Page 105 of Bourbon and Lies

Laney greets me with her sweet smile. Every time she does, my chest warms, and I can’t help but lean into it. The way she refused to leave my side as my leg healed, how she doted on Julep when she came home from the vet in a cast for her broken hind leg. I’d discovered that Laney was more than just funny and beautiful. She was sexy and kind. She was caring and sassy. She became my partner in every way. And I love her a little harder every single day.

She wraps her arms around my neck as I slip mine around her waist. I lift her up just enough off the ground to kiss her.

“You guys are gross,” Lark says while Lincoln and the girls walk off in search of something sweet to top off their night.

That has us smiling against each other's lips. She tilts her head back. “The hat was a good choice.”

She told me the only requirement she had of me today was to wear the black cowboy hat she brought home last night.

“How long have you been wanting me to wear this?”

She squints one eye, pretending to think about it. “Literally the first time I saw you.”

I lean up against her cheek so the next few words are only heard by her. “Wouldn’t mind seeing it on you later.”

I can feel her smile against my scruff. “Just the hat?”

I give her a slow nod as she smiles.

Damn, I love it when she looks at me like that.

“Tell me what else, cowboy.”

“How about I show you?” I give her a knowing smirk. But she has no idea what I have planned for her.

Her eyes flare. “Yes, please.”

I link our fingers and walk with her toward the top floor of the distillery. It’s a spot that I hadn’t learned about until I was in my early twenties. It wasn’t something that many people knew existed. It was only meant for Foxxes and whomever else we wanted to share it with. And I want to share everything with this woman.

With her lips still painted in that red she loves so much, Laney bites it, making me want to do the same. “Where are we going? I didn’t think anything was down here except offices.” She laughs out, “Grant, are you going to have your way with me on top of Ace’s desk?”

I stop in my tracks. “Wasn’t on my agenda tonight, but now that you mention it...”

She laughs so loud that I do the same.

The artwork displayed along the corridor is a mix of old and new. Paintings that are worth plenty and photos that are older than Griz. But to the left of the small gallery is a Foxx Bourbon logo. The newest version that Ace had rebranded when he took things over. The wrought-ironFintertwined with an outline of a fox isn’t there just for show; it has another purpose.

I tilt the logo up and the wall slides open as a hidden door.

Laney breathes out a laugh as her jaw drops with excitement. “Are you kidding me?”

I lead us both into the dimly lit space and close the door behind us, but when I raise the chandelier lights a little brighter, that's when she sees it.

Her hands cover her mouth as she gasps. “Grant, is that?—”

“Took me a little while to find the right one. There are plenty online, but the version they had in Coney Island in the nineties was a little bit different. This Zoltar machine took a little longer to find.”

I rub my hand along my neck as I watch her move closer. I hope she likes it. She quietly walks around it, examining the lever to pull. I’m second guessing myself as she says absolutely nothing in response. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea, after all.

“Say something.”

She smirks. “Since when does silence bother you?”

“Since I’m watching my fiancée not offer any of her tells that give away if she thinks this was a great idea or if I just tanked in the surprises department.”

Tilting her head, she pinches a piece of her hair between her fingers.

I smile to myself. I did good.

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