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Both men go quiet.
“Okay,” Lenzin says carefully.
I look down at my hands, then back up. “I'm in love with him.”
The silence lasts just long enough for me to notice it.
Then Aleks blinks. Lenzin's eyebrows rise. They exchange a look that is so brief and so transparently rehearsed that I narrow my eyes.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing,” Aleks says.
“That was not a nothing look.”
“We didn't make a look.” Aleks lies, horribly.
“You absolutely made a look.”
Lenzin coughs into his fist. “We're happy for you.”
“You sound thrilled,” I say flatly.
“I am thrilled.”
“You sound like you're trying not to laugh.”
“I'm also doing that.” Lenzin chuckles.
I stare at him, and he grins. “Oh, fuck off, Lenzin.”
Aleks starts laughing.
I fold my arms. “I came all this way to have a sincere conversation with you two, and you're making fun of me.”
“No one's making fun of you,” Aleks says, still smiling. “We're just a little surprised?”
“No, you're not.”
His smile widens.
I point at him. “You knew.”
“We suspected.”
“That's a lie.”
“It's a carefully worded distinction,” Aleks states.
I look to Lenzin for support. He has the decency to keep his eyes on the road, but the corners of his mouth give him away.
“You knew, too.”
“Anna.” Lenzin sighs.
“Lenzin.” I mimic.
He exhales a laugh. “We knew he wanted in your knickers.”