Chapter One
NOLAN MIGHThave jumped the gun.
He stood on the set ofWake Up with Stacey Lewis, staring at a blandly decorated nook that he was supposed to spruce up. The nook was basically a corner made of two fake walls, inside of which were a bare twin bed and a beige love seat. One of the fake walls had a window with a curtain rod hanging above it. Behind the other one were a few bins of products that bore his name. After some small talk with Stacey Lewis herself, his task would be to decorate the nook using his own branded curtains and bedding and a few random accessories. And he only had about twenty minutes to do it.
Two years ago he could have done this in his sleep, especially since some producer had already chosen home accessories in colors that complemented each other and weeded out the few wacky pieces in Nolan’s collection. For a few years there, he’d dropped by Stacey’s show a couple times a month to give her audience home-decorating tips. He was Nolan Hamlin, after all. Interior designer to the stars.
And yet….
This was his first television appearance in over a year. He and Stacey were old friends, which was why he’d chosen to end his not-exactly-planned hiatus with her. But now that he was here, he didn’t feel confident he could do this.
But it was too late. Stacey walked over and gave him a hug. When she stepped back, she said, “We’re on in less than two minutes. You ready?”
No. “As I’ll ever be.”
Behind the camera, the director said, “Thirty seconds.”
The director signaled that the live studio audience should applaud; then he signaled the show was back live. Stacey said, “Good morning again, everyone. It is my great pleasure to welcome back a dear friend to the show—interior designer to the stars, Nolan Hamlin!” She paused for the audience to hoot and holler for a moment. “It’s been a long time, Nolan.”
“It has, yes.” He knew how to do this, so he smiled and gave a little wave to the audience.
Stacey never looked away from the camera. She grinned and said, “To make Nolan feel at home, I’ve given him a little challenge. Look at this dull little room.” She gestured toward the nook. “We’re going to brush off Nolan’s rusty design skills and give him fifteen minutes to spruce this up using home goods from the Nolan Hamlin Collection, available at fine retailers across the country. Once he’s made this roomfabulous, we’ll chat with him about what he’s up to these days. Sound good?”
The audience cheered.
“You up for the challenge, Nolan?”
“I am.” But that was a lie. It was like he’d forgotten everything he knew about textiles and accessorizing.
“All right. We’re putting fifteen minutes on the clock….” She gestured toward a massive digital clock offstage. “And your time starts… now!”
As he’d been instructed, Nolan ducked behind one of the fake walls and started rifling through the bins of sheets and afghans. He heard Stacey say, “We’ll check in with Nolan later. But when we come back…. Jessica Benton is here!”
The audience cheered for the actress; then the director yelled, “Cut. We’re clear!”
But Nolan still only had fifteen minutes, so he started ripping the plastic off the bedding he wanted to use. Then he spotted a rug rolled up and propped against the fake wall, and that was just what belonged on the floor. The colors would pull the room together, if he used the dark brown throw on the sofa and the white-and-teal bedding.
Maybe he did still know how to do this.
He signaled to a stage hand to help him move the rug, then asked the guy to hold up the bed while he slid the rug under it. He could feel the camera pan by him as the show came back from the commercial break, but he ignored it.
He kept an eye on the giant clock and managed to make the fake room look reasonable. He went for beiges and browns to go with the sofa, but with little pops of teal. He picked curtains, a throw, and pillows for texture, he put a lamp with a teal base on the side table, and he added a jade-colored bookend on a shelf with some books because he liked how the jade went with the bedding, a big puffy down duvet with a cover that was clean and white with a single teal stripe through the middle.
He stood back and admired his work when he had about a minute to go. Best room he’d ever done? Hardly, but he’d had limited materials to work with. It almost didn’t matter; the important thing was that Nolan was engaging with the public again. And his appearance here was kind of an advertisement for his products anyway. Plus, he had to promote his new TV show. So, yeah, this little fake room was basic, but in his experience, a lot of people were allergic to color, so his most recent collection was pretty neutral.
Truth be told, his whole life had been colorless for the past year.
Across the stage, Stacey said, “And when we come back, we’ll check in with Nolan Hamlin!”
A moment later she jogged across the stage and looked at the nook.
Feeling suddenly self-conscious, Nolan said, “If I’d had more time, I would have steamed the bedding. I don’t love that there are still creases in it.”
“It looks great for fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks.” He blew out a breath.
When they came back from commercial, Stacey said, “And we’re back with Nolan Hamlin. If you’re just joining us, I asked Nolan to design this little room for us in fifteen minutes. And it looks fabulous, doesn’t it?” She paused for the audience to applaud. “Tell us about the choices you made here.”
