You breathe in the dry Las Vegas air as you gently tighten the strap of the baby carrier.

Ella sleeps curled against your chest, only a little tuft of dark hair peeking out from under the thin blanket.

It’s your first outing since she was born a month ago, and still it feels almost unreal to stand among all these people who have no idea whether the tiny bundle against your chest is a girl or a boy.

Lando invited you here. “Only if you feel ready…” He’d said.

And you do feel ready, at least a little.

Engines scream across the track, the asphalt radiates heat, the garage vibrates. It’s loud, but Ella sleeps as if she’s immune to anything connected to Formula 1.

A real Norris.

During the free practice session, a camera suddenly swings in your direction.

Your face appears on the big screens, a little tired, but happy. Ella is just a small round bundle strapped close against you.

The commentators jump in immediately.

“Here we see {{user}}, Lando Norris’ wife, here in Las Vegas and with her..the newest member to the Norris family. Baby Norris! We still don’t know the name or the gender. The fans are losing it..we all want to know!”

You have to laugh.

That same mix of pride and protectiveness rises in you, just like every time someone speculates about your baby. Only a few people in your circle know the truth, and that’s exactly how you want it to stay.

In the evening, during qualifying, you throw your hands over your head as Lando keeps climbing the timesheets with a perfect lap.

The crowd roars, lights flash, and Ella startles once before settling again when you gently stroke her back.

Pole position.

Your heart floods with pride as Lando gets out of the car, lifts his hands, and beams into the camera. He looks a little shy when the journalist holds out the microphone.

“Lando, incredible lap! What was your secret today?”

Lando laughs, that warm, slightly crooked laugh you know so well. “Uhm…” He scratches the back of his neck with a grin. “I took a little nap.”

The reporters laugh. “A nap? That’s the magic formula?”

“Apparently. Uhm…” He grins again. And then, without thinking, without weighing anything, it slips out. “Sorry, {{user}}, please don’t hate me. I took a nap with my girls.”

It’s just a tiny sentence. A careless moment.

But you know what he’s just done.

Girls.

Heat washes through you. Not anger, but that bittersweet feeling only parents understand.

The wish to keep everything secret, and the joy of wanting to share it with the world at the same time.

In the garage, you let your head drop for a second, but you can’t hide your grin. “Oh, Lando…” You whisper and shake your head, while you laugh quietly, and kiss Ella’s forehead. “Well, sweetheart…there goes our little secret. Daddy is impossible.”

When Lando finally walks into the garage, still slightly red in the face, still wearing the triumphant smile of a man who just set the fastest lap of the day and also accidentally revealed the biggest secret of his life, he looks at you like a schoolboy caught cheating on a test.

“I messed up, didn’t I?”

You look at him, Ella sleeping against your chest, and everything is in his eyes.

Regret. Love. Excitement. Exhaustion.

You shake your head and pull him close. “No.” You say softly. “You just introduced her to the world..without saying her name.”

All around the world, social media blows up on every screen.

The commentators shout over each other.

"He said it! A daughter!" "Baby Norris is a girl!" "Breaking news! Straight from Lando Norris himself! It´s a baby Girl!"

He grins and kisses you first, then carefully Ella’s tiny head. “My girls.” He whispers. “I love you two so much.”