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I take a moment to stare at him, too. He’s wearing a white T-shirt and black track pants, with his hair lightly tousled. Even when Mason is casual he’s hot.

“Found you,” he says, his voice low as he leans against the back wall, a playful smile forming on his full lips.

I draw my lower lip between my teeth. His eyes immediately flick to my mouth, and heat rushes through me.

“Sorry,” I say. “I wanted to try something on and I kind of got carried away with an idea.”

Mason studies me. “What idea?”

“I’m going to be completely honest with you. I think the Collings Motors women’s wear—both for team members and retail—is terrible.”

Another smile tugs at the corners of his sensual mouth. Oh, I love when I can make him smile, and there’s something very sexy about it hovering just on the edges of his lips.

“Okay, go on.”

I pick up the jacket and slip into it. “Young women are the fastest-growing portion of our fan base. Why not target them with cute street-style athleisure pieces that they can wear when watching a race? Running out to get a coffee? Going to class?”

A thinking expression appears on his face. “So like what you’ve got on but make it Collings Motors.”

I nod excitedly. “Yes. Not the full look, but a strategically placed logo for retail-only pieces. Driver number. Stuff like that. Maybe a special, limited-edition capsule collection to test it. I think a lot of that demographic will love these pieces.” I say, turning around and studying the full look in the mirror.

“I know I do.”

My gaze finds his in the mirror again, his eyes locked with mine.

“So what are your plans?” Mason asks.

I turn around so I’m facing him again. What are my plans? For so long, my plans were to wait. Wait for a legit opening to come up in the media department. Learn the inner workings of Collings Motors. Help Caleb by serving as his assistant. I was going to earn the opportunity to do what I studied without using my name to force my way in.

But now I’m equally excited about this. About bringing my fashion thoughts and ideas not only to social media and creating a new platform but sharing them with the retail and merchandising arm of Collings Motors.

In the past, I would have shelved this. I don’t have a background in fashion, design, or marketing. It’s not my place to come up with ideas. I should wait for an appropriate position to open up and then pursue work related to my degree.

But now?

I’m willing to try something new. I’m inspired. Not that I don’t love working with Caleb, but keeping his diary and getting him to his engineering meeting on time is not what I want to do for a career.

And I want to try this.

“I’m going to buy these pieces and have some sample products made up,” I say. “And I’m going to take them to the merchandising team.”

“Good. Because I think it’s brilliant.”

His praise washes over me, making me feel so seen and heard. Mason isn’t listening to me because my last name is Collings. Mason is listening because he wants to.

“Thank you.”

He walks across the space of the dressing room, so he’s only a few feet from me, close enough where I can detect the cologne lingering on his skin. My stomach flips again.

“That’s what I was going to tell you about what you worked out at Sohan Perrin,” he says. “I think that’s incredible.”

“Well, I’m not going to pretend my name didn’t have anything to do with it, because it did,” I confess. “However, I’m the one who is going to create the content with the clothing, and we’ll see what the social media data tells us when I’m done.”

Something shifts in the way Mason’s looking at me. Once again, I realise what I’m seeing in his eyes is respect. Respect for what I’m doing and my honesty about it. I’m so used to having people tell me what they think I want to hear, I didn’t understand how much I would value someone hearing me and respecting me just as Catherine.

Just like Mason felt when I saw him as just Mason.

“You look happy right now,” he says.