Valerie

Part 5

VALERIE

I've just finished pulling on my shoes when there's a knock on my door. I move over to the door and look through the peephole. I see Daniel standing on the other side of the door, he nods at someone who walks past. I open the door.

"Good morning, gorgeous!" He beams at me, holding up a cup of coffee. "Let's get breakfast."

I smile, taking the coffee from him. "Good morning. Thank you for the coffee. I'm actually having breakfast with my dad."

His face falls.

"You can always join us if you want to, I'm sure he wouldn't mind." I smile, turning and picking up my camera bag.

Daniel laughs. "Yeah, I can't be seen having breakfast with Mercedes team principal, people will start thinking I'm moving teams again."

I shrug. "Well, you can always walk me to breakfast then."

He nods quickly. "Okay, yeah! I'll walk with you then."

I shut the door and we start heading down the hallway.

"So do you have breakfast with your dad every morning?"

I nod. "It seems to be becoming the habit now that we're on the road together. I think he appreciates the company, I just love being around him."

"I think it's great that you guys are so close." he smiles, then we stop walking. "Well, there's papa Toto." he motions over to him. "I'll see you at the track later?"

I nod. "Yes. Definitely. Have a good morning, Daniel, be safe out there."

He pulls me into him for a quick hug. "See you later, gorgeous."

I smile softly at him and then head over to the table my dad is sitting at.

He looks up from his laptop and then behind me, I turn and see he's watching Daniel who is still standing where I left him, watching me.

"He seems to like you." my dad says, looking back at me. He gives me a cheeky grin.

I roll my eyes. "We're just friends. He's nice. You'd like him."

"I do like him, well, what I've seen of him." my dad nods.

I nod back at him. "Mmhmm. We had dinner last night."

My dad laughs. "So you went on a date?"

I shake my head. "No, it wasn't a date. We went to dinner as friends. I've told him about Marcus. I'm not ready for anything, it's too soon."

His face changes and he tilts his head, taking in what I'm saying. "You know your mother and I just want you to be happy, right?"

I nod. "I know. I'm trying to get to a good place again."

He smiles and reaches out, taking my hand. "It's all we want, it doesn't matter what makes you happy, or who. As long as you are happy."

I just smile back at him and nod slowly.

He smiles and then leans back, pulling his hand back. "Right, let's eat and get to the track."

The practices on Friday and Saturday go quickly, I spend the day sitting next to the track, my AirPods in my ears and my camera in my hand, snapping away. I have lunch with Maddie at the Mercedes hospitality and only see Daniel in passing throughout the day. He waves or winks when he sees me.

"What's happening with Daniel?" Maddies asks me after free practice three, we're heading back to the Mercedes garage together.

I shake my head. "Nothing. We had dinner the other night, but we're just friends, I've just met him."