My mom shoved us all into the car as the sun began to set. She was overly excited about this dinner with Liam and his parents, and even baked a pie. My mom baking was an unusual sight since usually, she would hire a baker or buy whatever we needed.

Jackson noticeably groaned as he sat down next to me in the back seat of the car. My mom had forced him to cancel on his friends to make it to dinner.

I also had to cancel with Avery, but she was not at all disappointed. In fact, she was excited for me that I got to have dinner with the Liam. I'd gladly trade places with her.

My dad started the car and we were off.

I stared out the window, ignoring my mom's excited comments about the dinner. She was adamant about me getting to know Liam more, not knowing that we'd known each other for two centuries.

Back then, Father had a line of suitors he wanted to introduce me to. I was lucky enough he gave me a choice to pick one of them.

The only man who stuck with me and caught my attention was Liam. I wish it hadn't been him, then maybe none of that would have happened, and my family wouldn't have been prosecuted for Treason.

I scoffed at how I'd been two hundred years ago and how I'd write little romantic notes for Liam. How we'd sneak out at night just to see each other.

He was destined to take over his father's position and part of me had always, and still loved how he was willing to do so. As a rich man, Liam had many other options he could go for.

Even now, Liam would take over his parents business. With the money he would inherit from them, he didn't need to work and yet he still would for his parents.

I sighed, shaking my head clear of thoughts of Liam. I didn't want to think about him anymore.

My dad pulled the car up in front of the Riveras' driveway, pulling up next to Robert's Porsche and Liam's Jeep.

I shivered at the memory of me pounding on Liam's door that day, only to see his mom in the end.

Reluctantly, I got out of the car with Jackson lugging behind me.

"We're finally here, this is so exciting," my mom turned to me, grabbing my arm to pull me along to the door.

"For you," I grumbled under my breath.

"This is a good chance for you to get to know Liam better. Who knows, maybe you'll like him," she gave me a sharp look.

"So this is just you trying to hook me up?" I raised an eyebrow at her, not even bothering to hide my irritation.

"It's never too early to start looking for a husband," she stated plainly as we walked up the stone path to the front doors.

Well, what if I don't want to get married. I thought bitterly to myself.

My dad placed a hand on my shoulder, "We'll see what happens with Liam. We shouldn't be forcing these things."

I almost let out a breath of relief from my dad's words. At least someone was on my side. He brought his knuckles to the door as he knocked. Jackson stood next to me, his hands stuffed into the pocket of his black jeans.

My mom had let it known it was a formal dinner, and Jackson was forced to put on a white dress shirt and dark pants, same with my dad. I also put in some effort and threw on a plain white casual dress.

The door swung open, revealing a beaming Robert.

"Welcome, come on in," he opened the door wider and the four of us stepped into the house. "Susan is inside getting the table ready."

I glanced around, immediately taking a liking to the house. It was very white, but I liked how clean and crisp it was. No random vases or paintings that adorned the walls like my house.

My mom rushed in to where I assumed was the kitchen, clutching the pie in her hands like a newborn baby.

Robert and my dad walked off, talking each other's ears off. Jackson sighed as he followed my dad and Robert into another room.

I stood by the door, glancing around. My eyes were in search of Liam — even though I didn't understand why.

"Looking for someone?" a voice sounded from next to me. I jumped from the sound of it, spinning around to see Liam. He was in a pair of black jeans and a black dress shirt that was buttoned all the way except for the first few. His hair was sprawled over his head like always. I realized that he looked quite charming, much to my dismay.

"Not you," I rolled my eyes.

"Dinner's ready!" my mom called, her voice echoed through the house.

"Come on," Liam gave me a smile that I returned without even thinking. I followed him to where dinner had been set up.

Liam turned around to face me, "By the way, I helped with dinner." My eyebrow cocked up in slight disbelief, which he returned with a smirk. "Yeah, I can cook and bake."

"Then I already know dinner must suck," I snickered. He rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything back. Instead, he avoided my eye contact and my brows furrowed from his reaction. We walked in silence for a few moments.

"Have a taste, then let's see you talk," he led me into another room.

The dining room was vastly different from the rest of the house. The walls were still white, but instead of them being bare, there were glass shelves filled with pictures, vases and other artifacts.

