Carol's Image Read Online Free PDF Page A

exchanged looks.
    “Hon, have you looked in the mirror recently?” Sofia asked. “You are drop dead gorgeous. Blonde, beautiful, sweet on top of all that, and hell, you make the rest of us look like chopped liver. What’s not to love about you?”
    Carol opened her mouth to speak, but found Sofia’s hand shoved up in her face before she could utter a word.
    “And don’t give me that crap about your parents. We all know your parents only love each other, their money, their big ass house, and their country club friends.”
    At that, Carol had to laugh again. “I know. Believe me, years of counseling taught me that no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t ever get them to see the real me.” Pausing momentarily, she looked back over at her friends. “But it’s all good, guys. I’m not looking for a gorgeous hunk to fight my dragons and carry me off. I’m fine with who I am and what I am doing now.”
    Waving to them, she walked over to the elevators. The fourth floor surgery wing was packed with the crowd of policemen who were in the ER waiting room and had simply moved upstairs. It looked as though Mrs. Whitten was well attended, so Carol turned to leave.
    “Miss? Miss?” she heard a soft voice call. Turning, she saw Mrs. Whitten walking over. Moving toward her, she gave her a gentle hug.
    “I just wanted to come up and check on you, see how you were doing and see if there was anything I can do for you,” Carol explained.
    “Thank you for your kindness,” Mrs. Whitten said.
    “Please, call me Carol.”
    “I’m Jen,” the woman answered, giving a tenuous smile. “The surgery nurse has been out several times and said that things were going well.”
    Reaching over to hug her once again, Carol said, “I’m so glad. I will be back on shift tonight, so I’ll come check on you again. Now make sure you get some rest. You and the little one,” she said patting Jen’s very pregnant belly.
    Turning around, she ran face first into a brick wall. A brick wall with arms that reached out to catch her before she could fall. Looking up in shock, she saw what…or who she ran into. Her Viking.
    Blushing a deep red, she stammered, “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” She tried to move away, but found that his hands held her upper arms. His grasp was firm but not in any way painful and would not allow her to move.
    “My apologies miss, I was in your way. Are you sure you are all right?”
    Carol stood rooted to the floor staring up into a face so handsome it almost hurt to see all of that beauty. His blond hair, like hers, was almost yellow blond. Trimmed neatly, she wanted to see if it felt as good as it looked. His square jaw, slightly stubbled, led to a strong, thick neck. His wide shoulders tapered to trim waist, leading to thick thighs. His clothes were tailored to fit his muscular frame.
    Her eyes made their way back up to his face where she found his twinkling blue eyes looking deeply into hers.
    “Like what you see, miss?” he asked with a smirk.
    Blushing even deeper, Carol jerked back from his hands as she saw the open elevator doors about to close. Jumping inside as the doors shut, she refused to look at the man left standing there. Grateful for the empty elevator, she leaned heavily on the back wall as it descended back to the first floor.
    *
    Tom, stunned that the angelic beauty ran out on him, stared numbly toward the closed elevator door. Jake, walking over, clapped him on the back.
    “Losin’ your touch, man?” he asked Tom.
    “Damned if I know. God, she was gorgeous, wasn’t she?”
    “So what are you doin’ still standin’ here, dumbass. Go find her.”
    Snapping out of his trance, he ran for the stairs next to the elevator. Racing down the four flights of stairs, he pounded out of the ER into the parking lot looking all around.
    His angel was short, but her blonde hair made it easy to find her in the crowded parking lot. Seeing her weave through cars, he took off