LULU'S POV

James stared at me weirdly after I told him what my intentions were and for a moment I thought he was going to hug me like Saldona had earlier that morning. Now that would have been a welcomed experience but I shouldn't be encouraging those thoughts, it was wrong. He had a girlfriend and no matter how handsome he was he wasn't worth betraying my morals for.

When I had seen James talk to that girl in a more than friendly manner looking all cuddly I had moved closer to the fire to avoid looking at them. Of course he had to be in a relationship, there was no was such a handsome guy could have been single surrounded by all the beautiful girls I'd spotted around the compound. And besides its not like I had a chance with him considering his community tended to marry within their own. I was Meru and he was Samburu, we couldn't be any more different.

After my discussion with Mr Korir Koinet, the village elder which had been very productive he had excused himself to go tend to his livestock. I'd noticed the kids still staring at me curiously and I'd asked them if they wanted to hear a story. They had eagerly nodded and I didn't even have to ask them to be quiet. They just sat down cross legged on the ground looking at me attentively. I missed being a kid sometimes, they were so innocent and oblivious to how big and dangerous the world was. I'd picked one of my fun travel stories and kept them occupied. It was a shame Namelok, who I'd discovered to be Korir's daughter had called them away. I'd promised to be back though and I would keep my promise.

I had been wondering what to do since I was no longer busy when I turned my head and saw James getting all cozy with a girl dressed in traditional attire. Her hands were on his chest and I just couldn't bare seeing them so close so I'd moved away.

Now I'd just discovered that he was Korir's son meaning it would be hard avoiding him. At least he'd told me that he lived away from his parents so I hoped us encountering each other would be rare. James had been the first person I'd been attracted to in a while, too bad he was taken.

He was about to say something when his mom called out to us inviting us to a separate hut for food. I tightened James shuka around me taking in a whiff of his clean manly scent and followed his mom. When I entered the hut I gasped at all the meat laid out in front of us. How much meat could a goat have? They had probably slaughtered a cow or something. They had cooked it fast too but it looked well done and tender.

I sat cross legged and to my dismay James settled himself next to me. We were joined by his parents, Namelok and her husband and two of James brothers and their wives. Their names were rambled out but I was too hungry to catch them. I'd catch up later.

"We must thank God for the food and our new guest who has brought us good fortune."Korir stated and we all bowed our heads for prayer.

It was short and to the point which my grumbling stomach was grateful for. We all dug in soon after Korir and Naeku took the first bite. There was ugali and herbs which went perfectly with the grilled meat. Whatever method they used to grill the meat had been worth it because the steak melted in my mouth. Best grill I'd ever had. I was almost tempted to ask Korir to adopt me so I could always eat like that.

"Lulu tell us more about yourself. Where are you from?"Namelok asked.

"Let the poor girl eat."Naeku scolded.

"It's okay I don't mind."I defended Namelok. "I was born in Meru but moved to Nairobi when I was fourteen together with my sisters after our parents died. Marini, my elder sister raised me and Amani the youngest so we're all really close."

"It's such a shame about your parents but your sister did a good job raising you. You are a fine young lady."Korir complimented.

"Thank you, I owe her all my success."I beamed.

I was aware of James boring holes at the side of my head the whole time but I refused to turn and look at him. He didn't need to know how much he was affecting me.

"Are you single Lulu?"Naeku asked catching me off guard and I almost choked on the food. I swallowed quickly to avoid it going down the wrong pipe.

"Mother?!"James admonished.

I spared him a glance and he was looking at his mother horrified before turning to give me an apologetic smile. I shrugged him off and turned my attention to his mom.

"What?I'm just curious, so Lulu are you single or in a relationship?"Naeku insisted.

She was not going to let it go so I decided to just answer her but before I could James cut in again. Everyone else just continued eating watching the drama unfold silently.

"You don't have to answer that Lulu. Mother don't embarrass our guest."

At this point I wanted to get the conversation off me so I just answered Naeku to prevent the conversation from dragging out.

"I'm single Naeku."I replied and she smiled at me.

"See that wasn't so hard. Now what do you think of my son? He's the only unmarried one and I want grandkids."She continued on shocking me.

