Mrs. Naylor let out a disgruntled sigh. "Look at the women he''s found so far—I haven''t liked a single one."
Yvonne suppressed a smirk. “Honestly, Mr. Naylor could use better taste. That woman is a real piece of work! I just thought you should know, Mrs. Naylor."
Mrs. Naylor, intrigued by Yvonne''s certainty, finally asked, "So who exactly is this woman you''re talking about?"
Just then, Noreen''s name was called at the counter. She got up to collect her pastries.
Meanwhile, Yvonne leaned in and whispered Noreen''s name.
Mrs. Naylor frowned, thinking. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"
Yvonne was about to borate, but Mrs. Naylor suddenly interrupted, "Wait a moment I need to call Naylor to confirm something."
Without another word, she dialed Chase''s number.
As soon as he picked up, Mrs. Naylor pressed urgently, "Naylor, what was the name of that girl you mentioned to mest time? Was herst name Grant?"
Chase supplied the name.
Mrs. Naylor pped her knee. "Noreen, right? That''s it, isn''t it?"
"Perfect! Call that boy right now and tell him toe home for a proper talk."
Yvonne listened, thinking Mrs. Naylor was eager to stop Healy Naylor in his tracks. She couldn''t help but smile triumphantly.
Clearly, the couple already knew who Noreen was. No wonder Mrs. Naylor had reacted so strongly as soon as she heard the name. All of Yvonne''s worrying had been for nothing.
Mrs. Naylor really was in a hurry. After hanging up, she quickly said goodbye to Yvonne, mumbling something about urgent business at home.
"No worries at all, you go ahead! Some things just can''t wait, you know how quickly rumors can spread," Yvonne replied, seeing her out with a sympathetic pat on the arm.
Once Mrs. Naylor had left, Yvonne called Bianca to fill her in.
Hearing that Mrs. Naylor didn''t care for Noreen, Bianca finally felt a little relieved.<fne141> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n Find_Novel(.</fne141>
Yvonne reassured her, "Honestly,
you shouldn''t worry so much. With Noreen''s background, there''s no way she''d ever impress the Naylor family. The only thing she''s got going for her is her looks, and that only get her so far with Healy. She''s not worth our attention."
Bianca realized she''d been overthinking things. Sheughed and agreed.
Neither of them knew that Mrs. Naylor''s real reason for rushing home was to hear the truth from Healy himself.
Healy had been summoned home by a series of urgent calls from his parents.
They hadn''t told him what was wrong, so he''d rushed back, half-expecting some kind of family crisis.
Instead, as soon as he walked
through the door, Mrs. Naylor came
hurrying over, peppering him with
questions. So I hear you''ve been
spending a lot of time with Noreentely? Are you seeing her?
Healy blinked in surprise. "How did you find out?"
Had he really been that obvious?
"Trying to keep secrets from us, are you?" Mrs. Naylor gave him a yful kick.
"So, how''s it going? How far have you gotten?"
"I''ve met her parents."
Chase nearly leapt off the sofa. "Already?"
Healy scratched his head. "It wasn''t what you think. I just dropped her off at home and happened to meet them. It wasn''t anything official."
Chase looked deted. "That''s what you call ''meeting the parents''? That''s barely even an introduction!"
Even Mrs. Naylor sounded exasperated. "Are you serious? If you want to win a girl''s heart, you have to act fast, you know!"
Healy shrugged. "I get that, but... don''t you two care about her past?"
He hesitated, then decided toe clean about Noreen''s history with Seth—that they''d dated for seven years.
Mrs. Naylor''s expression darkened.
"That Seth Harcourt is a real piece of
work, isn''t he? Seven years! How many seven years does a woman
get in her life if your father ev treated me like that, I''d make sure he never had children again!"
Chase coughed awkwardly.
Healy had always thought his mother was a force of nature.
But he still had his doubts. "Aren''t you worried she''s not right for me? I mean, our
families are nothing alike, and her romantic history isn''t exactly spotless."