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My skirts swish around my ankles as I walk into the living room. It's like standing in front of a strobe light. The flashing from what must be a hundred cameras blinks through the slats of the closed blinds. A shockwave of applause erupts, and I can hear people shouting Liam's name.

Pressing a hand to my corseted stomach, I take a shaky breath. Well, as much of a breath as I can take in this thing anyway. I thought women stopped wearing corsets in the nineteenth century. I can't imagine why in the Hollywood Hills someone would bring them back.

I have to admit, though, the dress does look pretty incredible. It's strapless and covered in sparkling beadwork. The layers of emerald-green silk and tulle spill over my hips, turning my eyes a sage color and transforming my normally gangly figure into something softer, curvier. I've never felt this glamorous in my life. It's uncomfortable and exciting all at once.

Faye had her personal shopper hand-deliver the dress a few hours ago. Elodie claimed she couldn't get off work to help me get ready—which is a little hard to believe since Charlie let her off last month when she declared my fingernails a state of national emergency. So Faye also sent her makeup artist and hairdresser over to get me 'red carpet ready.'

My makeup is YouTube tutorial perfect, and my wavy hair has been curled and loosely braided back into an intricate bun. They plucked, primped, and polished until I looked like all the photos I've seen of celebrities at movie premieres and award shows. I wonder if any of them were ever as sick with nerves as I feel. My hands tremble against the folds of my skirt, making the tulle rustle. I clench my fingers into fists. I'm not sure if I'm more anxious about walking that red carpet or having Liam inside our brownstone.

The good thing about Liam picking me up here is that he's going to meet my parents, so Dad will stop hounding me. The bad thing about Liam picking me up here...is that he's going to meet my parents.

A flush creeps up my neck at the thought of my impending mortification as I glance over at my family. They're sitting on the couch, mouths hanging open, obviously as overwhelmed by the commotion outside as I am.

The intercom buzzes. I take a step toward it, but Dad jumps up, cutting me off and answering it before I can.

"Who is it?" he calls.

"Seriously, Dad?" I hiss. "Who do you think they're taking pictures of out there, a door-to-door salesman?"

He ignores me, and Liam's voice reverberates through the speaker. "It's Liam Anders, sir."

Dad pauses a few seconds longer than is really necessary before saying, "Come on up, Liam."

I start for the door, but Dad holds up a hand. "I've got it."

I groan, staring down at the floor and wishing it would swallow me whole. He's clearly in full guard-dog mode.

Dad opens the door, and I can just see Liam from around his shoulder. Even in the dim lighting of the hallway, he's beautiful. His tan skin is radiant next to his dark tuxedo jacket, and his lips are quirked in my favorite crooked grin.

He's holding two huge bouquets of flowers in one hand, and it's all I can do to keep from swooning right there. I feel Mom shoot me a knowing smile. Liam extends his other hand to my dad.

"Hooooly sh—!" Aiden starts, but Mom claps a hand over his mouth, cutting off the end of his sentence. His eyes are bulging, and he looks completely starstruck. This is the first time he's seen a celebrity in real life.

"Tell me about it," I mutter as Liam and Dad shake hands.

I decide to intervene before Dad can say anything too embarrassing. Side-stepping him, I smile up at Liam. "Hey."

Liam's eyes shine as they drink me in, making my knees go a little wobbly.

I realize my nerves may not be entirely due to all the cameras waiting for us outside. Now that I'm dating Liam for real, I don't really know how to act around him. My fingers practically ache from wanting to reach out and entangle themselves with his, but I don't want to come across as clingy.

Ugh. Someone needs to write a field guide on dating your previously fake boyfriend.

Liam doesn't seem at all flustered, though. "You look beautiful," he says. "These are for you." He holds out a bouquet of pink peonies. Their bright, floral scent washes over me as he brushes a quick kiss against my cheek. My skin sings where his lips made contact.

"Thank you." My voice is breathy as I clasp the flowers to my chest, beaming up at him. If this were a cartoon, my eyes would be heart-shaped right now.

Dad clears his throat. He's standing less than a foot away from us, beady gaze fixed on Liam.

I give him a look and take Liam's hand, pulling him into the room. "This is my mom."

"So nice to meet you, Liam." She smiles, stepping forward. At least I have one parent who can act like a normal human being.

"Pleasure's all mine, ma'am." Liam hands her the other bouquet of peonies, these one a delicate, ivory color.

"Call me Julie. And thank you. These are lovely." She reaches out a hand for my flowers. "I'll go put these in some water, should I?" She gives me a reassuring smile, and I make a mental note to hug her later.

