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My heart races inside my chest. Mason is protecting me. He’s going to set boundaries because of his feelings for me. Because that’s how much I matter to him.

And I just fell a whole lot more for him in this moment.

“I’ve got to go to our comms meeting,” he says. “I’ll catch you on the way over to the Fan Zone.” Then, to my surprise, he drops a kiss on my lips.

“Okay,” I say, smiling at him.

Caleb gets up to leave, with Paloma dutifully going over his morning schedule with him. They all say goodbye, and I sit back down at the table. I open my phone to text Mason, to tell him how proud I am of him, but I’m stunned to a stop.

My screen is filled with notifications, things I’m tagged in from different social media posts. For a moment, doubt kicks in. There’s a very real chance a lot of these comments could be from people trolling me about the shirt. Or commenting only about my relationship with Mason.

I need social media proof to show my dad. My grandfather. And those doubting women in marketing who think I’m nothing but a project they’ll be forced to take on.

I know the shirt is fantastic. I know it. I just have to believe other women out there will want to wear it, too.

I tap on the post I put on Connectivity first and bring up the comment section. My heart leaps as I read them:

OMG I WANT THIS SHIRT!!!!

Where can I get this? Where? I need this in my life!

This is so cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Where can I get the shirt?

Where did you buy the shirt?

PLEASE CATHERINE TELL US WHERE YOU GOT THE SHIRT

Tears fill my eyes as comments like that go on and on. I’m being tagged in posts about dating Mason, but I’ve been tagged in all kinds of posts online asking about the shirt, too. Or people raving about it.

It worked. The shirt is going to go viral.

Then I see a text from my grandfather:

Catherine, you know what you’re doing. Let’s talk next week about CM by Catherine. That’s the line I’m going to back. I know you don’t want me to, but this isn’t about you being my granddaughter. This is about business. This line is going to make us a lot of money, and I’d back anyone who came up with the idea. I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.

I put down the phone. Notifications continue to populate my screen.

I did it. I really did it. I’m going to spearhead a collection that will be the first of its kind in team merchandise.

Tears of relief and happiness cause my vision to grow blurry. Just like that, a whole new future has opened for me. It’s not the career I envisioned for myself, but it’s a career path I am excited about.

I know I have a lot to learn. I’m going to have to rely on people in marketing to bring this line from production to the online store and our pop-up shops around the world. It’s not going to be easy. It will be hard. I’ll have to continually prove myself. But I’m ready for this challenge.

And I can’t wait to tell Mason all about it.

Chapter Thirty-One

The minute hand moves to the three on the clock, and butterflies take off in my stomach. Xavier, back on pole, moves ahead, and the cars fall in line behind him for the formation lap.

Including Mason, who qualified second on the grid.

I watch as he weaves his car behind Xavier’s light-blue-and-navy car, and I’m so proud of the qualifying session he had yesterday. Mason held pole position until Xavier put together a monster lap that just edged him out of P1, being faster in nearly every sector of the track. Caleb didn’t have his best qualifying session and is starting at P5, as his car struggled with pace yesterday.

But I’m optimistic my brother can put together a good race and move up. Just as I’m optimistic that Mason can snatch the lead from Xavier.

I’m standing in the back of the garage, in my usual spot, as if I’m working. I have to admit, it’s been nice this weekend to have Paloma take care of Caleb. She’s handled his grumpiness with charm, and she confided in me she’d be thrilled to fill in whenever I need her to.