Page 190 of Blood & Snow

He'd invited me to spend a few days at his estate outside the city.

I should have told you, but I was angry and hurt and I just… left."

"Without your phone," Irina points out.

"I tried calling you dozens of times."

"I forgot it in my rush to leave," Nadya lies, her voice gaining confidence.

"And Xander's estate doesn't have cell reception. By the time I realized, days had passed and I was terrified you'd never forgive me."

The explanation is plausible enough to satisfy someone who wants to believe it.

Irina studies both of us, searching for cracks in the story that might reveal deeper deceptions.

"You took my sister to your estate without telling herfamily where she was going," Irina says to me.

"That's not romantic. That's reckless."

"You're absolutely right," I agree.

"It was selfish and thoughtless. I wanted time alone with Nadya without the complications of her daily life interfering. I didn't consider how my actions would affect the people who love her."

"And the hotel job?" Irina presses.

"Was any of that real?"

"She does work at the Metropol," I say.

"But I've been supplementing her income substantially. The tips she mentioned came from me, not from foreign guests. I wanted her to have financial security without feeling as though she was dependent on my charity."

Irina crosses her arms, her nurse's instinct for detecting lies working overtime.

"So you lied to me about things coming from the lost and found?"

She quirks an eyebrow up and Nadya's head ducks.

"This is the truth, Irina," Nadya says, moving to stand beside me.

"I didn't think you'd approve of him. He's much older, much wealthier. I felt ashamed of…"

Her words trail off and I realize what a good little liar she is too.

Maybe too good.

I'll have to make a mental note of that.

But I reach for Nadya's hand, lacing our fingers together in a gesture that speaks of genuine affection. Because beneath the lies, that part is true.

I do love her.

I would give her anything she asks for, destroy anyone who threatens her.

"The tree was too much," I admit to Irina.

"The gifts, the clothes, all of it. I overwhelmed your family with displays of wealth when what Nadya really needed was for me to respect her boundaries and her circumstances."

"You think?" Irina's sarcasm could cut glass.