Andrew stared back into Jeffrey’s green eyes and said, “Thank you for the sentiment, but I say no way no how. He’s adorable, but he’s straight.”

“You’re sure of that?” asked Jeffrey. “Just a few days ago you told us that your gaydar was pinging like wild.”

“Maybe it’s broken,” grumbled Andrew. “I need a cup of coffee. You’re here early, too. What is it, 6:00 a.m.?”

“7:30,” said Jeffrey as he followed Andrew into the kitchen of the house that held their offices. He asked, “Do you want Doug and I to keep an eye on him at the meeting and see what we think?”

Andrew slipped a cup into the coffee maker and said, “If one of you wants to date him, then yes, I guess you should take a look. Don’t knock yourselves out on my behalf.”

“We’re not that desperate,” said Jeffrey.

As the freshly-brewed coffee dribbled into a mug, Andrew looked into Jeffrey’s eyes and asked, “Are you sure about that?”

Jeffrey laughed. “Just because I’m alone doesn’t mean I’m lonely.”

“How many years have you been saying that?” asked Andrew.

“It’s still the truth.”

Andrew took his mug of coffee and said, “I’ve been wondering if we should update the appliances in here sometime soon. I’m sure Stan would give us some cash to resell them in his shop, and we could probably deduct most of the rest of the cost. The technology changes so fast, and keeping up to date is only serving our customers better when they ask about what we are talking about.”

Jeffrey furrowed his brow, “What’s wrong with these? Everybody is blown away by the gas stove and the extra oven. They love the wide refrigerator.”

“Things change with time. We need to keep up,” said Andrew.

“I think it sounds like you’re looking for a distraction. Why don’t you go to your office and play some music and dance it off? Maybe that will help you settle down and start thinking about how to decorate that house.”

Andrew said, “Come sit with me on the deck for awhile. Where is Doug? Is he taking the day off?”

Jeffrey shrugged. “I don’t really know. He said something about picking up something special. He added that he would be here this afternoon and share with both of us.”

“That’s cryptic, isn’t it? What do you think it is? A new blue peony? Or maybe the latest gargantuan-leaved water lily?”

Laughing, Jeffrey said, “I don’t think it has anything to do with work, but yeah, he was a little cryptic. I’m curious to see what it is. If he’s proud of it, just be sure to be supportive. You know how Doug can get sometimes.”

Andrew held the back of his hand to his forehead. He said, “I sure do, but I love him for it. I’ll be polite. I’m always polite, right?”

“I’ll refrain from any further comments,” said Jeffrey. He settled into a chair on the deck and said, “I hope your disappointment with our new client…What did you say his name is?”

“Vincent,” answered Andrew. Even in his frustration, he still liked the way the name sounded on his tongue.

“Vincent,” repeated Jeffrey. “I hope your disappointment with him doesn’t impair your work on the project.”

Andrew shrugged. “I’m over all of that already. It won’t have any impact at all. I’ll tell you why I’m dead set against even bothering finding out for sure just how straight he is. I’ve had experience in this area. I dated a man that was previously married to a woman, remember?”

“Oh? Which one was that?” asked Jeffrey.

“It was Robert,” said Andrew.

Jeffrey opened his eyes wide in surprise. “Robert? That guy that totally flipped out when you broke up? The one who had his teenage son and friends egg my van? That guy was crazy. How do you judge anyone based on him?”

Andrew crossed his arms over his chest. He said, “Robert was married to a woman before he dated me. They got divorced a year before we dated. Those guys can be a little crazy.”

“So he was still on the rebound, too?” asked Jeffrey. “Maybe you should just stay away from anyone. I think there was questionable judgment on your part in that case. I’ll be taking a good look at Vincent.”

Andrew shook his head again. “There’s no reason for you to do that. It’s over and finished. It’s just a professional relationship from here on out.”

“I think someone is protesting a little loudly,” whispered Jeffrey. He watched Andrew sip his coffee and wondered what qualities in Vincent moved Andrew’s emotions so strongly. Clearly, Vincent was not just an ordinary man.

Andrew asked, “Do you want to see the blueprints for the house before we all meet?”

Jeffrey nodded. “Yes, I would. With those in hand, I might have some very detailed ideas to present to Vincent. Maybe we could work together on some preliminary 3-D renderings. Did you have a strategy for the interior?”

