I can't thank you guys enough for 800k reads...this was meant to be for 750k but you continue to amaze me so!
Enjoy!!
"Oh my god." Fireworks illuminate the sky but my eyes are stuck on the screen, the cheers of Daniel echoing through my ears as I fight a laugh of disbelief once his car crosses the white line.
"I know." Blake yells over the commotion in the same daze as me. The two of us are stood plastered together, as we always seem to be on these weekends, with idiotic smiles on our face and Red Bull headphones on our ears. We'd been passing mimosas back and forth over the last two hours, becoming giddy as Daniel climbed from fifth up to pole position - he had assumed winning the race wasn't happening. We had all assumed him winning the race wasn't happening. Max is fierce competition and if Charles didn't keep the lead from his P1 start, I had assumed Max would from P2. I think even max had thought so.
"Oh my god!" I repeat the words are more of a cry of excitement this time as Daniel slows on his cool down lap (or 'victory lap' as he'd started to call them after doubling his pre-2022 wins this year).
"I know!" Blake cheers again this time sounding just as insane as me as we look around the garage almost hysterically removing the headphones from our ears. Engineers are cheering and team members clapping each other on the back in celebration of another victory for the team.
"This is..." I trail off taking in the sight before me. Everyone is so happy and proud of Daniel I can't help thinking that he didn't fit in at Mclaren at all in comparison. They've given him everything and in return he's secured them a world championship.
"I know..." Blake agrees for the third time as the two of us gape at each other almost hysterically. The crowning points for the drivers championship were grabbed by Daniel last week at the Brazilian Grand Prix - a race I had planned to attend but ultimately had to miss because of Miele being sick. Whilst the race was so important to Daniel we had both agreed that our daughter came first. I couldn't take our sick five month old daughter on an 11 hour flight, and I also couldn't leave her behind for the weekend whilst I got on an 11 hour flight. I'd only be sick with worry. Still, it killed me when Daniel pulled himself from the car, P1 for the eighth time in the season crowning him champion of 2024.
I had cried in pride (and a little selfish sadness) when he stood on the podium not able to shake the feeling that I should've been there, Miele should've been there too. Lando (via the podium) and Dad were there, of course, and Daniels parents plus his sister managed to fly out from Perth for the occasion which made me feel better about it all. But I couldn't help but feel that I was letting him down. There's still a pearl of guilt biting at me somewhere.
It's been a common theme over the last few months as I've missed races and victories to focus on Mimi. It's strange, because on the flip I know Daniel has been experiencing the exact same feeling of loss. He's felt as though he's letting us down by leaving every second weekend, but I couldn't complain about a thing.
Daniel's press officer is directing us to the podium, herding Blake and I (as instructed by Daniel) to the Parc Fermé area just as we have been at every podium (apart from when I was more heavily pregnant with Miele, then I was left in the garage, chasing Daniel down enroute to the cool down room to share kisses away from busting crowds). My head spins with calls of Daniel's name as we're pushed to the front of the crowd. The metal barriers press into me as my eyes fall onto Daniel's car. The golden '3' and 'Ricciardo' on the black Red Bull car larger than it was on other weeks to celebrate Daniel and his championship win.
He climbs out of the car and it's like I can feel the joy radiating from his body all whilst I can't even see his face. Daniel's holding three fingers in the air as he punches his chest in victory throwing his body onto the concrete with a cheer from the engineers around us. He throws his body into the team, his joyous laugh echoing through my ears as he cheers again. Hand after hand slaps him on the back and helmet in a rhythm of claps as he thanks each person until his feet meet the floor.
"Baby!" Daniel cheers on sight of my gleaming face. He's reaching for me over the barriers with one hand as the other tears the tight golden helmet and cream balaclava from his head. Daniel's glove covered hands are on my coat covered body and the brightest smile on his face until his lips crash down on mine. It's nothing new. And still I can't help the butterflies that swarm around me, around us, as he holds me in his arms the excitement making me giggle into the kiss, my hands grabbing at his race suit and holding him close. Perfect!
"I'm so proud of you!" I cheer when we pull away, only just enough so that our lips don't touch. Daniel looks almost dazed as his deep brown eyes look into mine the people around us clapping him on the back and shoulder as his hands hold me. It's like he doesn't hear a thing.
"Marry me." The two words leave him without thought, as if a reflex, tumbling from him without a second thought. A demand, something he has to have. Wait- Did I hear him right?