"And this is Aiden." I wave a hand at my brother, who's standing stiffly next to the couch.

"What's up, man?" Aiden reaches out to slap Liam's hand. He's playing the cool-guy card, but I can see how nervous he is from the tense set of his shoulders.

"Not much. How's it going?" asks Liam as they proceed to fist bumping.

They've got a total bro vibe going, but then Aiden stretches up a little taller, so he's almost looking Liam straight in the eyes. "I think this is the part where I tell you that if you hurt my sister, I will hunt you down and junk punch you so hard you can say goodbye to the idea of ever procreating."

Okay, yeah. I officially want to die.

I knew I wasn't getting out of this night without experiencing complete and utter humiliation, but junk punching? Seriously?

"No one is junk punching anyone," Mom says, coming back into the room.

"Or procreating." Dad crosses his arms over his chest, glowering at Liam.

Oh. My. God.

I hope Liam planned on attending a funeral after the party tonight because it isn't possible for a person to experience this level of embarrassment and survive. I moan, hiding my face behind my hands.

"Absolutely not, sir," Liam says, resting a hand on my hip. "It's alright," he whispers against my hair.

"Okay, we're leaving now," I say loudly before my family has time to think of any new ways to mortify me. I turn to Liam. "Are you ready?"

He nods, smirking.

"It was great meeting you all." He shakes hands with each of them again. When he gets to my dad, he asks, "What time would you like me to have her home?"

"Ten o'clock."

"Dad!"

"Fine. Midnight. But no drinking. And it would be nice if I didn't have to see a picture of my daughter making out with her boyfriend on the cover of a magazine tomorrow morning."

I freeze at the word 'boyfriend,' shooting a panicked look at Liam. The last thing I want is for him to think I've been telling my family he's my boyfriend when we haven't even had that conversation yet. I mean, I know we've been telling the rest of the world that we're together, but this is different. This is real.

But Liam isn't rattled. "Yes, sir."

We say our goodbyes and finally make an escape. Once the door closes behind us, I feel like I can breathe again.

"I am so sorry." I place a hand to my still burning face.

Liam laughs, setting his palm against the small of my back. The contact both puts me at ease and ties me in knots at the same time. "For what?" he asks. "They were great."

I shake my head in disbelief. "My dad was being such a caveman. He's never done that before."

"Not with any of your other boyfriends then?" Liam tucks my hand in the crook of his arm like a real-life prince charming as we start down the stairs.

I step carefully. The last thing I need is to trip and ruin this dress, which probably costs more money than I'll make in the next decade.

"Not a single one of them." I have zero experience in the dating department, but Liam doesn't need to know that yet.

"You'll have to tell me about these guys later, so I know who to be jealous of."

The idea of Liam being jealous of anyone I might have dated is ridiculous, considering his ex-girlfriend is Mia freaking Harlow, but it still makes me feel all sparkly inside.

"In all seriousness though," Liam says, "I like your dad."

"Why? He was awful in there."

"He's protective because he cares about you. You're lucky." Liam's tone is closed off, and it reminds me of the first day we met when Mia was yelling at him about his 'daddy issues.' I wonder what she meant by that. But since we're about to face down a swarm of paps, I don't think now is the time to bring it up.

I squeeze his hand. "You're right. I mean, I've never been so embarrassed in my entire life, but he's kind of the best. Kind of."

We reach the entryway, and Liam releases my hand, pulling out his phone. Before I can be annoyed that he's texting someone else, he says, "I just have to let Briggs know we're coming out."

"Right." A shiver of anxiety trickles down my spine. It's one thing to let the paps follow us around the city, but it's another to walk down a red carpet, posing like I belong there. Elodie was right when she said I'm not an actor. I don't know how I'm going to pull this off. My fingers find my star-charm, twisting it around and around on its chain.

Liam notices my hesitation. He places a knuckle under my chin, gently tilting my head up, so I'm looking into his eyes. "If you aren't comfortable with this, we do not need to go out there. I swear, we can go right back up those stairs and spend the night playing Jenga with your dad if that's what you want."

I laugh. The idea of playing board games with Liam and my dad all night is definitely more horrifying than dealing with the paparazzi.

"I think I'll take my chances with the photogs."

"You sure?" Liam's hands loop around my waist, and he pulls me against his chest. My arms wrap around his shoulders, and I can feel the muscles of his back through his jacket. I inhale the heady scent of his cologne. The warmth of his body against my skin is like standing next to the sun.

"Positive." I smile up at him.

"All right, then. Here we go." Liam keeps my hand gripped tightly in his as he pushes open the door, and we step out into an explosion of flashing lights and screaming fans.

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