A gravel or CX bike with a set of fast-rolling 32-35mm tires like Rene Herse or GP 5000's can make for a very nice paved road ride.
I have very little interest in owning a dedicated race-oriented road bike these days. They're cool, and they definitely serve a purpose for that type of riding, but my riding is rarely fast/race-oriented packs, and the paved roads around here have lots of potholes and cracks in them. The idea of buying a new bike that is limited to 25-28mm tires seems crazy to me. On the flip side, I also do not have a need for mega-wide tires. The sweet spot for me is between 32mm-38mm.
I like the idea of "endurance" style road bikes with fatter tire clearance like the Roubaix and Synapse, but wish they went a bit further on tire clearance (currently limited to 32-33mm). Hence, my preference for CX race bikes (which also happen to be great for CX racing, which is a ton of fun and gives me training goals for the fall). They combine aggressive geometry with the ability to run up to 40mm tires for off-road adventuring, but also work well with narrower 32mm road tires for paved riding.