"What?" I ask through a laugh, Daniel's eyes have lit up and immediately I feel almost delirious with joy. He didn't say that, did he? There's still the cloudy look in his eyes as his hands move on my body. They're everywhere, my face, arms waist it's all just...Daniel.
"Marry me Ambs, today. Now." Daniel says, the words tumbling out of his mouth as he gets almost a manic look on his face. The glow to his smiling face has never been so bright and I know then that this is something he's been thinking about for weeks, if not months. It's the kind of things he'd think about for months. "It's all I could think about on the last lap." He explains quickly, the same press officer that guided Blake and I tugging at his shoulder trying to get his attention for the post-race interview. "Let's fucking just get married." A laugh of disbelief falls from me at the ridiculousness of this whole thing.
"You're insane." I warn with a shake of my head. He just shrugs cooly. Everything is so easy to him, a stress has never sat on his shoulders over the last 18 months. My god, I love him so much.
"Maybe." He answers softly, the smile still tugging at his lips. "But let's just do it." Daniel finishes with a flash of his eyebrows. 'Let's just do it', as if we're deciding where to go on holiday, what to eat for dinner or whether to go to the beach by our house. I can only blink softly feeling dazed by the whole interaction when Daniel leaves me. He's almost dragged away from me in the direction of Jenson Button who is standing ready and waiting with a smile, a microphone and words of congratulations.
Blake is just looking to me with concern. "What did he say?" He asks sounding cautious as I stare in the direction of the man I love so much. His words echoing around my head in a spiral so fast it makes me dizzy. Did Daniel just...propose? Daniel just proposed.
"He said he wants to marry me." I swear the words leave me as a whisper, if they do Blake hears them. He lets out a laugh, a sudden sound that catches me off guard and even manages to pull my attention from Daniel.
"Finally!" Blake almost guffaws as I gape at him in questioning. The cheers begin to crescendo once more as Max walks out onto the podium. My phone is buzzing no doubt with congratulations texts for Daniel. My eyes fall to podium ready for Lando to come out for his P2 celebration. "He's been on about it for months." Blake adds flawing me as Lando's beaming face appears.
-
"I could kill him for cutting me off like that!" Lando complains earning a commiserating mumble of support from Dad.
"He did not cut you off, he just out-braked you! You could've done the same to him at the next corner if your car wasn't so slow." I defend Daniel, shoving Lando's shoulder and earning a scold from dad. Lando just laughs at my defence of my boyfriend, it's a hobby he's taken to well - winding me up about Daniel and Him. He knows that a part of me is so terrified they'll not get on again even if they do call eachother brothers (making Oliver more than a little jealous along the way).
"I should've took that jump to Red Bull whilst I had the chance." Lando grumbles, Carla making a hum of commiseration from the couch of the hotel suite - her eyes haven't moved from the needle and thread in her hands since the four of us stumbled in ninety minutes ago. I roll my eyes. Christian would've had Daniel over Lando any day and we both know it. My brother never stood a chance.
"I warned you it was a long contract." I point out remembering my first words to him after he told me about the contract extension in 2022. I try to ignore the slight shiver to my hands as I clip the earrings into place. This is so different to our post race routines from the rest of the season. Usually Lando and I crash into Daniel's room after races, heading from there to dinner or just to the hotel to sleep depending on the day.
"Try now." Carla instructs handing the white dress my way, with limited warning she had been more than willing to jump in and make the one white dress I had brought in my suitcase 'more bride-esque'. With the help of a few Red Bull connections and a few hundred dollars given to her by Daniel for the effort. I'd almost be skeptical if it were anybody else, but I'd trust Carla and her styling with my life. The plain white previous ill fitting mini dress has now been transformed from something that would only be acceptable in a nightclub or brand event has now been carefully adjusted to not only fit properly but is adorned with a soft dropped straps which sit on the edge of my shoulder. Carla had even carefully stitched Daniel and I's initials into the bottom right hem, a detail which made me pout in adoration of my talented friend until she waved me away, wanting to focus on the final touches of the pearl headband holding my veil. She had stuffed the accessory into her own suitcase as an afterthought only for the choice to pay off perfectly now.
All in all, on ninety minutes notice the whole thing has came together pretty well.
