Read Online Madness or Love (Be With Me Book 1) by Selina Bodur - Free Book Online Page A

flashed dangerously.
    “No,” Victoria murmured, “but thanks. The thing is he
lives far away, and we can’t see each other much.”
    “So he has a sexy accent. Cool. And where is ‘far
away’?”
    “The States.”
    “Okay, I see you think the distance might be a
problem. What else?”
    Victoria hesitated. Talking about Ian, about her love,
made the emptiness in her heart real. “We are from different worlds.” She could
clearly see her sister’s face if she told her who the man was. Sometimes even
she couldn’t believe Ian was a part of her ordinary life.
    Kim frowned. “I see . . . an alien.” She took a
breath. “Come on, Vicky, it can’t be that bad.”
    “You don’t understand.”
    “True, but only because you’re hiding something. How
am I supposed to help you if I don’t have all the pieces?”
    Victoria glanced once more at the black display and,
with a sigh, focused on her sister. “All you need to know is the distance is
not the only problem. His job, his lifestyle—there are so many things that could
tear us apart. And,” she hesitated, “he doesn’t want me.”
    Both women fell silent.
    “Did you kiss him?” Kim asked quietly.
    “No . . . almost. I got carried away the last time we
were together. It won’t happen again.”
    “Why not?”
    “I don’t want to hurt our friendship.”
    “If you believe this relationship is hopeless, move
on.”
    I wish I could , Victoria thought. Kim had been
capable of brushing off all problems with an ease that Victoria had envied many
times.
    “This is making you sad. I have the perfect cure for
you.” Kim’s eyes lit up with excitement.
    Victoria moved nervously in her chair. The
conversation had begun to weigh on her.
    “You need to go on a date, and I know the perfect guy
for you.”
    Victoria’s eyes widened in horror. “No, no, no! The
last time you set me up with a boy things went horribly wrong, and I ended up
in the A&E.”
    Kim waved her hand. “You’re still mad about that? We
were kids. I can promise you Thomas won’t ask you to collect frogs in the
nearby lake.”
    Victoria smiled, remembering the awful date she’d had
with Derek. Kim had insisted, and Victoria couldn’t say no to the sweet,
wide-eyed girl. But then, after frog hunting, she’d fallen and broken her arm.
That afternoon in the hospital, Kim had cried quietly, sitting next to her. How
could she be mad at her baby sister? But Kim always started with overwhelming
enthusiasm, only to crash full speed. The quality Victoria was jealous about
was Kim’s ability to wave a hand, forget the failure, swallow up the
disappointment, and move on.
    “I still think that’s a bad idea, frogs or no frogs.”
    “You’ll love him. He’s quite a catch, you know. I have
always wanted to go out with a sexy pediatrician.”
    “Then do it. Why force me?”
    “I can’t. He has eyes only for you. You two met once.”
    “I can’t remember.” Victoria was painfully aware of why;
she had eyes for one man, too.
    “Never mind. He’s been asking me for your number every
time I see him.” Kim rummaged in her bag. “I’ll call him right now.”
    “Wait!” Victoria glanced at her silent phone for the
hundredth time. She hated the feeling in her stomach—betrayal. Why did she feel
like she was about to do something wrong? Ian wasn’t her boyfriend. She
deserved a little happiness, didn’t she? “Fine,” she said finally. “I can’t
promise you I’ll enjoy it, though.”
    “At least try!” Kim urged, and dialed Thomas’s number.
     
    * * *
     
    Victoria had been wrong; she was enjoying her date
with the “sexy pediatrician.” Thomas had picked a wonderful, charming French
restaurant in Soho, and they were sitting at a small table near the window,
enjoying the tranquility of the place compared to the busy Saturday-night
streets of the neighborhood. Thomas was a real threat to any woman, a tall,
dark-haired, masculine male with deep-brown, doe-like eyes, and a