The Tenant by Sotia Lazu Page A

automatically change into a background element when he’s around freaks me out. I know it freaks you out too, because I see the real Amanda showing through the cracks once in a while, and that makes me a thousand percent certain marrying him won’t work. You’ll be miserable.”
    Amanda had heard enough. For better or worse, she’d chosen to be with Mason. It shouldn’t be so hard for her sister to respect that. “You don’t like him. For whatever reason, you’ve decided he’s not good enough for your big sis, but Mason’s the one who saved me. I was broken when I met him. You know that.”
    She’d met Mason a few months after finding out Parker had cheated on her with at least two of his college students during their two years together. Mason was the exact opposite. “He’s strong and dependable and so nice to me, Alice. You just don’t get us.”
    “I get you , though. He was in the right place at the right time, but that doesn’t make him Mr. Right. I know he likes taking care of you and makes you feel safe, but a big cuddly dog could probably make you feel the same, including the same degree of passion. You should get married to a guy you’re head over heels for. Someone you can’t live without, who—who loves bitchy Amanda and cranky Amanda too, and who can take you on when you’re in a mood, instead of…disapprovingly staring you down.”
    Amanda opened her mouth, closed it, and scrunched her face. “Your food is getting cold,” she said. This discussion was over, as far as she was concerned. She cared about Mason, and when sex entered the equation, she’d be crazy for him. And if she wasn’t? Well, she’d been madly in love with Parker, and look how that turned out.
    “Amanda—”
    “No. The subject of Mason is closed. We’re getting married, and we’ll live happily ever after.” Her words held the conviction she needed to feel. She needed her happily ever after. Her heart had been broken into too many pieces for it to ever mend completely, and Mason’s hands were just big and safe enough to hold it without shattering it again.
    Alice nodded. “Okay, change of subject. How come Becca didn’t help out with the move? Thought carrying heavy loads was part of the BFF’s job description.”
    “She said she’s on a deadline and will be missing in action for a couple days.”
    “Convenient. Bet it’s a new guy.”
    “I know, right?” It was so much easier talking about her best friend’s busy love life than her own. That and shoes would have to serve as small talk until both their plates were clean and Amanda could go home.
    •●•
    As much as she wanted to forget what her sister said, Amanda couldn’t stop flashing back to it all once she was home. It wasn’t as if Alice had hidden her feelings about Mason in the past, but she’d never before been so vocal about them either. Could she be right? Should Amanda be head over heels? Was passion more important to a marriage than compatibility, safety, and trust were?
    Were she and Mason compatible and safe? Did they trust each other?
    Alice was at least partially right; she and Mason had different ideas of how a woman should behave, but Mason would see things her way eventually. He would.
    Wouldn't he?
    Sure he would! She had no doubt he loved her. People who loved somebody were supposed to accept that somebody, flaws and all. It was her fault she hadn’t shown him more of her flaws in the beginning, but he’d been so proper, her knight in shining armor, and she’d put on her best behavior for him. That was practically dating law.
    And they were safe with each other. That he didn’t make her heart go a mile a minute meant she could be with him without worrying she’d be crippled by sorrow if he ever left.
    If she trusted Mason, however, and he trusted her, how come she hadn’t told him about…
    “Are you done in there?” An annoying male voice brought her out of her musings.
    Alice might have been right about Derek too, but