Daniel was in charge of location and cake (for some reason) and Blake was to organise cars for us to and from the small chapel not far from the hotel. Michael was sent to collect rings from a local jeweller who, with some Formula 1-level persuasion and an agreement to pay above full price for the wedding bands, had agreed to open at the last hour. Lando had the job of informing as many of our friends as possible on short notice whilst Dad had spent almost the entire time calling people at home. It's an early Sunday morning at home, almost everyone we know is asleep and I'm about to marry Daniel Ricciardo, the love of my life - only in Vegas.
Thank goodness Miele had woken up at her usual time of seven am on the dot dragging Mum up with her. Mum yelled at me once it was all explained until I told her to calm down, then she hung up to call Daniel and yell at him. Somehow, as always, he manages to convince her of the plan and it's agreed that she'll be FaceTime'd (with Flo and Mimi at her side) through the whole ceremony.
"Are you sure you want to do this without your mum and Mimi?" Daniel had asked, his skin sticky with champagne and sweat after the podium celebrations. I had been in a 'pinch me' daze, peppering excited kisses to his tanned skin before our fingers interlocked and I knew the question was serious. "We can wait, if that's what you want." He pointed out with a soft voice laced with no judgement. Is it what I want? Of course in an ideal world Miele would be here, Mum too and even Lilly and Maddie could be at my side. But the spontaneity of it all is what makes this all so spectacularly us. Everything up to now has been chaos, why not this too?
"What do you want?" I asked had Daniel, my head tilting in questioning as he gave his usual easy unbothered shrug. Neither of Daniel's parents could attend this weekend, I can't help but feel as though we're betraying Grace and Joe doing this without either of them too. The question doesn't phase him.
"I want you to be my wife Ambs." He answered honestly, the word wife sounding foreign on his lips. We've spoken about marriage hundreds of times, we have a daughter together of course we have, but nothing like this. No finer details of a ceremony or how we'd want it to look was ever discussed. I'd always assumed we'd get married in Italy for some reason, maybe even having a quiet ceremony in our home by the lake there. Our world seems to revolve around Italy, why not? "I don't care how it happens. We can have a big fucking party wherever we want after. But if you want to wait, I can wait." The last sentence was an after thought, but I know Daniel meant it.
So long as I'm agreeing to marry him at some point he's okay with whatever I want. If this night ends only in an engagement he's okay with that, so long as the promise that I will be his wife someday is there.
"It's on you." Daniel added, smoothing the pads of his fingers over my cheek which I nuzzled into. His touch feels like home. He is home. He will always be home. I can't be without home.
I want to be with him for the rest of my life.
"I want to be your wife." I decided firmly, the words sending butterflies packed with nerves through my whole body.
I pull the zip up on the petite white dress altered by Carla up fully, pulling at the hem to flatten the thick buttery material against my skin. It may not explicitly be a wedding dress but it is my wedding dress. I heave in a nervous breath as I toy with the veil in my hands, the light net material crinkling as the reality hits fully. Today is my wedding day. The sight of Miele's name glimmering on the gold necklace which is permanently clipped to my neck makes the nerves dim instantly. With a final slow breath blown through my lips I tuck the veil into my freshly curled hair, toying with several strands of hair until it sits just perfectly. Then I slip on my shoes, black Dior heels bought for me by Daniel last Christmas, and step out of the bedroom. Almost instantly the bubbly chattering between the three people in the room halts.
"Ambs," Lando is the first one to say a word. There's a gasp to my name as he stares at me wide eyed. Everyone in the room is staring. My fingers knot together nervously at the attention those same butterflies of nerves re-emerging.
"Darling..." Dad is next, there's a crack to his voice that makes my eyes widen as they find him. Dad has a hand pressed to his mouth and looks uncharacteristically emotional with tears in his eyes. I can't look at them too long, if I do tears will gather in my own. I have too much mascara on my eyelashes for that (maybe on second thought the mascara was a mistake).
"It's okay, right?" I ask, worry lacing my words as I adjust the veil so it sits fully behind my shoulders. Dad just shakes his head, eyes rolling at my question.
"It's gorgeous Amber." He comforts softly, his head reaching for mine and squeezing tightly. My heart squeezes sharply with the action, a stab of emotion hitting me excitedly as I whisper quiet thanks. Somewhere in the background Carla mumbles a playful 'of course it is' about my dress as Lando just continues to gape and smile taking slow steps towards Dad and I. If I weren't already flushed with excitement, my cheeks would be filling with pink heat at their attention.
