.. we wanted to do something. You guys were all there in the car-park — those that could be" she acknowledged Hope's absence, gently, "so we wanted ...ou to help us celebrate." Damn." Hope muttered, with a shrug. "I was hoping to start practicing this weekend." For what?" Elspeth asked."Battle of the Bands!" she pulled a flyer out of her pocket, unfolding it and waving it around too quickly for any of them to read it. "Next month, three-song sets. I thought you, me, Shawna and Marcus could have a. He grinned when he saw Natalie, his dark eyes full of the morning sun. Matt watched him approach, wrap his arms around her slender frame and kiss her chastely on the lips. Matt’s stomach didn’t clench anymore, not like it used to. Tom and Natalie had been together for nearly a year. Everyone said they made the best couple. They’d said that about him and Natalie too. Tom frowned when he looked down, seeing a look in her eyes. ‘Are you alright? You seem…pale.’ Natalie swallowed and glanced. He’d been around for over a year but I had never “checked him out”, so to speak. Now that I looked at him, I was quite happy with what I saw. He was wearing trousers and a shirt with the top 3 buttons open. He was around 5’10” tall,;had short, tousled and messy hair. Very dark skin, the colour of black coffee. A sharply-angled face with a light stubble and a longish nose. He was slim, must have had a waist of around 30 inches. His arms were different from his slim body: they were thick and. But Salina…’ ‘Has had to rebuild her life from the ground up.’ ‘And she has done a remarkable job. I admire her for it. She went back to school and she took college classes, then worked several temp jobs before moving to New York, where she did the same, before coming here.’ ‘And you hired her.’ ‘She told me about her history first, because she wanted to be honest, and I told her that I have no problem with anything in her past.’ ‘Good. I am glad. I am glad she has a second chance.’ ‘So am I,.