Nolan, of course, had a little sugar bowl that perfectly coordinated with everything else in the kitchen. It matched the row of canisters near the coffee maker, all of them green with a swirly white pattern painted on. They looked handmade and probably were. Grayson got a mug down—there was a set in the same shade of green next to a few mismatched ones—dumped a spoonful of sugar into the cup, and then poured in some coffee.
He sat back down at the table, and thirty seconds later Nolan placed a plate loaded with pancakes and bacon before him. Somehow a little gravy boat full of warm syrup was already on the table. Grayson didn’t totally understand this witchcraft, but he wasn’t mad at it.
He was a few bites into his pancakes when Nolan joined him.
“So good,” Grayson said with his mouth full.
Nolan smiled and sliced into his own pancakes with a fork. “Glad you like it.”
“Doyouhave big plans for today?” Grayson asked.
“No, not particularly. I’m having dinner with a friend tonight, but otherwise the day’s free for whatever.”
“A friend?”
Nolan raised an eyebrow. “A lady friend.” He ate a slice of bacon. “I just told you I haven’t had any sexual desire for anyone in a year, and you still assume I’m seeing another man?”
“I’m not saying my jealousy is rational. I’m just saying, you’re really hot and I like you a lot. But also, we only met, like, five minutes ago, so it’s notwrongif youareseeing someone else.”
“I’m not.”
“I’m not either. Just, like, for the record.”
“So do you want to do something together today?”
“Sure. What did you have in mind?”
Nolan tilted his head and ate a few more bites. “I hadn’t really thought that through all the way yet. All I know is that the idea of you headed back to Brooklyn right away made me sad.”
Who knew Nolan could be so cute? “Aw, babe. Well, I do have to go home eventually because that’s where all my clothes are, and the staff at the Restoration Channel are gonna get real suspicious if I repeat an outfit. Did you know that Helena said my fashion showed I was creative and I should really go all out when dressing for filming?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m guessing you have a whole closet of, like, dark T-shirts and khakis.”
“Not quite, but I always preferred decorating rooms to decorating myself. So I guess my wardrobe is a bit… simple.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It works for me, though. Not everyone needs to wear color. When I launched the home goods line, I was trying to appeal to housewives in middle America. Even some of my celebrity clients are afraid of color. Well, except this one pop star I won’t name, who loves animal prints. That was a rough project. I hate animal prints.”
Grayson laughed. “Me too.”
“But my point is, I guess I got used to looking a little more… safe.”
“Ah, I see.”
Nolan put his fork down. “What do you see?”
“When was the first time you appeared on TV?”
“I don’t know. Probably about twelve years ago. I was, uh, twenty-eight or twenty-nine when I didOprahthe first time. Ish. Math, I don’t know. It all blends together.”
“Okay. And you were out then? It wasn’t a secret that you bang dudes.”
Nolan narrowed his eyes. “Yes, I was out. Where are you going with this?”
“If you were openly gay on TV twelve years ago, and onOprahand theToday Showno less, then you had to be a safe gay. The sweet guy ladies go shopping with who tells them they look fabulous—not a guy who is in any way unusual or who has a sex drive.”
