Page 113 of Kiss Me Tonight

But not scared enough to walk away from her and Topher and this small coastal town that feels like home in a way nothing else ever has.

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Aspen

Aknock on my open front door has me yanking my head up from where I’m packing my bag for today’s Wildcats photoshoot and heading to answer it.

Mina.

It has to be. Topher spent all last night talking about how awesome Dominic’s Boston friends are, including the pink-haired Mina who advised him to, and I quote, “Ask the shy girl out in his friend group.”

Sweeping my gaze over her, I take in her vibrant hair and olive skin, along with the funky tie-dye T-shirt she’s wearing and the frayed cut-off shorts. She looks hip and sassy and everything I used to be before I married Rick.

Offering her a grin, I wipe my hands on my boring khaki shorts. “Hey! You must be Mina.”

Her features warm with a genuine smile. “Andyoumust be Levi, Dom’s girlfriend.” I must visibly make anoh-shitface, because she waves me off with a laugh. “He didn’t call you that, but Nick and I know him way too well. He’s smitten.”

“I . . .”

Before I can even prepare myself for it, she wraps her arms around me in a tight hug like we’ve known each other for years. “I’ve honestly never seen him smile so much. And, based on the amount of times your name came up in conversation yesterday, I figure you’re the reason why.”

I don’t even know what to say, other than to pull a total teenage-girl move and beg her to tell me everything. Shameless? Absolutely.

As though sensing my inner turmoil—do I embarrass myself completely by demanding the details or pretend I’m cool, slick, and unfazed—she releases me, only to whip out her phone. “Nick and I kept count. Thirty-seven times.” She shoves the phone in my face, and sure enough, there are multiple rows of tally marks drawn out in virtual pink ink. “Don’t mind us, but we’re totally taking bets today.”

“On what?”

Her smile is sly. “How long Dominic lasts before he cracks and kisses you.” Pocketing her phone again, she takes in the entryway of my house. “Nick put his money on six hours, but I figured I’d come over and do a little re-con. You know, ask how long he goes without laying one on you when you’re together.”

Mina’s frank attitude is almost mesmerizing. I thoughtIwas ballsy, but, holy crap, she takes the prize for sure. Sensing a kindred spirit, I finish zipping my backpack before slinging it over one shoulder. “When we’re alone? Five minutes. If we’re around the team and he’s trying to be professional? We’re looking at an hour, tops. He tends to get creative.”

He’s kissed me behind the bleachers during practice.

He’s followed me into the girl’s bathroom in the school, corralling me into a stall so he can sneak a kiss without worrying about prying eyes.

When we took Harry and Topher out for dinner the day after I picked him up from Kevin’s house, Dominic asked me to help him pick a song on the jukebox, just so he could stand behind me, his hands greedily fisting my hips, and grind his erection into my ass.

The man is absolutely shameless . . . and I live for the excitement of watching him wrack his brain to figure out ways to get me alone.

It’s the most fun I’ve had inyears.

Conscious of the time, I ask Mina if she wants a ride to the first stop of the day and she takes me up on it, no questions asked. Along the way, she fills me in on how Dominic asked her to take care of the boys’ hair for the photoshoot.

He’s thought of everything.

The mapped-out stops throughout town. Cookies and Joe Diner. The Ferris wheel down by the pier. The same overlook he brought me to up on Cadillac Mountain. The sandy beach just around the corner from the tail end of Main Street.

The boys’ parents have been assigned designated spots to meet Dominic for the photos, and for the kids whose parents can’t make it today, I’ve taken on the role of chauffeur. I may be the head coach, but Dominic . . . he’s as good as I am at what we do, if not better. I never would have thought to include the town as the backdrop for the calendar. I never would have asked local businesses to sponsor the project and agree to sell the calendar at their shops.

That hustle is all Dominic.

When Mina and I pull up at Cookies and Joe Diner’s tin façade, I park the car and turn to my pink-haired passenger. “This is going to sound like a totally random question, but when you said Nick . . . would that be Nick, like the one fromPut A Ring On It?”

Mina’s dark eyes zero in on my face. “You watch the show?”

“Sometimes.” I shrug, feeling my cheeks burn. I’m sure if I touched my fingers to my skin they would come away singed. “It’s a train wreck that I couldn’t help but turn on when it first started last month.”

“I’m guessing you stopped watching right around the time you met Dom?”

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