Lucius falls into step next to me. “So you don’t just play Metallica to cacti? You converse with them as well?”
“Cactuses,” I say. “And yes, I do. Do you have a problem with that?”
He regards me seriously. “I think it’s cute.”
My stomach feels fluttery, like a cactus flower being pollinated by a hummingbird.
I dampen my dry lips. “Is this another inspiration from the Getty Center?”
He c***s his head. “How so?”
I blink at him. “You’ve never seen the cactus garden there? That’s the most beautiful spot in all of LA.” I turn to his cactuses. “Or the second most.”
He examines his cactuses as if for the first time. “I think I’ll hire the garden designer I used for my home to help with Novus Rome.”
I reluctantly drag my gaze away from the majestic beings that are his cactuses. “Novus Rome
