Page 18 of Worlds Apart
“It sounds like our families are maybe very similar.” Martin looked at her with a smile. “Did you expect that on the other side of the world?”
Sunny smiled. “I think this trip has taught me that I should always pack sunscreen and never pack expectations.”
Martin laughed with his whole chest, and Sunny felt like the most clever woman in the world.
“I have a spot I want to show you,” Martin said. “You were enjoying the stars the other night, correct?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to take any extra time if you’re tired,” she said. “You’ve been driving all day.”
“It’s no problem for me, unless you want to get back.”
Take a chance, Sunny. Make a move.
“I’m good.” She took a deep breath. “What did you want to show me?”
Karanja, take it slow.
He was fairly certain that Sunny was interested in him. He’d spent the previous three days watching her around the other guests and employees at the camp. She only seemed to blush around him, and Alice was nearly throwing the woman into his arms.
But he also sensed that she was a little shy. Not with everyone, but perhaps with him. Maybe it was his accent. Maybe it was because he was foreign. Or maybe she was simply shy around men.
Talk to her, you idiot.
They’d been driving to the ridge in silence.
“You seem like someone who has traveled,” Martin said. “Is that correct?”
“Me?” Her eyes went wide. “A little, but not much. I’ve been on a couple school trips, and to Paris and London. That’s probably a lot of traveling for most Americans, but most of my friends travel a lot more. Like Alice.”
He nodded. “Yes, Alice is definitely a wanderer. I think we were lucky to find her and even more lucky that she agreed to stay put for ten months out of the year.”
“I think she agreed to take the job because it pays for those two months of the year when she can travel the world.” Sunny smiled. “She came to visit me in DC last year and we had a great time. She’s very adventurous.”
“And you’re not?”
She shook her head. “I enjoy my work, so I don’t take much time off.”
“You said that you loved mathematics. I remember.”
She pursed her lips. “Mathematics.”
“What?” He felt like a smile was plastered to his face. Were his cheeks going to stick that way?
“I just think your accent is really cute. I love the way you say mathematics.”
“You thinkmyaccent is cute?” He was fairly certain she was blushing, but it was hard to tell in the dark car. “I think yours is very cute.”
“I don’t have an accent. My mother does, but she’s from Virginia.”
“I don’t have an accent either, what are you talking about?”
Sunny giggled. “Okay, I see your point.”
He turned off the road and began to climb the hill to his favorite stargazing point. “Are there many Kenyans where you live?”
“I don’t think so. Lots of African-American people in DC, but I don’t know about Kenyans.”
“You’d be able to spot us,” Martin said. “We’re the best dressers.”
