Always Have, Always Will A story of love, romance, betrayal, and hockey Love, hurt, and betrayal . . . Aiden LeBlanc devoted his life to playing hockey for the Pittsburgh Sentinels. He was hoping for the chance to have his name inscribed on the Stanley

Always Have, Always Will

By N. H. Watkins

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 N. H. Watkins
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4685-5355-0

Chapter One

Period 1

1998

Aiden LeBlanc just finished playing his second season in the National Hockey League. The twenty-one year old was a successful center for the Pittsburgh Sentinels. At the end of his rookie season, he'd been awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy, which was given to the league's Rookie of the Year. This year, even though the team did not make it to the finals, Aiden was the recipient of the Art Ross Trophy for his scoring efforts and was named team captain. Playing hockey in the NHL was like a dream come true for Aiden; he sometimes couldn't believe he'd made it to the big league.

As the team's newest center, Aiden was often praised for his strong skating skills and creativity on the ice. Centers were known as the "quarterbacks" because they led the team at both ends of the ice, and they were strong, skilled skaters. Aiden was disciplined on the ice and that carried over into his personal life. Not one to overdue the drinking and partying, he still had fun. Aiden prided himself on living by the rules and doing his job well. Some said he was too young to be so serious, but Aiden knew he was being smart by not taking his blessings for granted.

The contract he signed with the Sentinels provided him more money than he ever dreamed of earning. His agent, Daniel Klein, kept him busy when he was off the ice with endorsements for Reebok, Gatorade, and Bauer hockey skates and equipment. All in all, he earned five million dollars in his rookie season, and it was possible his earnings could top seven million this year. Nothing was guaranteed to a professional athlete; Aiden never lost sight of the fact that he could suffer a career ending injury or lose his starting spot on the team if he didn't perform well.

Money was the reason he was bored out of his mind as he walked with the President and a few members of the President's senior executive group at the University of Toronto. He was going to kill his brother when he saw him tomorrow. Seth, Aiden's brother, who was ten years older, was a professor at the university in the history department. He was up for tenure in the fall. Seth had asked him to accept the invitation for a tour and listen to the fundraising spiel in order for the university to get donations for the school from "capable donors." Aiden had offered to just write a check, but his brother said it would look better if he listened to the dog and pony show.

The President was saying something about the new computers in the library where the group had stopped to view the equipment in the media room. Aiden was impressed with the state of the art technology that had been donated by a group of benefactors. As he listened to one of the senior executives describe the new filming equipment, Aiden looked up and that's when he saw her. She was the most gorgeous young woman that he'd ever laid eyes on in his twenty one years. Aiden felt as if he'd been hit in the head by a puck travelling ninety miles per hour. The woman was sitting and fiercely typing on the keyboard in front of her. When she stopped typing and stared at the screen, Aiden thought she was absolutely stunning. He'd heard his mother use the term stunning before, but never really understood what she'd meant until the moment he laid eyes on her. The woman's head was slightly tilted to the right. Her creamy colored brown skin was flawless; her dark brown hair, which took on a reddish tint in the light, was in a ponytail sitting high on the top of her head. She had a pencil stuck in her hair at the front of the ponytail. Aiden thought she was absolutely adorable and then she looked up at him. He smiled, and she smiled back rather shyly. Aiden was disappointed that he couldn't keep eye contact with her because she went right back to her typing. All he wanted to do was to keep looking into those mesmerizing light brown eyes shielded by her long beautiful eyelashes.

The group of people on the tour moved to another part of the library as the woman went back to her typing. More than ever, Aiden wanted the tour to end and thought about telling the President his $100,000 donation would be in the mail. He just wanted to stay with the ethereal beauty.

* * *

Abby Zolland sat in the library at the University of Toronto completing her last final for the semester. Five down and one to go she thought to herself. Abby had opted to work in the library tonight because she was tired of the four walls in her apartment. Figuring a change of scenery might help her concentration, Abby worked on the seven questions due tomorrow morning via email to Professor St. Pierre in the library. Technology in the Middle School Classroom, the official name of the class, had been a great course, and Abby loved learning about incorporating technology in the classroom. The exam was not difficult, but she needed to focus, carefully plan her answers, and come up with effective examples in order to respond appropriately to the questions. At the moment, she was at her wits end having studied for five finals in the past four days.

As Abby sat and pounded out her answers to the questions, she spotted a group of people taking a tour of the library. She smiled to herself and continued working. She knew whoever was on the tour was about to be hit up for a very large donation for the university. Showing off the new media center was the University of Toronto's way of telling the person receiving the tour that the school made good use of the funds donated each year. The media room, where she sat and worked, was high-tech and the newest addition to the library. Everyone loved the computers and those taking photography, broadcasting, and other communication courses couldn't wait to use the new equipment that had been donated to the university.

Suddenly, Abby was taken from thoughts of her exam because she felt someone looking at her. Strike that-staring at her. As she slowly raised her eyes from the screen, she peered into the eyes of a very handsome young man. Abby had never seen another man as smoking hot as the stud smiling at her. Good God, she was about to self-combust. She knew she was the only one in the room, beside the administrators and the visitor, so it was no mistake that Aiden LeBlanc was smiling at her. Abby found herself smiling back and quickly dropping her eyes back down to the computer screen. She knew of Aiden LeBlanc—so did the entire universe. As Aiden walked away with the others, she turned in her seat and stole another glance. Damn if the back view of him wasn't as good as the front. He caught her looking and smiled again. Abby quickly turned back around to finish the last two questions on the exam. She needed to finish the exam, but Aiden LeBlanc, in the flesh, was definitely worth a slight delay.

* * *

Aiden was glad when the tour and the sales pitch were done. He wrote out a check for $100,000 after he was assured anonymity. He didn't like all of the attention that he would get from the donation, so remaining anonymous was important. Besides, all he could think about was getting back to the library. He said his good-byes and left the President's office. Once he was outside, Aiden sprinted back to the library hoping to find her. As he entered the library, he headed straight for the media room. She was still there, and the wave of excitement which he felt when he first saw her only intensified. He stopped outside of the room and just looked at her gorgeous face.

The woman was still working on the computer. Aiden once again noticed her beautiful...