Chapter 775

“Naylor showing you all a good time?” Dr. Ludwig’s voice came through, tinged with mock suspicion. Then, half–joking, half–serious, he warned, “Don’t let him lead you astray.”

Ivy couldn’t help but laugh. She shot a glance at the couple openly flirting in the elevator and quietly turned away. “Oh, come on! You don’t trust him, yet you still let him crash at your place?”

Naylor, in the middle of teasing his girlfriend, caught the tail end of the conversation. He turned to Ivy, feigning offense. “Is Mr. Jamison talking behind my back again?”

Ivy’s shoulders shook with laughter. “He says you’re a corrupting influence on respectable women.”

She was deliberately stirring the pot between the two men.

“Worried I’ll corrupt you?” Naylor shot back, catching on instantly. He didn’t pull his punches. “Honestly, with how sharp you are, I’d say you’re more likely to be a bad influence on Katrina than the other way around.”

Ivy refused to let him have the last word. She glanced at her best friend and retorted, “Don’t underestimate a lawyer, Naylor. You can’t survive in the courtroom without some tricks up your sleeve.”

“Please, when it comes to cunning, I’m not even in the same league as Mr. Jamison’s grandma,” Katrina chimed in, smiling with faux humility.

The four of them traded playful insults back and forth – something you could only do with friends so close, there was never any risk of real offense.

Once they stepped inside, Ivy tossed her keys into a bowl and turned to Katrina. “Can you show Naylor around? Make yourself at home, I’m headed upstairs.”

Jamison had just ended his call with her, promising to video chat as soon as she got home. She hurried up to her room to answer.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Katrina called after her, setting her bag down. She poured herself a glass of water, then grabbed an extra mug to clean for Naylor.

“You really don’t have to fuss. I can just use yours,” Naylor said, strolling over with his usual laid–back air.

Katrina shot him a look and lowered her voice. “This is Ivy’s place, remember? Try to behave.”

Naylor grinned, unbothered. “Am I not behaving? It’s not like we’re about to put on an R–rated show in the living room.”

Back at the Laurel Lake estate, they were used to their own space – and their own rules. The living room, dining room, bathroom window seat… they were still discovering new places to test the boundaries.

Katrina’s cheeks flared red at his blatant teasing. She glared at him, flustered but unable to hide a shy smile.

“So where am I sleeping?” Naylor asked, eyeing the spacious layout of the townhouse. Before Katrina could answer, he’d slipped an arm around her waist from behind, lips brushing her ear as he murmured, “Am I bunking with you?”

“Not a chance!” Katrina spun around, eyes wide. “I told you already, this is Ivy’s home. You need to behave.”

He only smiled, tightening his hold. “That’s your idea of misbehaving? Come on, it’s been days. Are you really going to make me sleep alone again tonight?”

He drew out the word “again,” making his point clear.

Katrina had been busy lately. Even though they called and video chatted daily – and Naylor sometimes dropped by to take her out for dinner – she hadn’t spent the night at Laurel Lake in a while.

She didn’t like staying at hotels, either; it felt too casual, too rushed, as if the only reason to meet up was for sex.

Maybe, just maybe, Naylor saw her that way sometimes. But she couldn’t accept it for herself.

Tonight felt different, though.

Under the same roof, if they slept in separate rooms, Naylor knew he’d be tossing and turning all night.

Katrina ignored his pleading. She slipped free of his wandering hands, turned to face him, and said firmly, “Don’t get any ideas. Your room is all set – right over there.”

She pointed across the foyer.

Naylor followed her gaze to a bedroom near the stairs. His face fell. “You’re putting me in the downstairs guest room?”

“It’s not a guest room! It’s the senior suite, okay? Same furniture, same decor as the others.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Naylor looked scandalized. “No way. I want to sleep with you.”

“In your dreams! Ivy’s upstairs. What would it look like if you snuck up there in the middle of the night?”

“Fine, then you come down and sleep with me.”

“No way. I do have some pride, you know. I can’t have Ivy thinking I can’t even go a few nights without you. She’d never let me live it down.”

“You two are best friends. What’s there to be embarrassed about?” Naylor protested.

He thought to himself, My friends have seen me lose all dignity already – why do you care so much?

Katrina ignored him, pinching his arm several times for good measure. “Absolutely not. Give it a few days. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

After all, he was doing Dr. Ludwig a favor, and Katrina was grateful for it.

Back when her mother first fell ill, Dr. Ludwig had gone above and beyond to help. If not for him, her mother might never have recovered enough to fight the cancer.

Naylor could only sigh in defeat.

Upstairs, Jamison’s video call came through. Ivy curled up on her bed, smiling at his face on the screen.

“So, where did Naylor take you all tonight? You look like you had a blast,” Jamison asked, eyeing his wife’s bright expression.

“What, you want to take me out next time?” Ivy teased. “When would you even find the time?”

He always seemed too busy for that.

Plus, with both of them now minor internet celebrities, going out meant risking being recognized and pointed at in public.

Just tonight, when they were out shopping, a couple of passersby had recognized them and started whispering. Naylor and Katrina hadn’t tolerated it – they’d just shooed the gawkers away.

“I’ve got plenty of free time now, haven’t I?” Jamison replied with a wry smile. Thanks to all the rumors, he’d been painted as nothing more than a quack who bought his way through med school. These days, not even the most desperate patient would book an appointment with him.

Chapter 776