"Are you feeling ok for the race?" Stevie asks Daniel on Saturday night when they are in bed in their hotelroom.
Daniel got pole in quali, but Seb is right behind him on P2.
Daniel sighs.
"I feel good for the race, I like this track and I know I can win. But I don't think I'll get that championship tomorrow."
Stevie stays quiet for a moment. She knows that Seb will have to finish tenth or lower for Daniel to win the championship.
They have both been switching positions all season, so they were extremely close in points the entire time, but unfortunately due to a puncture in Brazil, Daniel lost a lot of positions and ended up with no points. Seb won that race with fastest lap and that means he now has an big advantage over Daniel.
"Yeah I know. It's not impossible but I understand the odds are really small. Seb hasn't had a DNF or a bad result all year. And neither did you until bloody Lance thought he could unlap you in a turn where he shouldn't even have tried."
It pisses her off thinking about it.
Lance made contact with Daniel's front left tire and caused the puncture. It was a stupid move that was doomed to fail and it probably cost Daniel his championship.
"Yeah well those things happen. He got penalized for it."
Daniel strokes her back softly when he feels her get angry about it again.
When he came back in Parc Ferme after that race Stevie was in the garage.
If they thought he was angry about that race, they should have seen her. Her blue eyes were shooting lightning and she looked more beautiful than ever.
He now knows he does not want to get on her bad side, because even though she is stunning when she is angry, she is also a bit scary.
She may be a petite woman, but she looked as if she would fight Lance for him. And he knew if she would have, Lance would have been screwed. It felt good though, to have somebody who actually supports him like that.
"It sucks that it won't be this year, but if we keep developing the car like we have been doing, I'm sure I'll be having another chance next season. And we did get the constructors championship, so that's always a good result for the team."
He will stay positive no matter what. In the end it was a good year in many aspects.
He's going to be second in the championship, with a contract for at least another year and Christian has already made clear that he wants to keep the team like it is now.
He met Stevie, which was one of the best things that could have happened.
His parents seem to like her, they arrived on Friday to be there for the final race and he can only smile when he thinks about them being introduced to Stevie.
~~~~~~~
He took them to hospitality where Stevie was working hard to get some dishes plated. Of course his parents already knew all about her.
He has been talking about her on the phone every single time they talked and they were very excited to meet her.
Tina was there with Cole and Zara as well and when he came in, Cole jumped into his arms as soon as he saw Daniel.
"Daniel! Mommy made cheesecake."
"Oh buddy that sounds so good. I will definitely try some after the race on Sunday. If I eat it now I won't be able to get in the car anymore. Do you think mommy will save me some?"
"I don't think it will be that good after two days, but I'll make you a fresh one on Sunday." Stevie came out of the kitchen when she saw him walk in with his parents.
He told her he wanted to introduce them to her and she has been very nervous all morning.
He is just as close with his family as she is with hers and if they don't like her she doesn't know how they will be able to move forward.
"Hi Mr and Mrs Ricciardo. I'm Stephanie, but most people call me Stevie. It's so nice to meet you, Daniel has told me a lot about you."
First Daniel's father stepped forward and looked at her hand that she has been holding up to shake theirs.
"It's Joe and we don't shake hands. Come here!" He then went and pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug that was pretty much like her father would have done.
It took her by surprise, but it was also very sweet.
"Our son can't shut up about you, so you must be a really special woman." Joe said.
"Oh I don't know about that. It depends on what he told you." Stevie smiled at the man who now had her by her shoulders to have a good look at her.
"Well apparently you are an amazing chef, a wonderful mother and you are stunning. I can't judge on the first two yet, but he was definitely right about the third one."
Stevie felt her cheeks turn red when she realized Daniel told his father so much about her. Joe seemed to like her instantly, but what if he found out what she has been hiding for his son? He might not be so fond of her anymore then.
"Joe leave the poor girl alone." Daniel's mom pushed her husband out of the way and also wrapped her arms around Stevie.
"Hello sweetheart, I'm Grace. It's so nice to finally meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too. I hope you had a good trip. Are you hungry? We just plated up the lunch dishes so if you want I can get you something to eat." She can't just do nothing when she is nervous so she might as well do what she does best and that is to feed people.
"I would love something, what do you recommend?" Joe asked her.
"Ehm well I don't know what you like."
"You have the duck breast today right baby?" Daniel asked her and she nodded.
His father looked at his wife with raised eyebrows and mouthed 'baby?'
Grace just shrugged and looked at the interaction between her son and the woman he can't stop talking about.
