Page 67 of All That She Needs

I gave him a playful scowl. "You're a bad influence, mister."

"Spend the day with me, Asha." He insisted.

I thought about it for a moment before saying, "I'll let you know after lunchtime." I spun around and walked to thedoor, but not before reminding him, "Put on some clothes and take care of that jaw, will you?"

As I stepped inside, I noticed Dennis had already leaped from his seat and trailed me into the office, eager to know what happened. "I take it last night you spent time with Liam?"

I took off my coat, hung it, then walked over to my desk. "Yes," I answered, while turning on my laptop.

"You didn't spend the night here with him, did you?" His eyes roamed over my clothes. Should've noticed that I was not wearing the same clothes as yesterday's.

"Of course not!" I bellowed, rolling my eyes at him.

Not missing a beat, Dennis said, "It's perfectly okay if you did, though." He smiled. "Did you have a good time?" He took a seat in front of me.

"I did. Very much," I replied with a sheepish grin, and Dennis instantly brightened at the sight of it. He was genuinely happy for me. "Well, until Aiden ruined it by punching Liam, and then Liam retaliated by punching him back in the face."

Dennis jumped a little in his seat, looking shocked, staring at me with disbelief. "What? What the fuck happened?"

I sighed. "Aiden happened to be at the bar we visited. Liam's brother owns it, and Aiden apparently is a regular there. He was drunk and begged me to leave with him. Long story short, there was an argument, and then it turned into a punching match."

"Oh, my God," Dennis gasped, covering his mouth with his hand. "I wish I had been there! I want to see Liam punch Aiden's face." He laughed out loud, clearly amused by the thought.

"But honestly, the time I spent with Liam made me so happy, Dennis." I sighed, earnestly pouring my heart out, which was not something I usually did. I just really needed to unload this. "Do you think it's too soon? My divorce hasn't even been finalized yet."

"What's the progress on that?" He asked.

"The papers should be delivered to him either today or Monday. Then, I just need to wait for him to sign them. But seeing how Aiden was last night, begging me to go back to him, I'm worried he's going to make it difficult."

"How do you feel about Liam, Asha?" he asked, looking at me with genuine curiosity.

I didn't even need to ponder about it; I answered straight away. "I like him. I like him a lot. Likea lot."

"Then what's the problem?" Dennis looked really confused. "He loves you. I heard him when he said all that to you –" And then it dawned on him. "But you're not there yet, aren't you?"

"I have feelings for him—strong feelings that honestly surprised me. But there's so much going on in my life right now, Dennis. I'm worried that his infatuation and attention are clouding my judgment, and that one day, I'll wake up feeling differently. The fact that he loves me makes me feel like I need to be really careful; I don't want to hurt him." I paused, leaning back, and voiced my biggest concern. "And what about Kayden and Chloe? Their parents just separated, and here I am, already thinking about bringing a new man into their lives. How would they feel about that?"

"I don't know how to answer that, Asha, but when my dad left my mom, all my sister and I wanted was for her to find a good man who loved and cared for her. Liam, is that for you,Asha. You have a great man who loves you, and you have feelings for him, even if they're not as intense as his right now."

I chuckled softly. "Yeah. Liam is... intense."

Dennis nodded with a small smile. "You've been given a second chance at love, Asha. We don't know if you'll get another one. My suggestion is to take it—take it with both hands and be happy." He paused, his expression growing more serious, as if choosing his next words carefully. "I can't say that I know what's best for your kids, Asha. That's something only you can decide. But... kids notice when their parents are happy. If Liam makes you happy, they'll feel that, too."

I really hoped Dennis was right. But I really needed to think this through first.

"Enough about me," I said to him. "How's your date with Samuel?"

Dennis scrunched his face. I raised a brow in question.

"We broke up again." He sighed heavily.

"Why?" I bellowed, feigning a surprise. They've broken up a hundred times but always get back together again. Old story.

"He was wearing a checkered flannel jacket, Asha! A green checkered flannel jacket! Can you believe it? What in the world was he thinking wearing that?"

I laughed. Dennis was ridiculous. "But he still looks cute wearing it, right?"

"Yeah." He leaned back, looking annoyed. "That's the problem. He's just too damn cute!"

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