Chapter 327

Since it was her first time visiting, Rowena had prepared a thoughtful gift. Ryan had mentioned this to Winifred. Winifred waited at the door. As Rowena approached, Winifred smoothly took the gift from her and led her inside.

“Sorry for dropping by all of a sudden—am I being too forward? Is your family all here?” Rowena asked, then immediately realized how awkward that sounded. What kind of question is that? Of course they’re home–where else would they be? Rowena cringed inwardly at her own words.

Winifred, seeing how nervous she was, smiled and said, “There are a lot of people here today, but don’t worry. Come on.”

“Okay,” Rowena replied.

When Rowena saw Sienna again, a wave of admiration rose in her heart.

Sienna’s voice, usually so cold, now carried a touch of warmth. “No need to be so formal,” she said.

“Okay,” Rowena nodded.

Nora arrived a bit late, nearly bumping into Clark.

“Enna, I’m here,” Nora called out, flitting over to Sienna like a butterfly. But the moment she caught sight of Julian standing nearby, her attention was instantly stolen. ‘Damn, this guy is a total match for Enna,’ she thought.

She’d always thought Wayne was basically off-the-charts handsome, but wow, it turned out there was some competition for that title.

Julian had this effortless charm about him, gentle as a spring breeze, yet strikingly handsome and carrying himself with a quiet nobility.

“Nora?” Sienna called out to her.

Nora couldn’t help but eye Julian with obvious curiosity. Julian, ever the gentleman, greeted her politely, “Nora, long time no see.”

“Julian, it really is you. It’s been ages, you’ve changed so much," Nora exclaimed.

They’d known each other before, but were never close.

“Nora,” Wayne called, pulling his sister away from Julian to put some distance between them. He shot her a look, thinking, “Why are you staring at him like that?”

“Wayne, you’re here, too?” Nora asked.

Wayne replied, his eyes full of warmth as he looked at Sienna. “I grilled some meat. Let’s all eat together.”

Sumu nodded. “Yeah.”

The older folks all sat down at one table.

As soon as Clark walked in, he excitedly rushed over to say hi to Sienna, but after Julian docked three months of his pay, he behaved himself and stuck with Ryan, Nathan, and the others, eating and drinking quietly.

“Wayne, I can’t believe your cooking is this bad. You even managed to burn the meat,” Wayne said, sounding both critical and oddly proud at the same time.

Miles ducked his head, a little embarrassed. “Yeah, guess I’m just not good at it.”

Vivian jumped in. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve got a chef here. Just...”

Miles gave a subtle smile, Julian’s eyes behind his glasses lighting up with both surprise and happiness. She’s actually sticking up for me, he thought.

Now Julian could stand honestly by Sienna.

At the very least, Julian had an advantage over any of them.

“Sienna, try this piece of beef,” Wayne said, sliding his perfectly grilled beef in front of her. Sienna took a bite, her eyes lighting up. “Wayne, this is amazing. Seriously, it’s so good. Everyone, you have to try it!”

Nora, who had never known Wayne could grill like this, dug in with gusto.

Wayne smiled. “It’s nothing. I’m just glad you like it, Sienna.”

Sienna glanced over at Vivian and the others, all of them smiling. They seemed genuinely happy. “Let’s have a toast,” she said.

“Sure.” They all raised their glasses.

After a few rounds, Wayne and Miles started going head-to-head, matching each other drink for drink. Soon, both were tipsy, but neither would let go, their hands locked in a stubborn handshake.

“I’m not giving in; let’s go another round,” Wayne challenged.

Miles took off his glasses, and his usually refined face now had a mischievous, slightly roguish look. “Bring it. You think I’m afraid of you?” he shot back.