"So, where do you want to start?"

I thought about Jackson's question as he finished making breakfast for us. This morning he woke me up early and we ended up getting playful in the shower. I was so happy to have him back here in the states. I missed sleeping next to him. I missed the way he would reach for me and whisper my name while he was sleeping.

After he showed up at my door, I couldn't lie to myself any longer. The way that I felt when he returned, let alone my reaction, made it clear. At least to me. He meant more to me than just friends with benefits or whatever you would call us.

I should have known I couldn't control my feelings. I mean, Ryan and I put these rules in place to avoid this exact situation. Because as of right now, I'm engaged to be married and I didn't see a way out of it.

Under no circumstances was I going to tell Jackson what I was thinking. For one, he wasn't the relationship type. Of course, all of the things his mom told me were never too far from my mind. I know she wanted him to be happy, but I honestly didn't know if I was the one to make him happy.

Before I could even contemplate the possibility of any sort of future with Jackson Reese, I had to try to figure out a way out of this wedding. After our shower play, he offered to make breakfast and help me figure out how to get to the bottom of whatever big secret was behind this wedding. I knew there had to be more. It couldn't just be a simple merging of my parents' business with the Hale's.

Ryan still didn't know that Jackson knew about the arranged marriage. Ryan never told him, and we decided Jackson should spill the beans about it. Ryan might know something about the marriage and Jackson was the best to talk to him about it. Jackson wanted to check on Ryan anyway since I haven't been able to get ahold of him since we returned from London.

"Well, they told us in the beginning that financially this merger was a big deal. Maybe there's a way we can poke around and see?" I asked. I didn't know if that was even possible. When it came to business and finances, I was clueless. I knew they were relying on this to secure their business but to this extent? Something seemed off about that.

Jackson put some eggs and bacon on a plate and put it in front of me. "That's a good place to start. I know someone who may be able to help. Maybe we can figure out exactly what is included in this business deal."

"Who do you know that can do that?" I asked as I took a bite of my bacon. I trusted Jackson completely with this. But I didn't know the person he was going to talk to or if he could be trusted.

"He's an old friend of mine back in London. I can give him a call and see if he can help."

"London? How can he help from there?"

Jackson gave me a smile. "He runs a financial business. I've known him since we were kids. He is pretty good with computers and finding out anything."

So, he's a hacker. This could be interesting. "Are you sure you can trust him?"

"Absolutely," he said as he ate some toast. "Now, I want you to try to see if you can find anything out on your parents' side."

Okay...that was going to be impossible. Didn't he know who my mother was? She was not going to tell me anything that could jeopardize this. My father wasn't a total asshole, but he had just as much riding on this as she did. I knew for a fact they would not confide in me. "Jackson, they won't tell me anything."

"I know. But your father's office is at his house, right? You can go there and take a look around. Preferably, when they aren't home. See if you find any documents regarding the merger. Knowing your parents and my dad, I'm sure they drew up a contract."

He had a point. With something this important, there was no way they didn't have a contract. They wouldn't just shake hands and take each other's words for it. They probably made multiple copies of said contract. "Okay, I think I can do that."

Jackson held my stare as he got up from his chair and walked over to kneel down in front of me. "We'll figure this out. I promise."

I sure as hell hoped so. I needed to know why my parents thought it was okay to control my life. I also had a feeling there was more they were hiding in regard to it. I tried not to think of the possibility of getting out of the marriage. I glanced to Jackson. There was a tightness in my chest, and I did everything I could to ignore it. "I know. Thank you," I said in response to his question.

He caressed my cheek and gave me a warm smile. "Anything for you, Princess."

I sighed as I glanced at the clock in my car. I've now been parked on my parent's street for over an hour. Waiting. Waiting for them to leave so I could go in and snoop around. Today was Thursday and they always go to their favorite restaurant at five o'clock. It was now thirty minutes past.

"What the fuck," I mumbled to myself. Here I was, sitting in my car at the end of my parents' street like I'm on a freaking state-out. I was actually wearing sunglasses and a hat in an attempt to not be seen.

My phone vibrated and I glanced at the screen.

Lanie Cakes: Hey, Harp. How was last night?

Lanie left to give Jackson and I private time when he showed up. I was grateful to her for that. To be honest, I was surprised he showed up without calling or texting. What if someone else had been there? They would have questioned why he was there.

