Page 190 of The Husband Game

He found Ryan Hartinger waiting in the hall. “Beating my team on our jersey retirement night? Cold, Fowler.”

Dustin grinned and hugged him. “Congratulations, man. Great ceremony earlier. I got a little choked up.”

“Thanks. And tell me about it. I was a fucking mess. It’s a little surreal though, you know?”

“Good though?” Dustin asked.

“Yeah, great stuff.” Ryan beamed. “It was a hell of a night. So, are you joining us for the after party?”

As much as Dustin hoped to take Charlie back to Jamie and Taylor’s place and give him the orgasms he’d promised—three, to match the hat trick he’d gotten tonight—they’d been invited to meet the guys at the local bar to celebrate the number retirement.

“Let me check with Charlie,” he said. “But probably.”

When he finally found Charlie, he agreed they should go.

“Sorry,” Dustin apologized. “I know we kinda had other plans.”

“Hey, I get it,” Charlie said. “This is a big deal for your friends and it’s only going to happen once. Besides, we’ve got our whole lives ahead of us.”

Dustin smiled and kissed the top of his head. “We sure do.”

The party was fun.

It was being held at an upscale bar not far from the arena and they were quickly ushered into a private room.

There was food and drink and numerous toasts, but Dustin was surprised when Zane Murphy, the former Evanston River Otters’ captain, lifted his glass to Dustin.

“A toast to Dustin and the hard work he put in to getting the code of conduct passed! We all know how much work there is to be done in the league and this is a great step forward. I’ll be doing my best to make change happen from within Evanston’s front office but it gives me so much peace of mind to know that I can pass the torch to leaders like Dean Tremblay here in Evanston and Dustin Fowler in Toronto and know that our teams are in good hands.”

Charlie squeezed Dustin’s waist and he lifted a glass to acknowledge the toast and the passing of that torch.

“Those are some pretty big skates to fill, Murphy,” Dustin said. “But I’ll do my best.”

From across the room, Noah shot him a smile.

Dustin felt some of the bitter guilt he’d carried with him melt away. If guys like that respected his leadership, maybe he was cut out for it after all.

He glanced down at Charlie’s upturned face to see him looking at him with shining eyes. Best of all, Charlie believed in him.

“To the code of conduct!” Murphy shouted and the crowd echoed it.

Dustin raised his glass again and drank deeply.

“So,” Charlie said when the noise settled down and people had drifted off to chat in small groups again. “I guess this means we don’t actually have to stay married anymore.”

Dustin smirked down at him. “Guess not.”

“Well shoot, what am I doing here with you then? I really should be out looking for my second husband … think Nico would be interested?” Charlie pretended like he was going to pull away.

Dustin squeezed Charlie tight enough to make him squawk. “Don’t even think about it, kitten. You’re married to me. No take-backs.”

“Oh, fine.” Charlie raised up on his toes to kiss his cheek, eyes dancing with amusement. “Guess I can live with that.”

After a little while, they drifted apart, drawn in by other conversations.

Dustin was surprised but pleased by how many people congratulated him on the work he’d done on the code of conduct.

“I heard you got some pushback on it,” Zane Murphy said.

---