Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 145

By the time they returned to the living room, Penelope had already instructed the staff to set the dining table.

"Mr. Lancaster, please, have a seat."

She smiled eagerly. "The food will be ready momentarily. Have some tea in the meantime."

Silas took the head seat at the table. His eyes swept over Nora as she walked in, the corners of his lips turning up slightly. "Take a seat, Nora."

Nora chose the chair furthest away from him.

But Penelope practically rushed over, grabbing Nora by the arm and dragging her toward the empty chair right next to Silas. "Why are you sitting so far away? Keep Mr. Lancaster company."

Nora frowned, but didn't fight her mother's pull, eventually sitting down next to the man.

The dishes were brought out one by one, beautifully plated and smelling divine.

As Penelope eagerly served Silas food, she rambled on, "Mr. Lancaster, try this. It's our private chef's specialty. You can't find this anywhere else."

Silas took a bite, chewing slowly while keeping his gaze firmly fixed on Nora.

"Why aren't you eating? Not to your taste?"

Nora looked down, mechanically picking up some greens and putting them in her mouth. They tasted like ash.

The entire meal was agonizing.

She could constantly feel Silas's eyes on her. It was a calculating, deeply amused look—like a cat batting around a trapped mouse.

What made it infinitely worse was Penelope's behavior.

Her mother had clearly noticed Silas's inappropriate interest in her, yet instead of protecting her, Penelope was practically serving her up to him on a silver platter.

Nora knew exactly what Penelope was thinking.

The Westside Redevelopment project was the ultimate prize for the Reed family. If scoring that deal meant making her daughter sit through dinner, drink with another man, or play along with his flirting, Penelope wouldn't bat an eye.

In Penelope's mind, no physical harm was being done, so what was the big deal?

Nora gripped her fork tightly, her knuckles turning stark white.

A sudden wave of bitter irony washed over her.

Marcus had already gone upstairs, leaving just the mother and daughter alone on the ground floor.

Penelope sat on the sofa and patted the space next to her. "Come, sit down."

Nora didn't move. She stood on the opposite side of the coffee table, staring at her.

Feeling a bit awkward under her daughter's deadpan stare, Penelope gave a dry laugh. "What is it? Why are you standing all the way over there? Come sit."

"What do you want to say, Mom?"

Penelope's smile faltered for a second before she sighed. "Nora, I know you're unhappy today, but I'm doing this for your own good."

"Do you have any idea who Mr. Lancaster is? He's the eldest son of the Lancaster family. A single word from him shakes all of San Francisco. The fact that he's willing to help our family is an absolute blessing."

Penelope adopted an exasperated, mother-knows-best tone. "You chatting with him for a bit isn't going to kill you. Did you really have to sit there with such an attitude?"

Nora's eyelashes fluttered.

"You think I was just giving him attitude?"