Page 28 of The Husband Game

One part of the house he didn’t hate at least.

“By the way, I think you mean our bedroom,” Dustin said as he walked up the stairs.

“What?” Charlie asked, freezing midway up the first flight.

Dustin didn’t pause. “Our room. We’re a married couple. Obviously, you’re not sleeping in the guest room.”

“Come on, there has to be like six or seven of them in place this size,” Charlie protested.

“Five bedrooms. The primary, and four guest rooms.”

Charlie rolled his eyes. All for one single man. Well, maybe not single anymore. But still, it was ridiculous for two people.

Though he’d grown up living in far more ostentatious accommodations.

“No one would need to know,” Charlie argued as he plodded behind Dustin, too tired to muster up energy for anything else.

“Uhh, you don’t know what a hockey team is like. Guys are in and out of here all the time.”

“You have a gated entrance and locks on your doors.”

Dustin set down the bags on the landing and turned to look at him. “And the guys I’m close to have the code and keys.”

“You can’t change them? Tell them your new husband wants privacy?”

“They’ll think it’s weird.”

“I think it’s weird we have to worry about strangers busting in whenever they want.”

“They usually text beforehand. And they’re not strangers. They’re my teammates.”

“Look, it’s cute you’re that co-dependent but—”

Dustin rubbed his head. “Charlie, I have a massive headache and I need sleep. Can we please shelve this until morning? Sleep in my room tonight and we can negotiate in the morning. It’s not like we’ve never shared a bed before.”

Yeah, well, Charlie was trying to forget that part, but he could also see Dustin was exhausted and he was too. Whatever. One night wouldn’t kill them.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “Lead the way to our bedroom.”

When they reached the third floor, he was unsurprised to find it as horribly designed as the rest of what he’d seen.

The bed was a hideous four-poster monstrosity and everything in the bathroom was white except for some shiny brass fixtures. Antique brass was one thing, but this was something else.

Cheap and tacky.

“Why did you buy this place?” he asked, appalled.

Dustin dropped their bags on the floor with a tired groan. “Because it has a fantastic home gym, indoor pool, sauna, and golf simulator in the basement.”

“Oh.” That didn’t sound terrible.

Though Charlie hated golf. The rest he’d enjoy.

Dustin looked at him with pleading eyes. “C’mon, can we please get ready for bed? In the morning, we can thoroughly discuss redecorating. But I need sleep before anything else.”

“You’re cranky when you’re tired,” Charlie pointed out, but he did unzip his bag and root through it for his toiletry kit.

Dustin gave him an unamused look. “Let me guess, you don’t want to shower together, either?”

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