My eyes widened in shock and I turned to look at James who looked very embarrassed. Naeku was nonchalant about the whole situation as if she had done it many times before.

Why was she trying to set me up with her son? Didn't she know that he was already in a relationship or had I misread the whole situation outside? Maybe the girl he had been had been his cousin or something. But they had been too close to be related and she was looking a him like a piece of meat. You don't look at your cousin like you want to eat them whole.

"Mother seriously."James groaned slamming his forehead on the table in embarrassment.

"What?"Naeku shrugged seemingly innocent and I bit my cheek to hold in a smile.

The whole family looked very close knit to be able to embarrass each other like that. Even though my sisters and I were close I missed having my parents around for such moments.

James shook off his humiliation and turned to face him mom.

"You already have grandkids and great grandkids."He informed her.

"I know that but before I leave this world I need to make sure you're well taken care off by an able woman."She informed him before turning her attention to me. "Lulu you are clearly a very beautiful woman, educated and obviously well mannered. I know my son is not much to look at but don't dismiss him too quickly. He's hard-working and I raised him well so you never have to fear him disrespecting you."

By this time James was practically hiding under the table and everyone else was laughing at him. I just sat there smiling knowing if I ever got together with James I had his family's blessings.

"That's enough wife. Let the poor kids eat. You can save the matchmaking for another day."Korir finally spoke up silencing the whole situation.

We all resumed our meals and James sent me apologetic looks the whole time. I don't know what for considering he had just been served to me on a silver platter. I just didn't understand why Naeku said that James wasn't much to look at, the man was clearly sculpted by God when he was in an artistic mood. Maybe she thought me being a city girl I had seen better. Well in some way I had but James had little bits about him that made him stand out above any other male I'd set my eyes on. Maybe it was true what they said, that when you meet the one, you become blind to the beauty of all others. Sounded like rubbish to me until I set my eyes on James. Too bad he was taken or was he? I'd have to find out from the man himself so I could stop making conclusions.

After we all had dinner we settled back outside for another hour as I got to know the Korir family better and got some embarrassing stories of baby James. They all made me feel like I was home away from home. I got a better welcome than I would have ever imagined.

"Okay that's all the embarrassment I can take for tonight. I'm just going to go."James excused himself after his mother narrated another tale about him.

"It's getting late, I should head out too. My team is arriving tomorrow."I informed them my full belly making me feel sleepy.

"Okay dear thank you for passing by. Come back again anytime."Naeku invited.

"Thank you so much for having me."I appreciated.

"Lankenua make sure she gets back safe."Korir instructed firmly.

I didn't try to deny his offer knowing that would be a nice opportunity for us to get to talk without his family cutting in.

"Yes father."He replied and got up.

I got up after him and after another round of good night's James walked me to my car. I handed him the keys happy to relinquish the responsibility of driving myself when I felt so tired and about to burst from all the food. James unlocked the car and I got into the passengers side strapping myself in. James got behind the wheel and there was just something about seeing him drive my car that just got my own motors running if you catch my drift.

"You are staying at the Twiga resort right?"He asked.

"Yeah."I confirmed and he strapped himself in, before starting the car and we drove off.

There were a few minutes of silence, probably each us waiting for the other so speak first so we did the awkward thing of speaking up at the same time. We laughed it off and I asked James to go ahead and speak first.

"I'm so sorry about my mother. She meddles a lot but she means well."He apologized.

"It's okay I actually like her open personality."I admitted.

"That's good, I didn't want you to think wrongly of us. Hopefully her chatty self didn't chase you away."He asked softly.

"On the contrary, I will pass by more to get tales of you and your love for bugs."I teased chuckling and he groaned.

"Well as long as it gets you to come back, I don't mind."He confessed and I smiled.

It was easy talking to James one on one. I thought it was going to be awkward but it wasn't. I decided to just ask him directly about his relationship status before our friendship could blossom. I'd never be able to be just friends with him until I got over my crush on him.

"I do have a question though, it's a little personal."I started.

"Shoot.At this point I don't think there's anything I can't tell you because you'll probably get it from my mother."He joked and I laughed softly before sobering up fast to ask my question.

