Clearly, this was the first time anyone had dared to touch his face so brazenly.
Lance was momentarily stunned. Under Deanna's cool fingers, he finally came back to his senses.
He reached out and pulled Deanna's hand down. The soft touch made his expression inexplicably better.
"I'm fine, just a bit tired."
Though he said this, he didn't let go of Deanna's wrist, as if he had forgotten.
But while he might have forgotten, Deanna had not.
The warmth of his palm made it hard for her to ignore.
She awkwardly withdrew her hand, feeling a bit unsettled inside.
This unfamiliar sensation made her feel awkward and uneasy.
She tried to distract herself by changing the subject to what had happened in the hallway earlier. "Thank you, Mr. Mercer, for what you did earlier. If you hadn't shown up in time, I would have been in trouble."
Lance looked at her and deliberately said, "It's nothing. But you, shouldn't you be happy? You don't seem very interested. Didn't you meet any good men at the event?"
Deanna was slightly taken aback by his somewhat emotional tone.
She felt as though the man in front of her was displeased about her attending the event.
But she quickly dismissed the thought. After all, she wasn't anyone special to him; she must have misunderstood.
Smiling, she explained, "I wasn't very interested because I didn't come willingly. Julia dragged me here. To be honest, I'm not used to such occasions."
Hearing that she hadn't come of her own volition, Lance's expression softened a bit, and he seemed less displeased.
Xavier noticed the change in Lance's mood. It was clear that Dr. Deanna was having a noticeable emotional impact on Mr. Mercer. Xavier couldn't help but look forward to their future interactions.
Moreover, it seemed Mr. Mercer hadn't yet realized the effect Dr. Deanna had on him.
Looking at Deanna's smiling face, Lance's voice turned serious with a hint of reprimand. "Don't do such foolish things in the future. If you don't want to go, just refuse. It's not like your friend can tie you up and drag you there."
"I think that's quite possible," Deanna joked.
Of course, she wasn't entirely joking.
Thinking about how Julia had dressed her up at the vanity that afternoon, she felt helpless. "Besides, she means well. It wouldn't be right to refuse too harshly."
Hearing this and seeing Deanna's helpless expression, Lance recalled what Old Ashley had told him before and didn't know what to say for a moment.
After a while, he found his voice again and said calmly, "Then you should talk to your friend properly. She doesn't seem unreasonable."
"You're right. I'll talk to her next time," Deanna nodded with a smile, thinking she should indeed have a proper chat with Julia.
She couldn't let Julia keep encouraging her grandmother and the kids.
With that, they started chatting casually, and the atmosphere became harmonious.
Xavier watched them and thought there was still room for improvement in their relationship.
Later, the car arrived at Deanna's home.
Deanna opened the door and got out, ready to thank Lance and leave.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she got out of the car, she saw Lance following her out.
"Mr. Mercer, what are you doing?" she asked in surprise.
Lance met her gaze and said calmly, "Nothing much. It's still early, so I thought I'd go up and play with the kids for a while."
Deanna was stunned by his words.
Go up and play with the kids?
Since when had he become so close to her kids?
Wait!
Deanna looked at Lance suspiciously.
She realized that lately, this man had been getting closer to her kids, even bringing toys for them every few days.
Although those toys were brought along when Lance came for medical visits, it was different for the kids.
Thinking about this and the special bond her kids had with Lance, Deanna felt she couldn't let this continue unchecked.
"Although it's early, I've heard that Mr. Mercer is usually very busy. If you have work to do, it's better not to stay too late. Your health can't handle frequent late nights. You should go back early to finish your work and rest. And don't spoil the kids too much."
Her words sounded like concern, but Lance sensed a hint of distancing.
He looked deeply at Deanna, puzzled by why she was trying to keep him away from the kids.
Unable to figure it out, he decided not to dwell on it. After all, he wasn't going to distance himself from the kids.
"I'm not busy. As for my health, I know my limits. Dr. Deanna doesn't need to worry."
With that, Lance headed towards the community gate.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to call out to Deanna, "Hurry up. It's late; your kids and grandmother must be worried about you."
Watching Lance walk away, Deanna felt that something about him had changed.
But she couldn't pinpoint what it was and could only follow him silently.