In Fiasco, Kentucky, there is one rule: never fall for a Foxx brother.

It isn't just small-town lore or neighborhood gossip-I've witnessed what happens when the men in my family get too comfortable and fall. And maybe that's history now, but the responsibility to lead our family business and maintain our standing as the world's most sought-after Kentucky bourbon is on my shoulders. Few others know the lengths I'll go to ensure the safety of my business and family. Blurring morals and manipulating rules are all just part of the game.

There's only one problem: Hadley Finch. My brother's best friend, Fiasco's small-town princess, an honorary part of my family, the daughter of a deplorable businessman-she's the woman I swore to stay away from in a bargain I never wanted to make, and now . . . she's my wife.

Hadley's wild attitude and smart mouth have always been impossible to ignore. She's the only person who pushes every last shred of my resolve. When she peels off her clothes, shares her desires, and uses a nickname that will be my undoing, the chaos that led us here falls away.

There are a decade's worth of secrets and lies between us, but if we can both get what we want-I'll keep Foxx Bourbon, and she can escape the fallout from her father's sins-then none of that matters.

Before she was mine, I was fine protecting her from afar. It's never been about a happy ending or being her hero, but now, I crave both. Call it the Foxx curse or penance for my sins, but when all of it explodes and the lives of those I love are threatened, there are only two things I have left to bargain with: bourbon and proof.