a little after six, having braved the early morning rush hour traffic. Nick parked in the space behind my Honda and sat there silently, staring at the steering wheel.

"Nick?"

He looked at me, sighing deeply. "I'm just stressed."

"Are you sure that's all?" I placed a comforting hand on his thigh.

"You should know better than to touch me anywhere below my beltline," Nick breathed a laugh. He smiled at me and the butterflies in my stomach began to awaken.

"See, I don't think that's a bad thing," I squeezed his thigh.

He leaned over the console, his mouth deathly close to mine. "Oh, yeah?" he said against my lips.

I cocked a flirty brow. "Yeah, Granger."

Nick pressed his lips to mine and just like that, every shitty thought whirling around in my cluttered mind vanished. He had a power over my senses that made the rest of the world fade away, as if we were the only two people in existence. I melted into him like I was floating on a silk cloud. Kissing him, feeling his soft lips brush mine, and the tip of his tongue teasing my bottom lip, it was bliss. I hated the console for being in between us.

"I should probably let you go," Nick said, breaking our kiss.

"I hate that we have to work," I groaned. I'd have preferred to stay in bed with him all day.

He chuckled under his breath. "Well, when do I get to see you next?"

"When do you want to see me next?"

"Tonight," he said in almost a whisper. I was quickly getting lost in his eyes. "I get off at five. I can pick you up."

I loved the idea of Nick picking me up, but I knew Derek would probably be there, and there was no way he'd be okay with that.

"Derek might be there and he-"

"And I have a snowball's chance in hell of coming to your place when the fiancé's around," Nick said, basically reading my mind. "Why does he have to be over there all the time? Doesn't he have his own place?"

"I know," I sighed, looking at my feet clad in last night's heels. "I'll see if I can pull the I need space excuse for a day or two. Maybe he'll take a hint."

"I really don't see why you don't just leave him," Nick blurted out. "Especially now that you know what he's been up to."

That was the problem. Sure, I knew about Derek's infidelity parade, but I seriously doubted an FBI agent would have a file on him for being a cheater. I supposed it could be possible that he was banging someone who was being investigated and as a result, they wanted to look into his life too, but that seemed far-fetched. My gut was telling me this had something to do with the money transfers, but I was in the dark on the details. I needed to find out more.

I'd only known Nick for two days and I was already enchanted by his exceptionally good looks, charm, and stellar skills in bed, among other things. Before Nick, I'd always thought Derek was the most amazing man I could possibly meet. He was handsome, professional, sweet, and he usually had a decent sense of humor. But now here Nick was awakening senses in my body I didn't even know existed. The whole thing was a mess, but the worst part was not knowing if he was playing me.

"I guess I want to make sure I'm not making a mistake," I said, imagining the possibility that I could be miserable and regret leaving Derek if I did.

What if I left Derek and things didn't work out with Nick or anyone else and Derek wouldn't take me back? But on the other hand, what if I stayed with Derek, lost any thread of a chance with Nick, and then things went south with Derek and Nick wouldn't give me a second chance? Either way, it seemed like I was screwed. It didn't feel like I was going to get out of this without something shitty happening.

"This is all just so confusing and stressful," I shook my head, covering my face with my hands.

He rested a reassuring hand on my knee. "I know."

I let my mind wander a bit, replaying the image of Nick standing in the street outside my house, soaked from the rain. He'd said one of the things he didn't want to forget was our after-sex conversations until four. Thanks to the alcohol, I couldn't remember having an after-sex talk with him.

"Nick?" I looked up at him. "What did we talk about after we had sex the first night?"

Nick frowned as if he were surprised that I couldn't remember. "We went outside and laid on a blanket in the grass for like two hours. I told you about my family and my past and where I went to college, and you told me about your childhood and the golden retriever you had when you were little, and we just talked about everything. Politics, religion, burritos, you name it."

I hated that I couldn't remember any of this. It sounded amazing. "And you liked that?"

"Liked?" he chuckled. "It was probably the best conversation I've had with anyone since I was twelve. That's when I knew I didn't want you to be a one-night stand."