She could see why he is so attracted to Stephanie. She truly is a beauty. Grace just isn't so sure about the fact that she still is so young, between Stephanie and Daniel there is 7 years and she has two little kids. Is she actually interested in Daniel or is she just looking for a rich man who will take care of her and her kids?
"I'm sure my parents would love that. Dad really, you have never tried anything like it before. I'm not going to tell you what is in the dish, but it's amazing."
"Alright duck breast it is. Can we sit with your kids Stephanie?" Joe asked.
"Yeah of course go right ahead." She looked at the table where Zara had just grabbed a handful of her puréed carrot and was smearing it all over her face with Tina quickly pulling out baby wipes from the bag.
"So that orange little oompa loompa over there is my daughter Zara. She likes to wear her food." She laughed.
Tina looked apologetic as she was trying to clean Zara off with the baby wipes. Stevie just thought it was funny. They have laundry service in the hotel, so it's no big deal.
Tina didn't even have to be with the kids now, but Charles was busy with a meeting and Stevie's parents were getting a tour through the garage from Calum.
Joe and Grace sat down with Tina and the kids while Stevie went into the kitchen to get them the duck breast dish.
"Sooo meeting the parents already?" Melissa grinned as she poured a custard mixture into the large ice cream churner.
"Well they were already planning to come even before me and Daniel met. They seem very nice. Besides you are going to spend Christmas with Sebs parents and his entire family." Stevie said as she was slicing the duck breast. It had a perfect crispy skin and she knew it's delicious.
"True. So when are you and Daniel going to be an official couple? I mean you guys are practically married outside the track. Might as well make it official right?" Melissa closed the lid of the ice cream churner before turning it on.
"I don't know. We will be apart for two months during winter break. Who knows what happens then. Maybe he will see his ex again and decides he wants to try to get back with her."
Melissa snorted.
"You are crazy. He is not going to get back with his ex. Why aren't you going to Perth to visit him?"
"First of all, he hasn't invited me. Second, to go to Australia I will need a visa for myself and the kids and that takes a lot of time. So I won't be able to go there without it. I'll just have to hang in there for those months he isn't around. I'll miss him that I know for sure."
"He's going to miss you too. Have you told him yet, you know about your scars." Melissa ended in a whisper.
"No, I can't tell him now. He has to focus on this weekend, what if I tell him and he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore? I know we would both be devastated if things end, so I can't take that risk during a race weekend."
She made sure the dishes for Joe and Grace were plated up to perfection. Daniel told her they were really easy going people, but she did want to make a good impression and she really wanted them to like her.
Daniel and her still aren't an official couple. She has been keeping her guards up a bit. But that's mostly because she doesn't want to make things official before not seeing each other for two months. She knows she won't meet anybody in those months, she will just be looking for a house and celebrating the holidays with her parents and the kids.
But Daniel will also go and have fun with his friends and she knows he has a lot of very pretty girls in his friend group. She feels like she can trust him, but they will be on different sides of the world. Anything can happen and still she has this little voice in her head that keeps saying that anybody can cheat.
After making sure the plates looked perfect she brought them out to Daniel's parents.
"This looks amazing! I can't wait to try." Joe said when he saw the beautiful dish being served to him.
"Enjoy, I should get back to the kitchen, but I hope we will be able to have a bit more time somewhere this weekend to get to know each other."
Stevie gave her kids a kiss before making her way back to the kitchen where everybody was working hard to get everything done.
Daniel followed her to the kitchen door.
"Maybe we can have dinner with our parents tonight at the hotel?" He suggested.
"Yeah I guess we can do that. Depending on what time you are done here, because Tina is having dinner with Charles so Cole and Zara will have to come with us then."
"No problem. I'll let Seb know to hurry up with debrief today."
He gave her a kiss on her cheek before letting her get back to work.
His parents enjoyed the food and afterwards they went with him to the garage so he could get ready.
"So what do you think about Stephanie?" He asked them eager to hear their opinion.
"She can definitely cook and she seems lovely. Her kids are very cute as well." His dad admitted. Daniel wasn't really worried about his fathers opinion. His mom has always been more critical when it came to girls he brought home.
"Mom?"
Grace thought about how to answer Daniel without sounding to negative.
"I'm sure she is very nice. And indeed the food was delicious. But my dear, she is quite young don't you think? And are you sure she isn't just after somebody the help her out financially as a single mother?"
Daniel sighed. He was already worried his mom would think like that.
