The Limit (Sebastian Vettel)

30. A Little Moment Of Madness

Lily poured herself a large glass of wine and wondered what the hell she'd been thinking.  

She glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall.  The other drivers would be arriving in approximately five minutes and she was already regretting asking them all to a barbecue at the Scott mansion. 

It had been a spur of the moment idea she'd had when waking up in Seb's bed in Austria.

Sure, she'd been fully clothed, and Seb had told her nothing had happened beside kissing, but as she'd sat around the dining table with Seb and a very hungover Daniel,drinking coffee and eating the scrambled egg that Seb had rustled up, she'd blurted her invitation out to break the awkward silence.

Both Seb and Daniel had accepted enthusiastically, Daniel because the fanboy in him couldn't resist the opportunity to see inside the place Michael Scott had called home, and Seb because he couldn't resist the opportunity to spend more time with Lily.

Lily had mentioned perhaps inviting a few of the others, which had led to Daniel forming a WhatsApp group with the other drivers and inviting the whole grid.

And that's how Lily found herself getting ready to host a driver's barbecue the afternoon before media day at Silverstone.

"Should you be drinking this early?" came Joel's voice from behind her. She turned and beamed at her brother who had just shuffled into the kitchen, still extremely sore from his injuries and subsequent surgery.

"I need it to get me through this afternoon. What the hell was I thinking?"

Joel laughed and opened the fridge, taking out a can of Coke.

"Well, it's too late for that now. They'll start arriving any minute."

As if on cue, the gate buzzer sounded out. Lily went to answer. It was Lando and Carlos, arriving together in Lando's bright orange McLaren.

Lily opened the gate for them and a few minutes later they arrived at the front door, Lando carrying a bottle of white wine, which he handed to Lily.

"I didn't know if you preferred white or red," he said.

"This is perfect, thank you Lando." He blushed as she dropped a kiss on his cheek.

Next to arrive were George and Alex, followed closely by Max and Pierre. Poppy arrived at the same time as the latter, and Lily smiled to herself as she noticed the way Poppy blushed when the young Frenchman greeted her.

Soon everyone had arrived apart from Daniel and Seb. Typical, they were the reason this was happening and they were late. Oh, and Damon wasn't there either, but he hadn't indicated whether he was coming or not.

If it had been up to Lily she wouldn't have invited him, but as he was technically a part owner of the estate he didn't really need an invitation.

Kevin and Nico had taken on the cooking duties, leaving Lily free to circulate, and Joel free to rest up.

"So, have you lived here your whole life?" Lewis asked Lily as she sat down next to him.

"Dad bought it when he won his first championship, so from when I was about five. Lived here ever since, apart from when I lived away for racing of course. It's always been home. I have so many memories of Dad here. I mean it's probably way too big for just Joel and I but I could never consider selling. All of eight of us would have to agree to sell anyway."

"How many bedrooms are there?" Alex asked.

"Twelve!"

"I came here once before," Kimi said, surprising Lily. "Your father brought me here when I signed on to be his teammate for 02. I remember one of the triplets hanging onto my leg. Not you Poppy, one of the blonde ones. Damon was having a screaming match with your eldest sister, and I think I recall you telling your dad you were going to your room to watch the highlights from Suzuka."