"Does your mom know you're in a relationship?"I asked her and his shocked gaze whipped towards me fast before he realized he was the one driving and turned his attention back to the road.

"I'm dating?" He asked as if he didn't quite know the answer himself.

"You aren't?"

"No that I know off. Where did you get the idea that I was in a relationship from?"

"The girl you were talking to earlier when you arrived."I mumbled and now it was my turn to feel embarrassed.

He groaned"You must mean Nalu, she's not my girlfriend. I'd marry one my cows before I dated her. She's just a girl my mom tried to set me up with once and doesn't get the concept of what the word no means."He explained and I couldn't help but feel happy now that I knew he was single.

My feelings for him were legal and I could crush on him and not feel guilty about it.

"Well it is nice to know that if I do develop an interest in you, I do have your mother's blessings."I joked and we both laughed.

"You'll have no competition whatsoever."He added and I smiled.

I took that as a hint of him actually admitting that he was interested too. Looks like we were headed in the right direction after all. It was silent for a while after that both of us lost in our own heads. The roads were pitch black except for the lights on my car. I think I saw a leopard but it was too dark to be sure so I shrugged it off.

James was the first one to break the silence this time.

"Jack and Jasper told me you passed by the Sanctuary. I'm sorry I wasn't there, I was caught up working all day."He apologized kindly.

How courteous of him to say sorry over something he had no control of.

"It's okay, the boys were a delight after I got them to actually start talking to me. They gave me a tour of the place and I got to known them better."I replied .

"It used to look better but we're running low on cash and what little we can save goes to medicine so there's barely any left for renovations."He explained.

"Well the good thing is that I'm here now. The sanctuary was not in my plans but I'm sure I can work something out and help you."I offered and his whole face lit up.

"You mean it?"He asked with the excitement of a kid getting candy on Halloween.

"Yeah it's kind of what I'm here for anyway."

He gave me one of his heartwarming smiles and I swooned"That's right. I don't have much to offer honestly but what you're doing is going to be great for the whole community so if there is anything at all I can do to help you out, don't hesitate to let me know."

"I'm sure you have a lot to give, you just don't know it yet and I'll definitely take you up on that offer soon."I replied.

The drive ended too fast for my liking and soon enough we were pulling into the resorts parking lot. We both got out of the car and James handed me my keys. I realized that I was still wearing his Shuka so I moved to untie it so I could give it back to him but he stopped me.

"Keep it."

"Are you sure?" I asked just to be kind because I really did want to keep it without looking too eager about it.

"I insist please, I feel like it's too little for what you are going to be doing for us."

"I'm not doing it for the fame or gifts but if you can hook me up with a few bracelets that would be awesome."I joked and we both laughed.

"It will be my pleasure."

"So do you want me to wait until we meet twice more so I can have your number or?"I trailed off and he looked at me clearly embarrassed.

I didn't mean to embarrass him but at the same time I didn't want to blatantly ask him for his number so I had to be smart about how I went about it.

He held his hand out and I handed him my phone after unlocking it. He input his digits and dialed himself handing it back to me.

"Well now that I have your mother's blessings and your number we can start the wedding preparations."I teased and James burst out laughing.

I don't think I'd ever tire when it came to hearing him laugh. It was beautiful and melodic, probably had healing qualities too because I always felt warm inside when he laughed.

"You are a unique one Lulu."He smiled after composing himself.

"I know and don't you forget it."

"I won't."

"Goodnight James."

"Goodnight Lulu, sweet dreams."

"You too and just to keep the mystery alive we'll leave the hugging and kissing for the wedding night."I delivered one last joke before turning around and walked to my cabin the sound of James laughter echoing behind me.

I didn't turn around for fear of following him to his house unable to resist his charms. I was crushing on the man hard and at that rate, falling for him would be easy. Boy was I screwed considering it was only my second day with him. Seemed way longer though, as if I'd known him forever. Well you know what they say, when it's right it's right and what James and I had felt right so we were on the right track.

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Who else loves Naeku and her meddling self because I know I do.

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Love@Lyssah.