The Villainess Needs a Hug (Ivy Windsor) novel Chapter 1016

Katrina pressed her lips together. In the cool night breeze, she felt a quiet heat rising in her cheeks.

She didn't know how to define her current relationship with Naylor.

Were they back together? No.

But were they broken up? They both clearly knew how the other felt, and they both cared deeply about each other.

Deep down, she knew they both considered each other "theirs."

This state—something more than friends but not quite a couple—felt exactly like the hazy, push-and-pull tension they had before they first started dating.

Katrina wouldn't say she loved being in limbo, but she didn't hate it either.

On the contrary, having this buffer period to really think about their dynamic and re-evaluate their feelings felt healthy.

For Naylor, however, this ambiguous gray area was absolute torture.

Men were straightforward. If you liked someone, you were together. If not, you went your separate ways. And the implications of being "together" were even more direct.

Physical intimacy, for instance.

It wasn't that he was inherently sleazy; it was just how men were wired.

But right now, he was willing to respect Katrina. He wanted to prove to her that his obsession with her was about more than just sex.

So, even though this waiting game was agonizing, he stayed patient and steady, quietly waiting for Katrina to drop her guard and return to his side.

After a brief exchange, Naylor was standing right in front of her.

Under the moonlight, his handsome eyes softened with sympathy. "Are you really that busy with work? Do you have to work late often?"

Katrina adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder and explained, "There's a really important case right now. The senior partners are willing to mentor me, so I obviously need to step up and perform well."

Naylor nodded in understanding.

They stood there in awkward silence for a moment before Katrina awkwardly gestured toward the building. "Um... do you want to come up for a bit?"

Naylor looked up, his eyes bright. "Can I?"

"Come on up." Katrina turned and headed for the entrance.

Ambiguous relationship status aside, Naylor was still her savior.

She owed him the basic courtesy of treating him like a guest.

Plus, she had already filed the divorce papers with Julian, and Julian had immediately flown back to Australia. She considered herself a single woman, so inviting her ex-boyfriend upstairs wasn't a moral conflict.

They took the elevator up and stepped inside.

The second the door closed, Katrina sprinted toward the living room couch, scooped up the clothes she had tossed everywhere, and aggressively shoved them into the bathroom.

"Um... I've been really busy lately, so the place is a bit of a mess. Don't mind it."

Naylor smiled. "I've seen you in every possible state. You don't need to hide anything from me."

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