The Heart That's Meant to Love You

Chapter 27: Money

Naomi tapped the end of her pencil to her bottom lip. A nervous habit that she used only in the most confusing of circumstances.

Her last painting, she had completed and put away. Now she stared at a blank canvas, unsure what to create. Surging emotions had a way of blocking creativity, if one couldn't come to terms with them. Naomi found herself at an impasse when it came to her own thoughts and feelings. She couldn't face them. Nor could she ignore them.

Admittedly, Kieran gave her a warm fuzzy feeling that Naomi had never experienced before. But was it good or, as her mother seemed to think, would it only bring harm?

Naomi scratched her pencil over the surface of the canvas, huffed, and let the pencil drop. She couldn't go on until she got some things off her mind.

Mainly the thick envelope weighing down the bottom of her bag.

Kieran had said something about just paying the interest, but if the interest were a couple thousand as he had said she couldn't fathom how much had been borrowed. A couple thousand wouldn't get him very far, but it was the best she could do. If she had more power, perhaps more income, Naomi thought she might offer to pay off all his debts.

The realization startled her. Thrilled her. Frightened her.

As someone who rarely trusted anyone, Naomi found that she didn't like the feeling of implicitly trusting Kieran Colburn. Though he had done nothing to cause her harm, he hadn't done anything to help her, either. Kieran was just... there. Always lingering, hovering in the space around her like a phantom.

"Enough," Naomi told herself.

Making the decision quickly, Naomi rose to her feet. Her stool squealed against the floor, shoved backward by her movement.

Claire looked up from the easel behind Naomi's. "Where are you going?"

"I have something to take care of." Naomi snatched her bag from the floor. "I'll be back."

No need to tell anyone where she intended to go. They didn't need to know anything. Claire probably wouldn't ask, especially if she figured it out. The other girls nearby—Maddie and her cronies—would gossip whether or not they knew. Better to not give them anything to use in their rumors.

Truth be told, Naomi didn't know if Kieran had come to the college. She hadn't seen him. She hadn't heard about his presence. But if he had come, she knew where he would be.

No one gave Naomi a second glance as she bypassed classrooms, ventured out-of-doors, and made her way to the administrative building. They didn't know which professor she went to see. It didn't matter to the onlookers. It only mattered to Naomi.

Naomi didn't know which professor Kieran had come to substitute for this semester, but she knew what he taught. That made it easy to scan the name cards by office doors, until she found one that sounded like the correct title.

Naomi, her fingers barely hesitating, gave a knock to the door.

For a few excruciating seconds, silence engulfed her. Then, a nearly indiscernible rustle of papers. A squeak of desk chair wheels. A click of the door's lock.

The wood and frosted glass swung inward.

Naomi looked up into Kieran's handsome, albeit confused, face.

"Naomi?" Kieran rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. "What are you doing here?"

Naomi refrained from nibbling at her lip or wringing her hands. Kieran always had the upper hand. She intended to be in charge this once. "May I come in?"

Kieran nodded and stepped aside to grant her entry. "Is everything okay?"

"You can shut the door. I won't eat you."

A chuckle, soft and low, vibrated from Kieran's spot by the door. Naomi didn't know what he found so funny, but he did what she had asked and shut the door again. She just hadn't expected him to lock it again, as well.

"I don't think either of us need to be concerned that you will eat me."

Naomi should have expected the flirty comeback, but she found it made her stomach do somersaults anyway. Why did he have such a powerful, magnetic hold over her? It wasn't fair that he could be so unaffected all the time while she melted into a pool of goo every time he came into the room.

Best to ignore the comment. Naomi rummaged through her bag until she found the envelope that had been bugging her all day. She should give it to him sooner rather than later.

"I brought you—" Naomi spun, only to find that Kieran had at some point crossed the room and stood directly behind her. She stumbled back a step, startled.

Kieran caught her arm to right her, as always sending a tingle of electricity through Naomi. "Brought me... what?"

"Uh... this." Naomi held up the envelope in her fingers, trying her best not to clench it until it crumpled.

A myriad of emotions played out over Kieran's face, so quickly that Naomi couldn't have named any of them even if she wanted to. In the end, his dark eyes lifted to meet Naomi's gaze. His fingers slipped away from her arm.

"You really brought it."

Why did he sound... disappointed?

"Did you think I'd go back on my word?" Naomi extended the envelope in his direction. "I said I'd help."

"You're extremely honest, do you know that?" Kieran stared at the envelope like it might bite him or burn him.

Naomi shrugged her shoulders. "I've always been honest. If I can't say the truth, I don't talk." She gave the envelope a shake. "Take it. I brought it for you."

Though he had been hesitating, Kieran managed to snatch the money from her fingers.

Naomi let her hands drop to her sides. "That's all. I needed to deliver it. I'll get going." If she stayed any longer, she wouldn't be able to tear herself away.

Barely had she taken two steps past Kieran when Naomi found herself stopped. Kieran's large arms wrapped around her shoulders, tugging her backward into his chest in a sort of... hug? That seemed so unlike him, leaving things this casual and friendly, but Naomi found she liked the warmth that the embrace offered.

"You're too nice," Kieran's deep voice spilled into her ear, merely a breath. "People will take advantage of you."

"I'm not the kind to be taken advantage of. You know that." Naomi kept her voice quiet, as well. If she spoke too loudly, it might break the spell shrouding them in a world of their own.

Kieran chuckled again, but Naomi still didn't know why. His head lowered, resting against hers. He might have said something else, but if he did he mumbled it so low that the words melted into her hair before they made it to her ears.

The lock on the door rattled.