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He pushes the door closed behind me with one hand, his eyes heated as he looks down at me. His hand quickly returns to my waist, his hands moving up my rib cage. “This shirt,” he murmurs, “is so damn hot.”

Then his mouth finds mine in a kiss that is just as greedy as his hands. I kiss him back, sinking my hands into his hair. I’ve just come over from my place, and as much as I’d love to get naked with Mason right this second, I need to tell him what my mum did first.

Fantastic.

Mason’s fingertips have landed on one of the bows tied at the end of the ruching. “I need to unwrap you.”

UGH, I’m so pissed off at my mum right now. I break the kiss and put my hands to his chest. “We need to talk first.”

His brows immediately snap together in concern. “Why?”

“No, not that kind of talk. I’m not breaking up with you,” I say quickly. “And hopefully, after we have this conversation, we can have some hot sex, but I have to tell you something first.”

“Okay,” Mason says, his voice etched with confusion.

I take his hand and lead him over to his sofa. We sit down, and I reach for his hand, lacing my fingers through his. “Mum told my grandfather about us,” I say, ripping the plaster right off.

A stunned look passes over his face, followed by unease in his eyes. “Please tell me you are talking about your other grandfather who doesn’t have the last name Collings.”

I wince. “Um, I could, but that would be a lie. She told my paternal grandfather. The one who owns the team.”

A swear word escapes Mason’s lips, and my heart sinks. A tiny voice of doubt creeps into my head and whispers something I don’t want to think about.

Is Mason mad because he is not fully invested in you? Is he really using this down-low time to figure out if he wants more, when you are already all in?

“He’s not mad,” I quickly reassure him. “Not at all.”

“He’s … not?” Mason asks, his eyes searching mine for confirmation.

“Not in the least. He tested me at first—how would I handle the gossip, the Lights Out crew picking us up as a plot point this season, even how I would handle it if you and Caleb had conflict on the track. I told him I could deal with all of that. And that being with you is worth it.”

His facial features relax, and that whisper of doubt in the back of my head fades. “You did?”

I nod. “I did. We’ve talked about all of these things. Well, except for the Lights Out crew. I conveniently forgot about them because they are around all the time getting generic footage. But they are in the same category as social media. I don’t plan to comment to any of them about us.”

“But Elliott is really fine with me dating you? I expected a fight,” Mason confesses.

I shake my head. “No. He respects you a great deal, Mason. He said you will be a world champion in the future, and he wants you to be at Collings Motors to see you achieve it.”

“I appreciate that belief in me.”

My throat tightens. I know he does, seeing that his own dad doesn’t believe in him that way. “He does believe in you. He even told me that if you broke my heart, I should not expect him to cut you from the team.”

Mason’s mouth pulls up in an amused smile. “Is that so?”

“Yes. I was told I would have to find a way to deal with you being in the garage even if we were no longer a couple.”

He releases my hand and cups the side of my face. I turn into his open palm, nuzzling him. “You won’t have to worry about that,” Mason says, his voice rough. “Unless you were the one to break up with me.”

I lift my head. “I don’t see that happening.”

He looks into my eyes, absorbing my words. Then he leans across me, reaching for his phone on the coffee table. “Good. Now I can tell my parents about us,” he says, unlocking his phone.

I stare at him, shocked. I have no doubts his mum will be excited about the news—she’s always going on social media talking about how Mason needs a girlfriend. And not only is Mason telling her he has one, but she’s a Collings, which will create more buzz. Sadly, she’ll love having that bit in her toolbox to promote once Mason gives her the green light to go public.

Even though that is a problem for him, I’m more worried about his dad. He’s so brutal on Mason. Will he throw this in his face?

I put my hand on his arm. “Mason, are you sure?”