James's smile is a knowing one, a grateful one, and he makes a soft 'heh', because it's so like the other guy. "Gotta thank him, then. Have you met his wife yet? Kind of wild she's here too... I met her before shit went down. Well. Again. Before shit went south again."

He doesn't have it in him to remove his hands or move at all, so James stays as is and answers, "Diana. It was weird and I doubt I made it easy, but, you know, they were the Outsiders and evil, and then she's trying to break up our perfect world, saying it's a lie. I wanted to trust her but I was also terrified that it might mean losing you."

If the lie part was truth and it meant leaving Abby behind or unsaved. It ached then, aches now, and part of James needs to keep looking at himself touching Bela to confirm it is, in fact, actively happening.