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I bite back a laugh, but his declaration helps ease any nerves I have. I want her to like me for me, but even if she doesn’t, I know it won’t change anything Mason feels for me.

I shift my attention back to her. She’s petite, with choppy blonde hair and pale skin. She’s dressed in a pale blue top and a navy maxi skirt, and oversized sunnies are on top of her head—perfect for the warm weather in Baku today. Mason rises to meet her as she reaches our table. I do the same.

“Mase!” she cries, pulling him into a hug. “My boy!”

“Mum, good to see you,” Mason says, hugging her back. “Thank you for coming this weekend.”

“Stop thanking me for being present for you,” she says, kissing him on the cheek. Then she turns to me, and her pale green eyes sparkle with excitement. “And I can’t believe it. My boy has finally found a girl, and it’s a Collings!”

“Mum. Her name is Catherine,” Mason says firmly.

“Oh, I know that,” she says breezily. “This is so exciting! I’ve wanted Mason to have a girlfriend for like forever!” She extends her hand to me. “I’m Sarah.”

I shake her hand. “Catherine. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Just then Lovi swings by the table with my coffee. I’m about to protest when she cuts me off. “No, I saw it up there, Sydney said it was for you, and it’s my pleasure,” she insists.

Okay, make that two bright rays of sunshine in the motorhome.

“Thank you,” I say.

“Of course,” she says, whisking herself away from the table.

We all sit down, with Sarah taking the open chair next to Mason. We fall into a general conversation. She wants to know all the details of how we met, when we decided to date, that kind of thing. I let Mason take the lead, and he’s very careful about how he answers. With a pang, I realise it’s because he knows anything he tells her might end up splashed across her social media accounts. So instead of sharing everything with his mum, he’s guarded. It’s not the Mason I know, or even the Mason I see doing fan meet and greets or things for the social media team.

Sarah is kind and energetic, so it’s hard not to like her. Before I dated Mason, I thought her posts about him were amusing. But now that I know how she trades on those posts for likes, endorsements, and partnership deals, I hate that he feels he can’t truly be himself with her.

But he will always be able to be himself with me, I vow. I will always be his safe space.

The conversation shifts to Ruby, and I see how happy Mason is when he talks about his sister. She’s studying mechanical engineering at uni, and he told me she has the goal of working for an F1 team.

“Well, I’d like to think Catherine could push Ruby’s CV to the top of the Collings Motors pile,” Sarah says, giving me a knowing wink.

“Mum, we aren’t doing this,” Mason says, a warning tone entering his voice.

“Oh, Mason, she’s your girlfriend. I’m sure she’d love to help Ruby!” Sarah says cheerfully. “Wouldn’t you, Catherine?”

I open my mouth to answer, but Mason puts his hand up in a stop motion, so I close it. “Not everything is a networking transaction,” he says. “Do not bring this up again.”

I pause. From the look of shock on Sarah’s face, I can tell Mason’s never spoken to her like this. “Mase, surely—” she starts to protest.

“Another thing? No more posting about our relationship on social media. Post about me all you want, if you feel compelled to tell the internet I should make sure my fridge is stocked or I haven’t called you back in a timely manner, that I probably have a pile of laundry that needs to be done, all of that stuff. If you have to do it, that’s fine. But you will say nothing about Catherine or our relationship, because now this impacts her. And I won’t have that. So nothing will be said about us, is that understood?”

Sarah blinks.

Mason is pushing back. And he’s doing it because he wants to protect me.

“Okay, I understand,” she says meekly. Then she rises. “I know you have a lot to do today, so I’ll see you later for dinner.”

Mason rises and hugs her goodbye. There’s a rattled look on her face, as if she never considered how Mason felt about her ongoing commentary about his life.

Sarah leaves, and he rakes a hand through his hair. I rise and put my hands on his chest, and his eyes immediately snap to mine. “I’m so proud of you,” I say quietly.

Surprise blankets his gorgeous face. “What? Why?”

“Because you set a boundary with her. I’m glad you did. But not for me. I’m glad you did it for you.”

“I’m easy-going, you know that. I don’t like to make big deals out of things like that,” Mason explains. “But what I have with you? That’s not content. That belongs to me. To us.”