“The first plan of action is to get rid of the ghastly chair rails and cornices. The house is not Victorian at all, and it never will be regardless of what anyone does inside. We might keep a couple of the pieces of furniture. I think the little girl is in love with one of the chairs, but I want simple baseboards and to make the ceiling light fixtures mid-century focal points. I think we can keep the colors simple and light. The star of the public space needs to be those trees outside. They have enough color and drama for the entire house. The rest needs to scream simple.”

“So the primary work that you want me to do is with the surface of the walls?” asked Jeffrey.

Andrew said, “I want you to look at the house and look at the plans, and we should think about whether we can open up things even more on the main floor. They did a competent job with the master suite, but I think the living room, dining room, and kitchen space still feels a little carved up to me. There is also vintage siding outside, and I would like you to take a look at that.”

“Vincent has an idea what all of this can cost?”

Andrew said, “I threw out a $50-100,000 figure, and he didn’t blink.”

Jeffrey nodded and said, “That’s a good budget figure. We might even be able to turn the house into a nominee for awards with the upper end of that amount. Can you see if we could get in there at the latest Wednesday morning? I’m very intrigued now. I want some time without the client around to take a good long look at the house.”

“You mean you don’t want him around when you stare at a perfectly good wall and sigh because it looks like it has termite damage?” asked Andrew.

“Yes, that kind of thing,” said Jeffrey.

“Well, fortunately, they had a termite inspection, and it came back clean, but I agree. We can give the entire house a good looking over when Vincent is busy at work.”

“Interestingly,” said Jeffrey. “There is another project I’m trying to snare that would be upgrading an old Queen Anne just off of Park Avenue. It’s a grand dame of a house that hasn’t seen quality care through the past few decades. The owners were an elderly couple who couldn’t financially manage the needed upkeep. The new owners got it for a steal, and a friend of a friend suggested I take a look.”

“Oh, that does sound fascinating. I wonder if we could salvage any of Vincent’s unneeded furniture for it.”

“That’s possible,” said Jeffrey. “This is a much larger house, and the owners are willing to spend a lot to bring it back to happier times. I spoke briefly with one of the owners on the phone, and he said they wanted move-in ready at first, but then they fell in love with this house. There are rumors the upstairs rooms are haunted, and that just intrigued him even more.”

Andrew raised an eyebrow, “Haunted?”

“Yes, by the ghost of a young woman,” said Jeffrey. “You don’t believe in ghosts, do you?”

“I…sorta do. My grandparents’ house had a ghost in the basement.”

Jeffrey laughed, and then the laughter trailed off with a nervous catch. “You know I sorta do, too.

The sound of a car turning into the driveway made both of them jump. Andrew held his hand to his heart and then sighed with relief when he said, “It’s Doug! Now we’ll get to see what he brought us for the big surprise.”

Doug energetically hopped out of the car and then dragged something across the front seat. It was a sizable carrier.

Jeffrey whispered, “That’s a pet carrier.” He stood and climbed down the steps from the deck.

Doug said, “Hey, Jeffrey, Andrew. As my two best friends, I wanted you to meet Sam before anybody else.”

“Sam?” asked Andrew.

Doug opened the door to the carrier and out stepped a small dog. The dog sniffed at the trio of men and turned its head first one way and then the other before sitting on his haunches and looking up at them.

“A dog?” asked Andrew.

“A corgi to be exact,” said Doug. “Yes, he’s a dog, and he’s named Sam. He’s almost a year old but still a puppy at heart. The owners were planning to keep him along with the mother, but then they decided they only wanted one dog. My friend Jackie suggested they contact me. When I met Sam, I fell in love.”

“If you can’t find a man, a dog is the next best option?” asked Andrew as he reached his hand down to scratch Sam behind the ears. The dog scooted forward to allow Andrew better access. Andrew beamed and said, “I think he likes me.”

Doug said, “He’s not a replacement for a man. I still have hope.”

“The years are ticking by,” said Jeffrey. “That is a cute little dog. Are you planning to bring him to work every day?”

“I was going to ask both of you about that,” said Doug. “I think Sam is well-behaved. He might even be able to charm some of our customers.”

“He’s certainly charmed me,” said Andrew.