She knows you're wanting a connection with her. She feels like she is being nice by saying nice things. Maybe she is a decent, nice person at some level. That's great that she paid you back some of the money. Maybe she's not an exploiter.

She can't bring herself to say the truth. She feels it's too harsh. She doesn't even want to face it herself because of how connected you two were in the past. She is not really interested in being involved with you. There is never a time when there isn't something she'ld rather be doing than being involved in some interaction with you. She says all the things that people say just to be nice that they don't really mean.

You don't have a right to box her in and force her to say "Move on, I'm not interested." People don't like having to be blunt. So she makes nice and gets away from you. What you're doing is wrong. You are trying to figure a way to wiggle yourself into her life so that she has no graceful way to be rid of you. She doesn't want to seem mean or ungrateful.

People do what they want to do. If connecting with you interested her, she'ld be doing that. She is not interested in continuing involvement with you - on any level. She can't make it plainer. Be a gentleman . . . do the stand up thing . . . bow out gracefully. Then, if you bump into her on the street, you say. "Hi. Great seeing you. You look great." Then keep moving. She'll probably say, "We must catch up soon." And she will not mean that. It's just something to say to avoid feeling awkward.