"It's so..." Lando seems to lose where he's going with the sentence, pausing to envelope me in his arms. "You." In any other situation I'd think his words were a playful insult. Today I know they're not. Right now I know they're now. Because I know exactly what Lando means; this whole situation is just so...us, Daniel and I. It feels right.
A knock on the door interrupts us all. Lando is doing his best to be nice and not laugh as he wipes the gathering tears from the corner of my eyes before they can even begin to fall. Dad is rubbing my back gently whilst grinning proudly as Carla runs around to answer the call at the door. Lando and Dad have began slightly panicked mumbles to eachother, the two of them ensuring they've checked off all of the chores assigned to them. It's the clearing of a throat to my left which catches my attention.
Daniel.
"Amber..." he speaks my name like it's the first word he's ever spoken, dark eyes that melt me widening at the sight of me in a white dress. Thee white dress. He looks gorgeous, smartly dressed in his black suit, the collar of his white shirt making his skin look even more tanned than it seems to naturally be. Then there's his smile, different to usual where it lights up entire rooms and leaves people dazed for minutes. Right now, his smile could light up the universe with the excitement and adoration that right now it could not be more obvious he has for me, for our family and the life we've created together. From the moment we met Daniel has lit up my universe, our wedding day was always going to be the day we shine the brightest.
"You know it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding." I manage to choke out, ironing my hands against the thick material of the dress self-consciously once more. Since having Miele my body changed in ways I never thought of and whilst there are days I feel uncomfortable and unsure, when Daniel looks at me like that how could I ever feel bad about myself? That suit...it's perfect. He's perfect.
"Eh..." Daniel makes a sound of indifference shrugging as if a hundred year old tradition could never scare him, not really. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? Apart from the race we've already spent the whole day together. "I don't believe in that for us." I don't think I do either. He knows this, something in him ticks and in four quick strides he's at my side, Lando and Dad stepping away to bicker over their duties and stare at least a few metres away from us. "You look stunning." The compliment once again makes my cheeks flush, with the hand that presses to my cheek I know Daniel can feel the heat.
"You guys make me sick!" Lando interjects in a mocking whine.
"Fuck off!" Daniels bites in my brother's direction at the same time Carla shoves his side and grumbles at him to not be rude. Even Dad hisses his name in warning. I don't even bite, just laugh at the teased disapproval. He doesn't mind - not really.
"You're missing something." Daniel hums gently, his fingers of his right hand lacing into my left. My eyes shoot wide with panic as I recap all the work that's been done over the last two hours. My free hand flows to my head checking for the headband and veil there before pressing to the necklace holding Miele's name. My lips are parted, ready to ask when my eyes find the black square box in Daniel's free hand. A ring box.
"Dan," I gasp, my eyes wide and widening further when the lid of the box is flipped over to reveal the most beautiful ring I've ever seen; my ring, exactly like I always pictured it. Exactly how I've always dreamily told Lilly I'd want it to be. The simple platinum band is adorned with a single clear emerald cut stone that sparkles under the light.
"Shut up and let me practice putting a ring on your finger." Daniel grumbles looking almost bashful at my glee.
"How did you..." How did he know? How did he get this right now? How did he get to be so...perfect? Because he is, he's perfect for me in every way.
In the way he does when he knows I'm panicking, Daniel just ignores my stuttered question. Instead he just adjusts his hold on my hand so that he can slide the engagement ring onto my finger. It's a perfect fit - of course it is. I admire the stone but only for a second. Before I can get too distracted Daniel is pressing his lips to mine. The movement is sweet and loving and makes butterflies swarm in every part of me as I grasp at the material of his suit jacket, pulling him closer by the expensive lapels of the blazer.
All too soon it's over. I'm balanced back on my heels instead of the tips of my toes but the butterflies with daniels hand tied into my ring bearing one don't fade. "Let's go get married!" Daniel whispers into my skin, the excitement lacing the words setting me alight.
———
I really got hit this week like DAMN this weekend is the perfect time with the first Vegas race (despite it being a shit show)
Then the story is almost at 800k I just thought...A SIGN!
I can't thank you guys enough for the support and on this whole story! It blows my mind and I'm so grateful that so many of you have took time to read (and re-read), comment or do anything to do with it. I never expected anything of the sort! So I really appreciate it and this lil bonus chapter is just a way of saying thank you ❤️❤️
Because I'm shameless I'll end with some promo of my NEW Daniel book named Cocktails & Emotions!
I love Georgina almost as much as Amber, so if you're looking for something new to read be sure to check it out
Lots & lots of love
🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