Noreen didn''t answer the call.
But Healy seemed to have something urgent-he called again almost
immediately.
She picked up this time. "What is it?" she asked.
Healy hesitated for a while, clearly struggling with his words, before finally blurting out, "About those fireworks... Seth set them off to cheer Bianca up."
Noreen was silent for a moment.
Just her luck.
She barely managed a curt "Thanks" before hanging up. Opening her social feed
to delete her earlier post, she noticed someone had already liked it.
She nced at the name: it was "Frost."
As long as it wasn''t someone from Seth''s circle, it was fine. Noreen promptly deleted the post.
A momentter, another message from Healy popped up, asking what time she''d
be flying back to Rivercrest City the next day.
Assuming it was work-rted, Noreen told him her flight details.
She didn''t expect Healy to be waiting at the airport for her the next day.
"Is there something urgent?" she asked, a little confused.
"No, not really."
Healy couldn''te up with an excuse, so he just admitted, "Honestly, I just came to pick you up."
Noreen was at a loss for words.
But Healy was only being thoughtful-she couldn''t just turn him down outright. Besides, their families were working together; it would be rude to refuse. So she went along with it and got into Healy''s car.
As soon as Healy''s car pulled away from the curb, Bianca, in the parking lot, noticed.
She paused mid-step as she was getting into her own car, her expression turning a shade colder.
Seth noticed. "What''s wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," Bianca replied, quickly looking away as if nothing had happened. She climbed into the car as Seth started the engine, but as they drove off, she discreetly texted Yvonne.
She asked if Yvonne had seen Mrs. Naylortely and if she''d mentioned anything about Noreen.
Yvonne replied, "Mrs. Naylor was abroad on vacation for a while-just got back yesterday. I''m meeting her for afternoon tea today."
Bianca messaged back, "Then do it soon."
She was worried-give it too much time, and anything could happen. Especially with Healy; she was afraid he''d fall for Noreen''s tricks.
It was the weekend, and Noreen nned to spend time at home with her mom, Rosalind Gilmore, so she asked Healy to drop her off at her building.
As luck would have it, Rosalind was just taking out the trash when she saw her daughtering home. Her face lit up with delight.
Healy helped Noreen with her luggage, greeting Rosalind warmly, calling her "ma''am" with genuine politeness.
Rosalind couldn''t help but give him a second look.
Once Healy left, Rosalind turned to Noreen. "Who was that young man? Not bad- looking, and so polite, too."<fn32e6> Checktest chapters at find(?)ovel</fn32e6>
Noreen instantly knew what her mother was thinking and hurried to put a stop to it. "He''s just Seth''s friend."
Rosalind''s face changed in an instant. "Forget it, then! Anyone who hangs around with Seth can''t be any better. Absolutely not."
Noreen nodded in agreement. "My thoughts exactly."
She had barely set foot inside-hadn''t even had a sip of water-when Rosalindunched right into her favorite topic: blind dates. "There''s a young man I want you to meet. He works for the city-government position, steady job."
"Mom!" Noreen groaned.
"Don''t ''Mom'' me. I''ve already set it up. Here''s the address-go meet himter." Noreen sighed.
Should''ve known better than toe home.
She was all but dragged into this blind date.
The man was arrogant from the get-go, making a show of his supposed
superiority. "I''m a civil servant. Work in city nning."
Noreen just nodded. "nning department, got it."
He raised an eyebrow. "You know what that is?"
She smiled. "Yes."
"Really? Howe?" He clearly didn''t expect someone as pretty as Noreen to have any idea.
Noreen took a sip of tea before replying coolly, "We work on some government projects from time to time."
His expression froze for a second, but the arrogance didn''t fade.