"Mom, she makes plenty of money with her job to not need any financial help. Besides she just sold her house so believe me, she doesn't need me to help her with money. Stevie is a hardworking woman who is very independent. Yes she is young, but she is 26, we're 7 years apart. I don't see that as a problem."
He won't tell her he was a bit worried about the age difference at first as well. But since he got to know Stephanie, he also knows she is more mature than he is.
"I'm just being careful ok dear? I know you really like her. But I thought you wanted kids of your own. If you get serious with her you'll become a stepdad straight away. Do you even know if she wants more kids? What if she doesn't, can you live with never having your own children?" Grace asked him.
Daniel hadn't really thought about that. He is crazy about Cole and Zara, but his mom is right, he would love to have kids of his own as well. He wants to be there from the beginning, the birth, the newborn stage, everything.
"I would love those kids as if they were my own, but we haven't exactly talked about wanting kids together yet. We aren't even officially a couple so that might be a bit soon to discuss something so big." Daniel replied and he knew he would really love Cole and Zara as if they were his.
He can already see himself taking Cole for his first karting lessons. Or whatever sports he would want to do. He can imagine himself watching Zara riding a horse or driving her first lap in a go kart.
He would love to be there for all those things.
"I know your heart is big enough to love them as your own. But they aren't yours. They have a father." Grace carefully stated.
"A father who isn't around and who never really was around before either. A cheating, lying bastard who doesn't give a crap about his kids. He even blocked Stevie so she can't even let him know how his kids are doing." Daniel said as he was getting mad thinking about Mitch abandoning his family like they are nothing.
"But what if he comes back?"
"He won't."
"But what if he does? How do you see your future with her when she may have to stay in the UK because he lives there? I don't know if she can just move to the other side of the world to live with you. I don't say you should forget all about it, but I'm just being realistic." Grace could see her sons shoulders drop and she immediately felt guilty for being a bit harsh.
"I'm sorry my dear, let's just hope I'm wrong and the two of you will be very happy together. She really does seem very nice and I would love to get to know her better."
"So if we do end up together, can you guys treat Cole and Zara just like you would your biological grandchildren?" Daniel asked his parents. He would hate it if his parents would treat them differently than Isaac and Isabella or any other grandkids that might arrive later on.
"Of course! We would never treat them differently. If things work out the way you want them to, we will happily welcome those two angels in to our family."
Grace would never exclude them just because they aren't Daniel's biological kids and neither would Joe.
That night they were able to have dinner with their parents and everybody seemed to get along just fine.
Grace and Joe made an effort to get to know Stevie and the kids as well which filled Daniel with happiness. His mom may be a bit careful, but she also doesn't want him to get hurt which he understands.
It would absolutely break his heart if he would have to say goodbye to Stevie and the kids. That's also why he is so patient with her, he knows he wants her for the long term, so he can wait until she is ready to take that step.
~~~~~~~~~
"So are you looking forward to the winter break?" Stevie asks Daniel as she is still laying in his arms comfortably.
"Yes and no." He answers.
"Yes because I love going home and just unwind for a bit. I'm happy that I'll be able to spend time with my friends and family. And no because I won't be with you and the kids. How am I supposed to sleep without you in my arms?"
"I'm sure you'll manage. At least you won't have to listen to me snoring all night long." Stevie jokes, knowing she will have a tough time sleeping without his arms around her as well.
"You don't snore. You do make the cutest sounds though. Sometimes you even moan a bit. I sure hope it's me you're dreaming about then."
Stevie opens her eyes wide and sits up so she can face Daniel.
"I don't moan! Do I?" She seems totally embarrassed so he pulls her towards him and she ends up on top of him.
Ok maybe this wasn't the best idea, but he will just have to behave himself.
Stevie sits up and is now straddling his lower abdomen, luckily she is not sitting on top of his groin, because then it would have been torture for him.
"Daniel seriously! Do I moan?" She says blushing.
He grins, enjoying her embarrassment. Should he tell her he heard her through the wall in Zandvoort moaning his name? Probably best he doesn't.
"You do, but don't worry, you sound very sexy."
He has his hands on her waist and her warmth radiates through the fabric of the shirt she is wearing.
"You look very sexy as well." He says as his pupils dilate looking at her thighs that are now visible as the shirt has slid up a bit.
He lets his hands run over the soft skin and he knows he's definitely taking a risk here.
His hands slowly slide under the cotton of Stevie's shirt where he feels that it's not just her legs that are soft. So is her waist and her back.
