Page 51 of The Bourbon Bride

I just nod, still enraptured with Paige as she smiles timidly at me.

“What do you think?” Paige asks, doing a slow twirl in front of me that shows off her backside, the dress open to mid-back and her ass looks like a perfect peach. My hands strain, like my dick, and I want to cup that luscious ass and do some nasty shit to her.

“I think I need to throw you over my damn shoulder and march you right back upstairs so no other man can get a look at this perfection.” I’m so close to doing just that. No one else deserves to see Paige looking this smoking hot. I’m likely to end up punching anyone who dares.

“Then you’d miss the launch of your new business. Not happening, boss.”

Fuck the launch. I just want her. My hands move to her hips without my acknowledgment, and I hold her for a second.

“That red lipstick was a good choice. I don’t want to mess up Lindee’s work, so I’m going to have to refrain from kissing the ever-living hell out of you.”

“That’s my cue,” Lindee says, opening the door wider and letting herself out. “Awesome dog, by the way. He was such a good assistant. He even let me dust his face with a makeup brush. Seemed to like it, too,” she says with a laugh as she closes the door.

“Where is Cerberus?” I ask, looking for Paige’s trusty shadow.

“I told him to wait and he’s being a good boy,” she says, looking back up the stairs. “Cerberus, come,” she calls.

The big dog sprints down the stairs and slides across the slick floor to us. Paige bends down and places a kiss just above his eyes and rubs his ears while he pants happily. I didn’t realize I could be so jealous of a dog. I shake my head in amusement. Any woman who can win over my ferocious dog so thoroughly is one I never want to give up.

“You ready?” I ask.

I’d say fuck it and peel the tight dress off her body and have my way with her, but duty calls and I guess she does deserve to be shown off with how amazing she looks. I’ll just have to keep my hands to myself.

“I’m ready if you are,” she says with a smoldering look, and my heart and balls tighten simultaneously.

Fucking hell. This woman is perfect.

I hand my Mercedes over to the valet and extend my arm for Paige as we walk up to the event space. I’m dismayed to see the line of reporters and camera crews lining the black carpet that stretches to the door with the Underworld Spirits’ logo splashed on the brightly lit white backdrop behind it. No one told me there would be a photo op and press like this. I make a mental note to figure out who slipped up and reprimand them appropriately. I need to know exactly what I’m walking into, always.

“Hayes,” Paige says my name nervously and I look down to catch her eyeing the press gauntlet we have to walk through.

“You don’t have to answer any of their questions unless you want to. They’re going to take photos of us whether or not we like it, so we should do our best to smile and look like we’re happy to be here at the very least.”

She nods and swallows. “I can do that. But what if they ask about us?”

“I’m okay with telling them we’re dating if you are.” Anticipation rises unexpectedly in my chest, the make-or-break moment taking me by surprise.

She looks up at me and my nerves subside some with the smile she gives me.

“We’re dating. I like that. A lot.”

“Good. It’s the truth, and I like it, too.”

I press a kiss to her smooth cheek and stand up tall. I have a ravishingly beautiful woman on my arm who just agreed that we’re more than friends. I haven’t been in a relationship since my twenties, having turned to brief flings as business picked up, but this feels soright. A relationship with Paige is exactly where I want to be at this stage.

We approach the press vultures and I set my face into what I hope conveys jovial boredom.

“Hayes, is it true you stabbed a man last night?”

My mask of indifference slips a little at the unexpected first question, but I don’t have time to give it much thought, let alone an answer before the questions converge on us.

“Paige! When did you meet Hayes?”

“Mr. Olsen, don’t you think she’s a little young for you?”

“Miss Fairchild, are you moving to Atlanta?”

“Hayes, when did you buy Underworld Spirits?”

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