"Today's focus is on this wedding dress series. We need to shoot scenes of the wedding ceremony, couple photos in wedding attire, and interactions with the two children. It's quite a big project, so I plan to start with this scene. I've heard from Erin that you are not a married couple nor professional models. Do you have any ideas for the interactions during the shoot, or should we follow the design of our team?" Edward asked, looking at the two of them.
Deanna and Lance exchanged a glance.
Lance said calmly, "You choose, I'll cooperate with you."
Seeing Lance throw the decision to her, Deanna felt like she had dug herself into a hole. However, since they had come this far, there was no turning back.
After thinking for a moment, she responded, "Let's go with the storyline designed by your team. After all, you are professionals and know how to achieve the best results."
"Alright then, let me explain the first scene, the wedding ceremony series," Edward nodded and began explaining to them.
A few minutes later, he finished and asked, "That's about it. Can you do it?"
"Yes, it's not too difficult," Deanna nodded and then looked at Lance.
Lance nodded in agreement.
The two children also held hands excitedly and said, "We promise to complete the task."
Just then, a staff member came over to inform them that the scene was set up and they could start shooting.
Edward nodded and said to Deanna and the others, "Since you all are okay with it, let's shoot one take to see the effect."
Deanna and Lance had no objections and followed him into the set.
The wedding ceremony series was somewhat like an actual wedding ceremony. The two children, as flower girls, only needed to carry flower baskets and scatter petals behind Deanna. Deanna would walk towards Lance with deep affection, and then Lance would put a wedding ring on her finger as announced by the officiant, marking the end of the scene.
But the problem lay with Deanna.
"Cut! Miss Jones, your expression is not right. You need to look affectionate. He is your lover, and today you are marrying him," Edward frowned and stopped the shoot, patiently pointing out the issue to Deanna.
He didn't forget to praise Lance as well, "Mr. Mercer was in great form just now. Keep it up and treat Miss Jones as your beloved."
Hearing this, Deanna instinctively looked at Lance and was stunned. She had never seen this side of Lance before. His usually cold and indifferent black eyes were now warm and gentle as if spring had arrived. His gaze made her feel like she was his entire world.
Uncontrollably, Deanna's heart started racing, making her feel flustered and wanting to escape. But Edward gave her no chance as he announced the second take.
As expected, Deanna was stopped again.
"Miss Jones, your emotions are still not right," Edward pointed out with some displeasure. In his view, he had already highlighted the problem, and as a model, Deanna should have adjusted accordingly. But he forgot that Deanna was not a professional model.
Lance noticed that Deanna was not in the right state. He frowned slightly and said, "Let's pause for a moment; I'll talk to her about how to shoot."
Edward was more than happy to hear this and announced a break.
Deanna felt a bit deflated, thinking she had overestimated herself.
Gregory noticed his mom's mood was off and wanted to comfort her but was stopped by his sister.
"Brother, don't go. This is when Uncle should comfort Mommy," Chloe said as she pulled Gregory aside.
Lance didn't notice the children's actions. He approached Deanna and gently comforted her, "Don't be nervous."
"I'm not nervous; I'm just not used to it yet. It feels strange," Deanna said awkwardly but honestly expressed her feelings. She knew avoiding it wouldn't help since she had promised Erin to help with the ad shoot.
Thinking of something, she asked, "Mr. Mercer, how do you manage to stay so focused? You seemed very composed just now."
Seeing Deanna's earnestness, Lance felt momentarily speechless. He cleared his throat as if trying to hide something before slowly speaking.
"It's nothing really. I know this is an ad shoot meant for effect, so I don't think about anything else."
For some reason, Deanna felt like Lance was implying she was overthinking it.
Lance didn't realize Deanna misunderstood him. Seeing her silence, he thought she couldn't do what he suggested and offered another approach. "If you find it too awkward, just pretend I'm your future husband, someone you love."
This left Deanna stunned. Realizing this might be the only way, she reluctantly nodded, "I'll try."