Page 194 of Blackwood

I don’t even realize that Lex has moved until I feel him beside me, one hand resting lightly on the small of my back.

Irina tears her gaze from Tex—James?—and looks at me. Dead in the eyes. Something flashes behind her ice-blue eyes, shock, calculation. Recognition?

She looks back at Tex like they’re having an entire conversation I can’t hear. A silent war written in stares and unsaid things.

“Hello, Irina,” Tex says.

“Okay. Someone better start talking. Tex, how the fuck do you know my mom?”

“It’s been a long time,” he says quietly to Irina, ignoring Lex completely. His voice sounds different. Lower. Rougher.

Her chin lifts, spine straightening like a blade. “It has,” she says and then points toward me. “And do you want to explain this to me?”

I turn toward Tex, eyes searching his face, but he still won’t look at me. His focus is locked on her. Like I don’t even exist.

“Tex,” I whisper.

Nothing.

Irina steps forward. “Is this… Is this her?”

“What the fuck are you two talking about?” Lex growls beside me. “Mom, this is Bella. Mine and Cade’s girlfriend.”

Irina turns back to me, really looks at me, and I swear something breaks behind her perfect icy expression.

“Izzy?” she breathes.

My jaw drops. “Okay, seriously, would one of you like to tell me what the hell is happening right now?”

“Scandalous,” Ellie mumbles under her breath.

Savannah sighs, gently smacks her arm, and whispers, “Darling, not now.”

Lex’s hand tightens on my waist.

Tex finally turns to face me. “There was a reason I didn’t want to bring you here.”

I throw my arms out. “Would someone please just tell me who the fuckIzzyis and why you all keep staring at me like I’m about to sprout wings and float through the ceiling?”

Irina takes a slow step toward me. I instinctively back up, pressing into Lex’s chest. His hand slides to my hip, steadying me, but even he feels tense. Like he’s bracing for a bomb.

Irina doesn’t stop. Her heels click softly on the polished floor, her silk blouse catching the light as she narrows the space between us. Her gaze is locked on my face like I’m a damn puzzle she’s been trying to solve for decades.

She lifts a hand to my hair, brushing it behind my ear as her voice softens. “You look just like her.”

“Like who?” I ask.

“Your mother.”

My knees almost give out. “You knew my mother?”

Irina nods slowly. “Yes. I knew your mother. Izzy was my best friend in the entire world.”

“Izzy?”

Her lips press into a bittersweet smile. “Isabella,” she says softly. “You were named after her.”

My heart stumbles.