[ Before he 'saw Astarion properly'. That's one of his favorite complaints, isn't it? That Astarion doesn't see things properly. He wants to puff up more, be more annoyed with Iorveth, but it's difficult to be too irritated when Iorveth squeezes his hand like that. Again, how dare he. ]

Can't you just lie like everyone else does and say that you were infatuated from the beginning?

[ Astarion would hate if Iorveth were the type to lie like that, of course. He adores the way that Iorveth always tells it like it is, the consequences be damned. Except for when he tells it like it is in a way that's unflattering to Astarion, and then he doesn't adore it quite so much. ]

It's my understanding that telling lies is an integral part of romance.