“You didn’t answer my question, by the way,” said Grayson.
Nolan pushed off the table and paced a few feet away. “About how much to show of yourself? Show what you’re comfortable with. Garrett is always telling me that people like to get to know the Restoration Channel hosts. Actually, the fact that we’re both single is not ideal, because the viewership loves families. But just doing this show is already putting myself out there more than I feel ready for.”
Grayson bit his lip. Such terrible timing. He kept forgetting that Nolan’s husband had passed away only a year ago. He knew also that most of the Restoration Channel hosts were couples. The highest-rated show on the network right then was about a heterosexual couple who renovated old houses in Georgia and tended to their large flock of children.
“Who’s to say two single gay guys can’t make houses fabulous and rake in the viewers doing it?” said Grayson.
Nolan laughed. “Well, I think if we’re going to be successful, we need to meet in the middle. I will try to be less stubborn when you volunteer ideas, and I’ll mentor you on the rest. Deal?”
“Yeah, deal.” Grayson held out his hand.
Nolan grasped it in both of his. Grayson was alarmed by how soft and warm Nolan’s hands were. But he reveled in it too. He looked up and met Nolan’s gaze. They stared at each other for a long moment.
It seemed possible for a fleeting second that Nolan Hamlin was attracted to Grayson, but there was so much in this situation that was not conducive to romance.
And yet.
Nolan smiled and took his hands away. “We’re meeting the Robertses at a coffeehouse in New Jersey tomorrow to go over the plans. The car leaves at ten. Can you be here maybe a half hour before that, so we can make sure we’ve got everything ready before we leave?”
“Yeah, no problem.” Grayson felt dazed. He packed up his things and slung his messenger bag over his shoulder as Nolan neatly stacked everything they’d need for the next day on the table. Then he followed Nolan out of the studio. They parted ways when they got to Ninth Avenue, which gave Grayson plenty of time to contemplate what had just happened.
A long moment of eye contact probably didn’t mean anything. Or it could mean everything.
Chapter Six
FOR THEfirst episode ofResidential Rehab, the show would be borrowing contractor Travis Rogers, who worked on a house-flipping show calledDomestic Do-Over. Travis lived in Brooklyn and had some rough edges, but it became clear to Nolan fairly quickly that the guy knew his stuff.
Travis trailed Nolan and Grayson as they toured the house again for the cameras. The Robertses had signed off on Nolan’s new floor plan and color story, so they were good there. The issue now was what it was going to cost, because any time Nolan suggested something, Travis said, “Are you sure that’s in the budget?”
Now they stood back in the living room. Travis frowned at the kitchen entry. “This wall has to come down,” he said, placing his hand on the wall between the kitchen and living room. “I’d like to get an engineer in here to verify, but I don’t believe it’s load-bearing. If we do cabinets along the opposite wall and put a big island where the wall is currently, I think we have a good kitchen layout. Are we replacing the floors?”
“I want to do the same flooring throughout the first floor,” said Nolan.
Travis frowned. “Hardwood?”
“That’s my preference. Nothing in the house is really salvageable. And the linoleum in the kitchen is hideous.”
“Be smart about your materials choices and we can get it done within budget. If you do vinyl plank flooring instead of wood and prefab kitchen cabinets instead of custom, that’s already a big savings.”
“Can you price all that out for us? Give us some options?”
“No problem.” Travis wrote some notes on his clipboard. “Unless you want to tear down more walls or we find anything scary, this job seems pretty straightforward. I didn’t see any mold or water damage, so that’s good. The plumbing and electrical look up to code. Digging into a kitchen this old could unearth some nastiness, but we’ll deal with that when we see it.” Then he shook his head and chuckled. “It’s almost refreshing to work on a house that’snotover a hundred years old. The houses we’ve worked on for my show are all so ancient, I’m almost afraid to open up walls. You wouldn’t believe the horrors I’ve discovered. This house was built, what, midseventies?”
“Yeah.”
“So most of the work is aesthetic. And you guys, unlike my boyfriend, actually like designing with color, so this project should be fun.”
“We’re calling the theme ‘Jersey Shore Sunset.’”
Travis grinned. “I like it, but say that five times fast.”
Grayson held back through most of this conversation. He seemed to be out of his depth with the actual process of renovating the house. Although renovation wasn’t Nolan’s area of expertise either, he’d picked up enough knowledge over the years that he could hold his own in a conversation with Travis.
“Anyway,” said Travis, “try to keep your expectations in check. This is a retired couple in the suburbs, not one of your Hollywood clients. You’re going to have to compromise your design for the sake of cost.”
Nolan knew that intellectually, but he realized he’d been mentally designing the space as if he had an unlimited budget. He glanced at Grayson, who was looking around at the kitchen and typing on his phone. “All right. What do you think you can do within budget?”
Travis walked Nolan through what he thought they could do. Then Grayson walked over and asked for a piece of paper. After Travis gave him one, he wandered off. Nolan wondered if Grayson was aware the cameras were on. As Travis and Nolan finished, Grayson returned and handed Travis a sketch.
