Chapter 21 #2
“Don’t talk shit. You would care.” She laughed. “Actually, it’s you, so you probably wouldn’t notice.”
“Well, I would care!” Oliver said. “And she’ll never admit it, but mum cares too. She and Freja are having a grand old time planning all of this.”
“Oh, Oli, don’t tell me it has gotten bigger?”
“Don’t worry, they’re just having fun with décor and things like that.”
“Erik, what are you so busy with on your phone?” Ingrid asked. He had been on it almost the entire time that Oliver was there.
“Sorry, I’m just chatting to Jonny about that endurance racing I was telling you about. It looks like it could happen.”
“So extra racing next year?”
“Only before you’re due, I promise, Rookie.” He kissed her cheek.
“Also, Uncle Oli will be around to help,” Oliver added because he could see the flames in Ingrid’s eyes. He pretended to look at a watch that wasn’t there. “You should start getting ready. You have a red carpet to hit soon.”
“Thanks for the visit, Brother.” Ingrid kissed his cheek. “We’ll see you next week.”
Erik walked Oliver to the door, and Oliver warned him as they went.
“What the fuck, Erik?” Ingrid said.
“We talked about it, and you loved the idea,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Yes, before we were pregnant, with twins!”
“I won’t do it if you really don’t want me to.”
“Of course I want you to do it.” The flames disappeared from her eyes. Ingrid let out a frustrated sigh. “We’ll figure it out.”
“You’re the best teammate in the world,” he said, kissing her.
They arrived at the Championship Gala a few hours later. Ingrid remembered watching clips of it online just a year ago, and now she was there, a full member of the team in her own right. Yes, this evening she was the partner of the World Champion, but it was also her team.
“How are you feeling, Rookie? Not too tired?” Erik whispered in her ear.
“I don’t think you can call me rookie anymore. My year is complete.” She smiled at him.
“True, I guess we’ll both be rookies next year,” he said, putting his hand on her belly, then quickly taking it away, remembering there were photographers around.
“It’s ok. We won’t be able to hide it much longer. You do your photos with Jonny and Antoine, I’m going inside,” she said.
Ingrid found Nico inside with an elderly woman.
“Ah, Ingrid, let me introduce you to my Nonna,” he said, then made the introductions. She noticed that his mood was better this evening and he looked rather handsome.
“That’s a wonderful choice of date, Nico!” She smiled at them. Ingrid was scanning the room for the person she was actually looking for. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen Charlotte here?”
“Hawthorne?” Nico asked. “I don’t know what your interest is in her, but she’s over there, with the dark hair and a black dress which basically shows half her body.” He added that last part as if he disapproved, but there was something else in his voice, too. Nico pointed her out.
Ingrid had already scanned Charlotte’s social media, so she knew the girl was a classic English beauty with a very active life outside of racing.
Ingrid was sizing her up like a racehorse.
She couldn’t tell her height because of the heels, but she was slim and muscular.
Ingrid thought her neck could do with some work if she wanted to handle the G-forces of an F1 car. She approached her.
“Hello Charlotte, my name is Ingrid. We haven’t been formally introduced yet.” She held out her hand.
“Oh, Ingrid, yes, I’ve seen you in the garage, hello.” She shook her hand firmly.
“Jonny sent me footage from the young driver’s test. I was wondering if we could meet up to chat?”
“Can you get me out of that bloody girly car?” Charlotte said bluntly.
Charlotte’s frankness and attitude took Ingrid aback. She was not the little British darling portrayed in the sports media.
“Well, that’s what I want to discuss,” she said calmly. “You’re based in Monaco, right?”
“Yes, I still live with my father and his second wife,” Charlotte said bitterly.
“I have this silly little wedding thing next week, but after that, would you like to meet for coffee?”
“I’m actually being dragged to your silly little wedding, which doesn’t sound so little to me. Here’s my number, and we can do coffee.” They exchanged numbers. “I’m only agreeing to this because I’ve seen what you did with Hamadou and the team.”
Ingrid said a polite farewell and went to find Erik. He was busy discussing the endurance stuff with Jonathan.
“And how do you feel about it?”
“Don’t ask,” Erik quickly jumped in.
“I saw you speaking to Charlotte. What do you think?” Jonathan asked.
“Well…she’s prickly, but we’re going to chat after the wedding.”
They settled into their seats. It might have been boring for Erik and Nico, but it wasn’t for Ingrid.
She watched proudly as her guys were awarded their trophies.
Erik, in turn, didn’t really feel bored because he was imagining it through Ingrid’s eyes.
It was also his first Drivers’ Championship.
He knew he wouldn’t have been able to get there without her.
Or maybe he could have, but he didn’t want to.
???
Wedding day had arrived. Or as Erik and Ingrid had started calling it ‘marriage day’.
They weren’t interested in all the party stuff going on around the event.
Everything was perfect for them. There was no Mark Blake to worry about.
He was safely locked up in a prison in London, awaiting trial there after the revelations about his sexual assaults on former colleagues.
The twins were growing nicely. Erik and Ingrid had gone for the 12-week check-up the day before.
Ingrid’s bump was now showing, which made the seamstress utter some distressed remarks at her final fitting.
All their family and friends were in town. It was going to be a happy day.
“Darling, please can you make me something to eat?” Ingrid called out from the bedroom.
“But you just had breakfast?” Erik responded from his sim room next door.
“I know, but I’m still hungry,” she replied.
Erik got off his sim and went to make her peanut butter-and-bacon on toast. It was her latest favourite thing to eat.
“Thank you,” she said, smiling up at him.
“Isn’t it bad luck or something for me to be seeing you today?”
“You weren’t thinking that this morning…”
“And if we didn’t have half the family descending on us in about ten minutes to get ready for marriage day, then I wouldn’t be thinking that right now either,” he said, kissing her peanut butter mouth.
Ingrid pulled him onto the bed with her and said, “We do have some time…”
“V?lva! Don’t use that voice on me!” He said. “I don’t need your mother catching me hard like this.”
Ingrid giggled. “I’m sorry, darling. I couldn’t help it.”
“Promise me that we can sneak off after we’ve signed the papers and continue this discussion, though?”
“Oh, you bet we will.” Ingrid kissed him, and he got off the bed.
A few moments later, Bridget and Oliver arrived to separate them before the nuptials. Erik left for his mother’s place to get ready, while Ingrid stayed at their place.
“Mamma, how many people are actually going to be there?” Erik asked, putting on his jacket.