Page 165 of The Husband Game

“Nor should you! He should be mocked mercilessly until the end of time.”

Charlie grinned. He was definitely going to like Emily Fowler.

“So, how’s skating going?” he asked.

“Oh, you know …” She sighed. “Tiring. Lots of travel, too little sleep, no social life.”

But she was glowing.

“You love it, don’t you?” he asked.

“Every second of it.” She studied his face, biting her lip. “Is it rude if I ask why you quit? You don’t have to tell me but I am curious.”

“I stopped loving it,” he admitted. “And it stopped being healthy for me. It was making me miserable and I was up there on the medal podium with someone draping a silver medal around my neck and I was totally numb. It felt completely meaningless. I stood there and thought, ‘why am I putting myself through this when I don’t even care?’.”

“So you quit.”

“Yes.” Charlie had given her the sanitized version but it was still more honest than he usually was with people about it. “And I’ve never regretted it.”

Emily gave him a little smile and patted his thigh. “Good. I’m glad you did what you needed to do.”

“So am I.” He smiled back. “Tell me about your current skating program.”

For a long time, he hadn’t wanted to hear things like that. He hadn’t even wanted to hear Taylor talk about his shows. But now Charlie could listen without feeling anything.

It didn’t hurt to listen to someone else talk about their skating. It didn’t make him miss it either. It was completely neutral.

Which felt … great. It was a relief to simply hear someone talk about skating like it was anything else.

Charlie glanced over and saw Dustin’s parents cuddling. Their heads were bent together and her hand rested on his leg.

They seemed like a close family.

Of course, Charlie knew appearances could be deceiving. People had thought his mom was his best friend.

Which should have been a red flag because that wasn’t healthy when he was a kid.

But the Fowlers didn’t set off any red flags. And Dustin seemed as well adjusted as anyone.

The way he talked about his family, the way he interacted with them, it all felt normal and healthy.

There was love and respect and good-natured teasing that never ventured into cruelty. They reminded him of Taylor’s family, actually. Which was about the highest compliment Charlie could give anyone.

The lights dimmed and the crowd roared, signaling the beginning of the game.

“Ohh, they’re starting.” Emily patted his thigh again.

Charlie’s heart beat fast with excitement and he clapped loudly, whistling when they called out. “Your team captain, number twenty-seven, Dustinnn Fowlerrr.”

Meredith shot him a happy grin as she glanced over and Charlie felt this little sigh of relief go through him. As nervous as he’d been about them liking him, he now felt pretty confident they did.

Excitement built as he watched the game. These seats gave him a great top-down view of the ice and he cheered as loudly as anyone when Toronto scored their first goal.

Some people got up and wandered around, grabbing drinks, eating, and catching up with people they hadn’t seen in a while. But Charlie was glued to the action of the game.

He hadn’t been much of a hockey fan before Jamie and Taylor started dating but Charlie loved it now. And it was wild to think he was married to the guy skating below.

He enjoyed watching Dustin dart around on the ice, lightning-fast and fluid.

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