His Leading Lady by Jean Joachim

he wanted to enjoy this peaceful time with
her.
    He took a deep breath, noting the familiar
fragrance of lily mixed with Penny’s sweet scent. Doubt about his
feelings for her had disappeared. Her story tore at his heart.
While she appeared to be a glamorous woman without a care in the
world, her life had been anything but. He didn’t expect to find
such an injured, vulnerable woman when he went out with her.
    Mark hadn’t been interested in settling down.
He was only twenty-four, popular, and had big financial
responsibilities. So, when he had started dating Penny, he had
figured it for the most amazing fun time ever. Instead, he got a
view of what real love looked like. While other women turned a deaf
ear to his financial burdens, and only wanted to know what he could
do for them, buy them, Penny was different.
    Hell, yeah, women were willing to sleep with
a rich football player who took them out to expensive dinners and
bought them pricey clothes with fancy labels. Mark wasn’t in that
category. No stranger to having women snub him and call him cheap
when he watched his dollars, he had become a bit jaded. Was every
woman only interested in his status and bank account? What would
happen when he got hired as a starter? His salary would soar. How
would he weed out the fortune hunters, only interested in his
money?
    Then, Penny had come along. He’d never had a
woman tell him she admired him for his devotion to his family, his
frugality. No one. He certainly didn’t expect that from the world’s
most beautiful woman.
    He hadn’t approached her like all the other
men, interested in basking in her fame and sleeping with her. Mark
hadn’t considered her a conquest, but he had been smitten and had
wanted a physical relationship so bad he could taste it. When Penny
had called him on it, he became embarrassed. She was right. Men
were out for one thing, above all else.
    Her understanding of his obligations had
endeared her to him. He had begun to see her as more than a
gorgeous body and face, but as a person, a friend, as well as a
lover. She put him at ease, was game to go bowling instead of to a
fancy, expensive club. Her acceptance of Mark, the man, instead of
Mark, the football star, started the seeds of true love in his
heart.
    Megan disapproved of the other women he had
dated. She called them “callow,” “shallow,” “money-grubbing” sluts
who would do anything for an expensive, designer handbag. He had
laughed at the time, because he thought all women were like that,
except his sister.
    But Meg liked Penny, and that meant
everything to Mark. Megan had always had his back, and he trusted
her with his life. Her confirmation of his feelings toward Penny
boosted his confidence. Penny was a gem, a real woman, who loved
him for who he was. He found that quality in her priceless.
    Snuggling with her eased his mind. As long as
she was by his side, he knew he’d figure out what to do about the
team. He wrapped an arm over her and was soon asleep.
    Mark rose at six the next morning. Again, he
slid out of bed without disturbing Penny. She rolled over, mumbled
something, but didn’t wake up. He had an early workout session and
practice. After a shower, he threw on his warm-up clothes, stopped
at a fast food joint to pick up a couple of egg sandwiches, and
headed for the stadium.
    He sat down with Harley and ate his
breakfast. Harley sloshed his food down with a big cup of orange
juice.
    “Rumor has it a scout is coming to our
game.”
    “Really? When?” Mark asked between bites.
    “In a couple of weeks.”
    Mark shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Darvin’ll be
playing. I’ll never get on the field.”
    “Might be something we can do about
that.”
    “What? Talk to him? He’d never agree. He
hates me and wouldn’t help me if his life depended on it.”
    “You’re right. But I had another idea.”
Harley’s voice dropped to a whisper as he leaned closer to
Mark.
     
    ****
     
    Penny awoke to an empty bed. She