Chapter 92
The lawn outside the villa used to be perfect, lush and expensive, but now the little cart had left messy tracks all over it. Lance didn’t bother to even look. He was too busy giving orders to his Alaskan Malamute.
Camilla just stood there, wide-eyed. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“Don’t worry. The dog knows what he’s doing. He won’t hurt Jasper. You really don’t need to be so anxious, Miss Hedgehog.” Lance’s calm, easy voice drifted over to her, but Camilla was still so surprised she couldn’t react at first.
With Jackson steadying the cart, Jasper was perfectly safe. That wasn’t what Camilla was worried about anyway. What really shocked her was how this man, who seemed to do everything his own way, somehow managed to turn even playing with a dog into something completely different.
She’d met a lot of people in her life, but never anyone quite like Lance. He was just… lively and a little weird, but in a good way. She honestly couldn’t keep up with his thinking sometimes.
Lance glanced at her. “You’re staring pretty hard, Camilla. Do you want to try it for yourself p>
He grinned, eyes full of mischief. “Sorry to disappoint you, but the dog probably can’t pull you around. But I have other pets, you know. If you ever get to take a nice vacation overseas, maybe I could p>
“I don’t want to.” Camilla cut him off quickly. Jasper’s shrieks—mixed with laughter—as the dog pulled him in circles were enough to give her a headache, and she really didn’t want the image of herself getting dragged around the yard. She didn’t even let Lance finish.
He just shrugged. “No problem. If you need to get going today, just leave Jasper with me p>
Camilla looked over at Jasper again. He was squealing, but his face was filled with pure joy. There wasn’t even a hint of fear, only excitement.
She hadn’t seen him this happy in ages. It was like every single worry from the last few weeks had been blown away, just for this moment.
“Thank you, then. I’ll come by this evening to pick Jasper up, and let me treat you to dinner,” she offered.
Lance raised his brow at her. “Dinner, huh? Are you going to cook for me, Camilla p>
“I can,” she said, a little smile tugging at her lips. Cooking wasn’t much, especially compared to how many times Lance had helped her lately. She really couldn’t refuse such a small favor.
As she left, Jasper’s laughter still echoed in her ears. There really was something magical about Lance; he just had this strange knack for making people forget their problems, even if only for a while.
Camilla even caught herself thinking that if the Charles family ever hit rock bottom, he could probably start a comedy livestream and turn their fortunes around.
All day at work, Camilla was busier than ever. Every so often, she’d get a message from Lance—pictures and short videos of Jasper having the best time. In every single one, Jasper was grinning from ear to ear.
Seeing Jasper so genuinely happy made Camilla feel lighter, like someone had finally taken a heavy weight off her chest. She felt more relaxed than she had in a long time, and her workday went by faster than usual.
That evening, after finishing up at the office, Camilla swung by the mall to pick up some fresh vegetables before heading to Lance’s place.
Driving past the villas, she caught sight of Barnard’s car turning into the house next door. She remembered today was the deadline Calvin had given him. It sounded like things had finally been sorted out.
She quickly pushed those thoughts aside. The Carter family’s drama wasn’t her problem, and all she wanted was to see Jasper.
Lance’s villa was quiet when she arrived. He said he’d wait for her to cook, but when she walked in, the dining table was already set with a huge spread of food.
Jasper was curled up in the corner with a book. The Alaskan Malamute stretched out behind him, practically acting as his built-in cushion, while Snow dozed at his feet. The whole scene was so peaceful and picture-perfect that Camilla almost didn’t want to move or make a sound.
She could hear noises coming from the kitchen, the soft clang of utensils. She walked over to find Lance with his back toward her, slicing vegetables. His sleeves were rolled up, showing off strong, toned arms.
There was something about the atmosphere… warm, inviting, and a little bit electric.
“Didn’t you say we’d wait for me to cook?” Camilla called out, but as soon as the words left her lips, she realized how domestic they sounded. Here she was, scolding him like an old couple, with nobody else around.
If Lance noticed anything strange, he didn’t let on. He just grinned. “Camilla, you worked all day. If I still waited for you to come back and make dinner, wouldn’t that make me some useless man-baby p>
His voice was relaxed, like it was all a joke.
Still, Camilla couldn’t help but think he was shading someone in particular. Somehow, Barnard came to mind.
Whenever Barnard mentioned wanting her cooking, even if she got home after a late meeting, she’d go straight to the kitchen to make him something to eat.
Lance seemed to read her thoughts. “Come on. It’s only dinner. It doesn’t matter who cooks, does it? If you really feel guilty, go make Jasper some juice or something p>
He worked quickly and confidently in the kitchen, and for a second, Camilla noticed how different he looked when he was focused on something.
As she washed the fruit, she caught herself sneaking another glance at him. In a place with so many staff, it made no sense that Lance would cook by himself.
When she finished making juice and Lance brought the last dish out, Jackson took Jasper to wash his hands. Just as Camilla was about to say something, a faint sound drifted in from outside. It was a girl crying.