Deanna instinctively refused.
Such an intimate act of wiping someone's back felt inappropriate to her.
"I'll go find Mr. Nelson to help you," she said, turning to leave again.
Just as she reached the door, Lance's voice came from behind, "Xavier is not at the hospital. I sent him to the company."
Deanna froze, looking troubled and unsure of what to do. Though Lance couldn't see her expression, he could guess her thoughts and a calculating gleam flashed in his eyes.
"If you find it difficult, forget it. I'll do it myself, though I might pull on my wound," Lance said, making a deliberate noise as he moved to grab a towel.
Deanna hesitated for a moment, then made up her mind. She took a deep breath, turned back to Lance, snatched the towel from his hand, and began to wet it. "I'll help you," she said.
Hearing this and seeing the small woman working in front of him, Lance's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Deanna didn't notice. After wringing out the towel, she looked up and saw Lance's well-defined upper body, causing her face to flush again.
"Turn your back to me," she said.
Lance complied without teasing her further, afraid of scaring her away. He turned around and let Deanna wipe his back.
Deanna remained silent, perhaps out of embarrassment. She just wanted to finish quickly and leave.
But things rarely go as planned. While rinsing the towel again, the floor became slippery from the water. She lost her balance and fell towards Lance's back with a startled cry.
Lance instinctively turned at the sound and caught Deanna as she fell, the force causing both of them to tumble onto the bed, with Deanna landing on top of him.
In the process, Deanna's lips accidentally brushed against Lance's.
For a moment, she was wide-eyed and blank-minded.
Lance was also surprised. Feeling the softness of her lips, he was reluctant to push her away and even wanted to deepen the kiss.
Before he could act, two small voices interrupted them.
"Uncle, Mommy, what are you doing?"
The children had been awakened by Deanna's cry and were now staring at them in confusion.
Deanna snapped out of it at their voices. "We weren't doing anything," she said hurriedly, standing up from Lance's embrace and wishing she could dig a hole to hide in.
The children looked from her to Uncle Lance, finally understanding and accusing, "Mommy is lying. You were kissing Uncle."
Deanna's face turned even redder. "It was an accident. Mommy almost fell, and your uncle caught me," she explained instinctively.
Not waiting for their rebuttal, she added sternly, "What Mommy says goes. No arguing."
The children were momentarily stunned by her tone.
Then Gregory pouted, "Mommy is just covering up."
"No, brother. Mommy is embarrassed," Chloe said with a giggle.
Deanna felt both angry and embarrassed. Seeing Lance's amused smile, she threw the towel at him in frustration. "Stop laughing and explain! You can wipe yourself!" she snapped before leaving.
Lance watched her go and then looked at the giggling children with helplessness and regret. If only they had woken up a bit later, he thought.
Just then, Chloe exclaimed, "Uncle Lance, you're bleeding!"
"I'll get Uncle Braylon," Gregory said, noticing the blood seeping through Lance's bandages and running out of the room.
Soon after, Braylon arrived with Gregory. Seeing the blood and the water basin by the bed, he frowned and scolded Lance, "I told you not to make big movements or get your wound wet. Are you trying to hurt yourself?"
Despite his words, Braylon dutifully cleaned and re-bandaged Lance's wound.
Lance didn't explain and let his friend grumble.
The children exchanged glances but stayed silent, feeling happy inside. Did this mean Mommy and Uncle were now boyfriend and girlfriend?
After a while, Braylon finished bandaging Lance's wound. Seeing his friend's calm expression, he felt exhausted. He doubted Lance had listened to any of his warnings.
Deciding not to repeat himself, Braylon resolved to leave Deanna in charge of supervising Lance. From his observations over the past few days, he had realized that his friend was unconditionally obedient to Dr. Deanna.