The Mechanic - Vanessa Waltz Page 0,107

She gives me a warm smile. “So very nice to meet you, Daisy.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

We all take a seat as snakes twist in my stomach. Here we go. Liam orders a pot of tea from the waiter, and shortly it arrives, along with a small tower of cakes and finger sandwiches. My stomach growls as I stare at the cucumber sandwiches. What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to eat, or am I supposed to just sit here prettily and pretend to eat?

What is he doing?

Liam pours hot water over the tea bag. He already has a sandwich on his plate, but as I recall, princesses are held to a higher standard.

Whatever.

I reach across the table and grab the pot of hot water, pouring it into my empty cup. Then I rip open the package and dip the tea bag in the cup.

Liam’s eye practically bulges out of its socket as he stares at the cup of tea, his jaw making a strange tic. Suddenly, under the table, his hand grabs my knee.

What?

Whatever it is, he looks absolutely embarrassed. His face slowly turns beet red. Is it the way I poured the fucking hot water? Jesus, day one and I’m already screwing up this shit. Another, more childish part of me is elated at his shame.

I decide to ignore him as Kate engages me in conversation.

“Daisy, tell me about yourself. Where are you from, and what were you studying in school?”

“Um, well, I’m from Berkeley. In California. It’s sort of this ultraprogressive, very hippy place. Grew up there, and I’m going to school at UC Berkeley. I’m majoring in journalism.”

Kate leans in, smiling encouragingly. I lift the tea bag out of the cup and place it on the saucer, and then I raise the cup to my lips. It’s boiling hot, but I take a small sip.

“What sort of journalism do you want to study?”

“Oh, well, I suppose it doesn’t really matter. I love travel, so travel journalism would be really cool. Um, I’m not that fond of doing reports on celebrities. Basically, my dream career would probably be like Anderson Cooper’s. Oh, you probably don’t know who that is, but they call him the Silver Fox. He’s pretty awesome.”

Right. Just brag about an American news reporter, that’ll get the country on your side. Lame.

I take another sip of tea to hide my awkwardness, but the heat only makes it worse.

“I’m sorry, I’m really not used to this. I’ve interviewed dozens of people and have yet to sit on the other side.”

Kate’s sweet smile widens, making the apples in her cheeks shine. “It’s okay, really. I’m here to help you. You’re not the first non-aristocrat to marry into a royal family.”

“Well, calling me a non-aristocrat is a nice way of putting things.”

“What would you call yourself?”

“I—I’m just Daisy. I’m just an ordinary college girl trying to make it in media.”

“How does an ordinary girl end up engaged to Prince Liam?”

How indeed?

The table creaks slightly as Liam leans across it. “We met online. Through my Instagram.”

Her eyes light up. “Really? How interesting. On which post?”

Please don’t say it was a dick pic.

“Actually, it was the post I made for Mum’s birthday six months ago. She wrote a heartfelt response. I reached out, and it turned out she lost a loved one too. One thing lead to another, and I was chatting with her on the phone almost every day.”

My insides freeze the moment he mentions my loved one, who could only be Ben. With that sickening realization, I ball my hands into fists, wishing I could scream at him right here in the café. How dare he pry into my private life?

Kate reaches across the table and takes my fist. The comforting gesture staggers my rage for Liam. I didn’t expect it, or the kindness in her eyes. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I—it was my fiancé. He died in a car wreck two years ago a few months before our wedding.” The horror of it sinks into my chest—getting that phone call, stumbling upon those images of his twisted car online. Worst day of my life. Every day after that was hollow. I was getting married to the man I loved, and then suddenly I wasn’t.

Liam wraps a consolatory arm around my shoulders as my eyes burn with tears. I’ll kill him. I will fucking kill him.

“We connected through our loss, and then Daisy made the brave decision to sneak into Anglefell. As you know, Americans are

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