My dad and Liam's dad were already seated on opposite ends of the table. An annoying placement since they talked way too much to be so far from each other. Our moms sat next to each other on one end of the table. Jackson was also already seated next to two empty seats.

Of course the only two empty seats were next to each other. Liam and I took a seat side by side.

"That's roast beef with roasted potatoes and vegetables. And of course the lamb chops," Susan pointed at the respective dishes and with that, everyone dug in.

"This is delicious," my mom's eyes widened as she took a bite into the lamb chops.

"Liam spent all afternoon on dinner," Susan chimed in after she swallowed. "He insisted on cooking for tonight."

I met Liam's eye, feeling a pang of guilt at the joke I cracked earlier. He didn't just help — he'd cooked almost all of it.

"He even followed the recipe," Robert added. "It's the attention to detail for me. I could never."

"Well, we thank you for tonight," my dad said before stuffing his mouth with vegetables.

"Yeah," Jackson agreed with his mouth full. I glanced over at my mom and just as I expected, she ignored it. If I'd done the same, she would've scolded me from right across the table.

The parents engaged in their own conversation while Jackson continued to stuff his face, leaving Liam and I awkwardly sitting next to one another.

"T-thanks for dinner. It's... good," I stammered awkwardly. I staked a potato with my fork and popped it into my mouth.

"I know," he said simply, but a smile was playing on his lips.

I hated to admit it, but the food really was great. The lamb chops and the roast beef were juicy, and no one could hate potatoes no matter how they were cooked.

I didn't know how Liam did it. I rarely walked into the kitchen, only because my mom hired a chef. It would be nice to have a home cooked meal once in a while.

"So Liam, do you have a special girl in mind?" my mom's voice asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. The potatoes I'd been stuffing in my mouth almost went down the wrong pipe.

"Mom!" I was appalled.

I glanced over at Liam who only held back a laugh. Our dads were immersed in their own conversation, basically shouting at each other from across the table. I sighed, taking my napkin from the table. My hands moved without my brain's consent and they began ripping the napkin into shreds.

My mom shot me a sharp look from across the table and I rolled my eyes, setting the torn napkin down.

Susan laughed, "You know, I'm also interested to know. Liam has never mentioned any girl, except for Thalia of course."

I almost choked again.

"Thanks, mom," Liam spoke up from next to me. He stuffed his cheeks with some roast beef, rolling his eyes. I eyed him for a long moment, but he avoided my gaze. It might have been my imagination but his cheeks were glowing red.

My mom beamed, "Is that true, Susan?"

Susan babbled on with my mom, which I tuned out. Instead, I turned to Liam, a smirk evident on my face. I saw a chance, and I was going to take it.

"So, you talked about me to your parents huh," I nudged him with my arm. I didn't know how I'd feel if he did in fact talk about me, but it was fun to bother him.

He swallowed, setting down his fork, "Yes, about how insufferable you are, and a bully."

"Please, I'm anything but," I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah? How about that time when you punched me," he said as a matter-of-fact, raising an eyebrow. A light, teasing smile played on his lips. I opened my mouth to retort, but he cut me off. "Or that time when—"

I brought my foot down on his under the table, not letting him finish.

"Ow, ow. Okay I'll stop," he surrendered, giving me a sheepish smile. I gave him a cheeky grin, which he returned with a flat look.

I grabbed my glass of apple juice from the table, taking a long sip. Liam's dark eyes flitted over to me a couple times — each time lasting just a millisecond before he diverted his gaze to the table.

I shoved away the butterflies that rose in my stomach from the way he watched me. Maybe the juice would calm my warm cheeks.

Susan and my mom turned their attention back on Liam and I. My eyebrows furrowed at the smiles plastered on their faces. They looked way too happy to be at a formal, sit-down dinner. I took another long sip of my drink.

"Anyways, I think you two would look so cute together, like the perfect couple," Susan looked between Liam and I, with a knowing eyebrow raised.

Liam was speechless, and I never swallowed that juice in my mouth. Rather, I let out a choked coughed, spitting it all back out — onto my dress.

★★★

𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟! 𝐷𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑!

𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑜 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑜𝑚𝑏 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝?

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