The Race Director's Daughter (Sebastian Vettel)

39. Birthday Surprises (2)

Seb cast his eyes around the crowded bar, seeking out the only person he was interested in seeing. Leah. His Leah. The woman he loved more than anything.

He took the bottle of beer that Daniel was holding out to him and took a long swig. Daniel grinned and held his own drink up. They touched their bottles together.

"To us old gits!" Seb joked.

"We ain't old, we are just getting started," the Australian said. "And to your podium, buddy! Hell of a drive mate!"

Seb grinned. He'd come from eleventh on the grid to finish third behind Max and Lewis. He glanced around the room again. She was coming, wasn't she?

He laughed as he spotted Max arrive, Kelly following behind the young Dutchman,  trying to tuck his shirt in. He wondered how long it had taken her to forgive Max for the previous weekend.

"Where's Leah?" Daniel asked. That was the question. Where the hell was she? She'd said she'd brought a change of clothes with her so she didn't have to return home. She should have been here by now. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Jenna or Tamara either. The only FIA employee he'd seen was Bella, who'd arrived on the arm of Pierre Gasly's trainer, Pyry.

"I have no idea. Perhaps she's bailed on me!" He laughed as if it was a joke, but it wasn't.

Maybe she's had something come up with her family, he thought bitterly.

He felt Daniel's hand grab hold of his arm, maybe a little too tightly.

"You fucking lucky bastard Sebastian Vettel," he exclaimed. Seb's eyes moved to where Daniel was staring. At first all he saw was a group of half drunken Formula 2 drivers. Then they parted and he gasped as he saw the most beautiful woman in the world gliding across the room towards him. His girlfriend.

Leah kept her eyes focused on Seb as she crossed the room. She was late. She'd had a confidence crisis as they had been about to leave the FIA offices where they'd got ready. It had taken Jenna and Tamara a good twenty minutes to talk her into coming.

She'd never worn such a daring dress before. The red wine coloured skirt came to just above her knees so was fairly conservative lengthwise. It was the top of it that had sent Leah into meltdown.

It was impossible to wear a bra underneath it. The neckline plunged between her breasts showing her cleavage off. The back was almost non existent with just two spaghetti thin straps crossing over in the centre of her back.

On her feet were a pair of strappy, silver, high heeled sandals. On her wrist was the bracelet Seb had bought her for her birthday. Her hair was twisted up into an elegant chignon with just a small strand curling down on either side of her face.

She could see the look of pure desire on Seb's face as she neared him. She felt the same way about him. He looked amazing, dressed in a pair of black trousers and a long sleeved shirt that was coincidently the exact colour of her dress.

The top three buttons of his shirt were open and as she came to a halt in front of him she caught a tiny glimpse of his chest hair. He took her hand in his.

She looked nervously around the room, expecting to see her father, but he wasn't there. She knew he wasn't, but she was so scared of being caught like this.

"You take my breath away meine Prinzessin," Seb said, lifting her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss to it.

"Ummm! You scrub up well!" Daniel said. Leah smiled at him. "Tamara and Cruella here?"

"They were just behind me," Leah told him. He made his way off to find them.

"Happy birthday," Leah said, smiling at Seb. She felt shaky and nervous. Why? She didn't know. It was just Seb, her sweet, loving, gorgeous man.