Her core feels hot on his abs and he wants nothing more than to feel that part of her surrounding his cock when he finally is able to bury himself deep inside of her.
Her long hair falls over her shoulders and hides a part of her face.
Her removes one hand from under her shirt and pushes her hair back behind her ear.
Then he puts his hand behind her head and gently pulls her down towards her.
She doesn't tense up yet, so he locks lips with her and gets lost in a loving, sensual kiss.
Her hands are on his chest and it feels like they are burning right through his skin, but in the most amazing way.
He lets his big hands slide over her back and under her shirt again, as he moves up he feels the tight top she is wearing under her shirt.
He enjoys how her tongue is playing with his, she really is an amazing kisser even though Mitch is the only one she kissed the last years. He is hard as a rock, but she is sitting just a bit too high to feel it which might be a good thing.
She is used to a four inch penis, he is very proud of his eight inches and he also knows he is very capable of pleasing a woman in multiple ways.
If only she would let him.
He realizes he pushed his luck when he moves his hands to the front of her body and is about to cup her breasts. He immediately feels her tense up and she breaks up the kiss.
"I...I can't. I'm so sorry." She looks down at her hands that are still leaning on Daniel's strong chest.
It feels so good to touch him and she really wants to let him continue what he was doing, her body wants to so bad, her heart wants to. But her head is screaming stop, she isn't ready for the humiliation of another man turning her down because of how her body looks.
"Hey it's ok, you have nothing to apologize for. Don't worry. If you're not ready, you're not ready." He tries to console her when he sees the tears forming in her eyes.
"I just have one question and I hope you feel safe enough to answer me."
"I think so, just ask me." She says in a soft voice.
"Did Mitch ever hurt you or force you to do something you didn't want to do?" He asks. Worried that her being traumatized during sex is the reason she is afraid to take that step with him.
"You mean if he ever raped me?"
"It doesn't have to be rape, it could be anything he did without your consent that is still affecting you. If that is the case then I would really like to have a moment alone with him. But I also understand if you don't want to talk about it."
Stevie smiles a bit sad and shakes her head.
"The only thing he did that still affects me is stick his dick in somebody else behind my back. But he never did anything to hurt me physically. That's not the problem. It's something that has to do with me and I want to tell you, but every time I try I can't seem to get the words out. I promise I will tell you, I just can't yet."
Daniel feels relieved that Mitch hasn't touched her when she didn't want to, but he is dying to know what it is that she is struggling with so badly.
"Ok, I can wait. Just know that there's nothing you can tell me that would shock me."
"I don't deserve you. You have been so patient with me and you must be extremely frustrated by now. I could relief some of that for you."
She puts her hand behind her and rubs his thigh up to where his cock is throbbing in his boxers.
The temptation to let her continue is huge, but he wouldn't be able to enjoy it if he can't return the favor for her.
"You don't have to do that baby. I can wait until you are ready for me to please you."
He just feels the tips of her fingers run over his hard shaft under the fabric of his boxers before she removes them.
That touch alone was almost enough to make him cum in his boxers, but luckily he could prevent that from happening.
"Are you sure? I mean I would totally understand if you find somebody when you're back home, who isn't as complicated as I am and who will give you what you need and you go for it."
She would be heart broken all over again, but she can't blame him if he got tempted. After all he doesn't owe her anything.
"Absolutely not. I want you and nobody else. If I have to wait longer I will wait. Don't say things like that. You know how important you are to me. I'm in love with you remember?"
He takes her hands in his and holds them tightly.
"Look, everything will be fine. Just don't pressure yourself to do something you're not ready for.
Now I want to ask you something completely different." Daniel decides to just drop the subject and hope that she will be able to open up soon. He would love to know what it is that is bothering her so maybe he can help her.
"What do you want to ask?" She asks, a bit relieved that he doesn't push her to tell him.
"You know the team is planning a celebration for the championships next week. I would like to take you with me." His smile is contagious and Stevie can't help but join him.
"You do know that I am invited as well right?" She giggles.
"Yes, but I want to take you as my date. Show everybody from the team that you are with me."
Stevie snorts as she tries not to laugh.
"Oh handsome, do you really think the team doesn't know that there's something going on? It's not like we are hiding it from them? Just from the outside world."
"Did you just call me handsome? Do you think I'm handsome?" He asks her.
"Of course I think you are. My god you are absolutely gorgeous and sexy as fuck."
With a smug smile, Daniel pulls her back in for a kiss.
"So will you be my date and dance with me all night?" He asks her once he lets her get some air again.
"What do you think? I would love to."