Me: It was good. I had no idea he was showing up at my place.

Lanie Cakes: I figured. How's he doing?

Me: Jackson is...Jackson. I think he's a little better. This morning we came up with a plan to try to see what this arranged marriage entails.

Lanie Cakes: This morning? So...he stayed the night?

I knew where she was going with this and I wasn't ready to deal with it.

Me: Yes. Just last night. He's getting a hotel until he finds a place here.

Her reply was immediate. Lanie Cakes: Are you sure about that?

My automatic response was yes. But, for some reason, I couldn't type the response. The terrifying truth was, I liked Jackson staying at my place. I liked sleeping beside him and waking up next to him. I didn't want him to stay in a hotel. Unfortunately, he had to. If his truck outside my apartment didn't give him away, then his things inside my apartment would.

As I started to type a response to Lanie, I heard a car start. When I looked up, I saw my parents' car reversing from the driveway.

"Finally," I breathed as I watched them start down the road. I waited a good twenty minutes before I started my car and pulled into their driveway. The one good thing about this was that if anyone saw me, they wouldn't call the cops.

Even if they mentioned that I was here to my parents, I could always come up with an excuse as to why I was here. I walked up to the front door and unlock it with the spare key that I had.

I paused when I stepped into the living room. There were pictures hanging up of my parents and myself growing up. Thinking back on my childhood, everything seems so different. They were different. I was happy growing up and we were pretty close as a family. I don't know when exactly things started to change, but they were definitely different now.

Not wanting to waste any time, I walked straight to my father's office on the second floor. His office was pretty standard and had books lining the shelves on the wall and his desk was in the center.

I started snooping and opening the drawers on his desk. I really didn't have any idea what I was looking for, but I was just hoping something would pop out at me. I pulled out some papers and started flipping through them, not seeing anything that resembled a contract.

I grew frustrated when I checked all of the drawers on his desk and came up with nothing. He had a filing cabinet in the closet, so I went there next. It took me a lot longer here and I started getting nervous. I don't know how much time had passed and my parents don't usually stay at dinner very long. I tried to hurry as I got down to the last drawer of the filing cabinet. Once again...nothing. I slammed the door closed with anger.

I stood in the center of his office for a minute and took a deep breath. "Okay, you know your dad, Harper. Where would he hide something like that?"

There was no place to hide it in his bedroom. There weren't any other real hiding places in the house that seemed like possibilities. I started looking around his office and paused when I saw a large family portrait hanging on the wall. I stared at it for a minute. Now that I thought about it, he didn't have this in here until Ryan and I got together.

I walked up to the picture and I was surprised it wasn't as heavy as it looked when I took it off the wall. I felt a flicker of surprise before I shook my head at the site in front of me. There was a safe built into the wall.

Really, Dad? You seriously watch way too many crime movies," I said to myself as I stepped closer to attempt to break into it. It was a combination lock, so I was hoping it wasn't too hard to figure out. Knowing my dad, it was probably a birthday or an anniversary.

I failed at the first few attempts when I tried my birthday, my mom's birthday, and even his birthday. I tried their anniversary with no success before I tried my grandparents' birthdays. I nearly gave up when a thought occurred to me. The first thing they did when Ryan and I got engaged was set the wedding date.

I spun the dial to the date I was dreading and...."Yahtzee!" I squealed when it popped open.

I frowned when I only saw a manila envelope inside. I pulled it out and laid it on his desk. I flipped it open and the first piece of paper inside said Contract of Merger. "Bingo."

I grabbed my phone from my pocket and started taking pictures of all the documents inside. Obviously, I knew I couldn't take them. If for some reason my dad opened the safe and saw they weren't there, I'm sure I would be the prime suspect in this petty theft. Thankfully, there weren't too many papers and it didn't take me long before I returned the manila envelope, locked the safe, and hung the picture back up.

Before I left, the thought occurred to me that my parents may find out I was here. Trying to think of a valid reason, I went to my mom's closet and pulled out my favorite jacket I frequently borrowed. If she asked why I was here, I'll just tell her Ryan was taking me out to dinner this week and I wanted to wear it.

I quickly slipped out of the front door, locking it behind me and I climbed into my car. As they drove off, I picked up my phone to call Jackson. Hopefully he was having the same luck I was today.