Page 14 of The Husband Game

They probably didn’t. Charlie could have continued to pull in endorsement deals after he retired. He could have made a shitload of money if he’d written a tell-all book or done the talk-show circuit.

But he’d been so sick.

The eating disorder that had forced him to cut his skating career short had worn him thin in every single way. He’d been frail physically and mentally. The thought of dealing with more bullshit from the skating world—or worse, having to talk about it—had made his skin crawl.

He’d cut every tie he had to that world, except for Taylor, and spent the time since then getting healthy.

Or, healthier.

He’d had a setback last winter but he was doing better now, and God, this drunken Vegas marriage to Dustin Fowler was the absolute last thing he needed.

The messes you get yourself into, girl, he chastised himself.

Wade was still staring at him, clearly perplexed, and Dustin was too.

Charlie refocused on the task at hand. “What are you proposing, Wade?”

He stifled a laugh at his choice of words. It wasn’t really funny but there was a grim humor to the whole situation.

“Well, the best-case scenario is you and Dustin remaining married and living happily ever after.”

Charlie snorted. “Yeah, don’t hold your breath.”

Dustin shot him a mildly offended look.

“The second-best option would be you and Dustin remaining married for a year,” Wade said. “Once the season is over, you could have a quiet divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, and go your separate ways.”

“A year!” Charlie yelped, then wrinkled his nose. “I can’t even commit to a hairstyle for a year, much less being married to someone.”

“You really know how to make a man feel good about himself,” Dustin muttered. “And you sure weren’t complaining last night.”

No. No Charlie hadn’t been complaining. There’d been a lot of moaning and maybe even some begging—though he’d never, ever admit that aloud—but there hadn’t been a single, solitary complaint.

They’d been drunk as hell but they’d both been enthusiastically into it, that much he could remember.

“Don’t take it so personally,” Charlie said with a roll of his eyes.

Wade let out a tired sigh. “Guys, I know this situation is stressful, to say the least. This is not my typical brand of PR. I don’t want to strong-arm either of you into something that would make you miserable. Charlie, you’re right. It isn’t your job to clean up the messes the NHL has made. Or to protect Dustin’s career.”

“But?”

“But if you were willing to stay married to Dustin and keep up appearances for a while, it could potentially do a lot of good. Dustin’s under a huge amount of pressure right now. In response to the Jack Malone situation, the league has drafted a new code of conduct for players. It hasn’t officially been agreed upon by the NHLPA—that’s the player’s labor union—but they’re in negotiations right now. Dustin was one of the first guys to speak out in support of it and his name carries a great deal of weight in the league.”

“Okay, but Dustin and I getting married and then immediately getting divorced isn’t really on the same level, is it? From what Jamie said, I thought this code of conduct was about the really bad shit like sexual harassment and spousal abuse and GMs covering up horrible stuff. I mean, Dustin’s not like that.”

Dustin looked vaguely surprised by Charlie defending him, which made Charlie feel even worse about how prickly he’d been all morning.

“I mean,” he continued a little lamely. “You get on my nerves, Dustin, but I know you’re not a horrible person.”

“Thanks for the ringing endorsement,” Dustin said drily.

Charlie winced.

Damn it. He kept putting his foot in his mouth.

“You’re right, Charlie,” Wade acknowledged. “Absolutely nothing you two did last night should be equated with Malone’s abuse. However, I think you probably know that the public is not great at nuance. I’m sure you experienced that in your skating career.”

Yeah, okay. He definitely had. And LGBTQ+ athletes or celebrities were always held to much, much higher standards. It wasn’t fair, but Charlie was intimately familiar with how much public perception mattered.

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