‘It’s one of my favourite places in LA,’ I added.
‘Yeah?’ Halle frowned like she was surprised.
‘The library and museum are cool but the gardens are my favourite.There’s sixteen different ones over about 130 acres.’
‘That’s a lot!’ she said.‘I can’t wait to see it!’
I pulled my baseball cap out of my short pockets and pulled it down low.I often wore a cap when I went out in public to avoid drawing too much attention.But on a hot day like this it was also good to shield my face from the sun.
We all filed off the bus and Sammie explained that we would get to spend the whole day here.She handed everyone an envelope with cash to cover our lunch and refreshments.I felt like a kid on a school trip, but I wasn’t complaining.Maybe I could even save the cash to use once I left.
Thinking about how far I’d fallen made me wince.I’d gone from having millions to having to save a fifty bucks lunch allowance because I didn’t know how I’d be able to pay for the most basic things after my hotel stay was over.
Things were bad.
Which was exactly why coming here today was what I needed.Spending time exploring the gardens would help me forget about what just happened on the bus and all my other worries.
As the rest of the group filed off in different directions, Halle faced me.
‘So do you come here often?’
‘You hitting on me?’ I asked, my mouth tipping up in the corner.
‘What?’ She frowned.‘Ohhh…’ Halle slapped her forehead.‘That did sound like a bad chat-up line!What I meant was…’
‘Whether I came here often?’ I joked.
‘Yeah.But in a non-chatting-you-up kind of way.’
‘I know.I’m justtaking the piss!’
‘Good one,’ she grinned and my chest inflated.
Every.Single.Time.
Halle’s smile was gonna be the death of me.
‘To answer your question,yes. I come here as often as I can.’ I led Halle through to the Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science.
‘Whoa.’ Her eyes widened as she stepped inside.‘This is like a massive greenhouse.’
‘Yep.There’s different types of habitat here: a tropical rainforest, cloud forest and a carnivorous plant bog and a lab.People can study plants from all over the world here.Let’s go to the rainforest, there’s a plant there that I’d like you to see.’
‘I wouldn’t have put you down as a guy who loves flowers and gardens.’ She raised her eyebrow.
‘Gardening is one of my favourite things to do.’
‘You’re joking, right?’
‘No.Why do you find that so hard to believe?’
‘Because you’re a rockstar.A bad boy.A love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy.I thought you’d prefer touching different women in bed rather than tending to flower beds!’
I stopped in my tracks.
‘That’swhat you think about me?’ I ground my jaw and Halle’s face fell.
‘Sorry.I didn’t mean to offend you.It’s just what I…’
