Page 33 of The Husband Game

“Yeah, man, you’re back in town. Charlie’s here. We were cheated out of giving you a bachelor party and a wedding reception. We’ve at least gotta do something. I mean, a lot of the European and American guys are gone for the summer or whatever but some of the boys are still in town. We should celebrate!”

“We could do a barbeque later,” Dustin offered.

“We could?” Charlie asked faintly.

“Well, yeah. I called ahead before we left Vegas and the pool’s clean and they stocked the fridge. I didn’t plan on a party, but we can always get a grocery delivery for anything else we need.”

“Sweet!” Matty jumped out of bed. He moved surprisingly fast for a man that big. “I’ll text the group chat.”

“Um, is no one going to consult me about this?” Charlie asked tightly.

“Sorry, kitten.” Dustin kissed the top of Charlie’s head, holding him close when he would have wiggled away. “I should have checked in with you. It’ll take me a little time to get used to that. Are you okay with having people over this afternoon?”

Charlie had planned on unpacking and getting settled in, but he supposed that didn’t all have to be done today. And it sounded like he wouldn’t have to worry about food for the party and if they were going to sell this, he supposed they might as well hit the ground running.

“Sure, why not?” He pasted a smile onto his face. “It’ll be great to meet your team.”

“Thanks.” Dustin kissed his head again, then climbed out of bed, apparently not caring that he wore nothing but underwear.

Charlie eyeballed him guiltily. Matty might have the best ass in the NHL, but Dustin was no slouch.

“And the WAGs, er PAWs, will be here too.” Matty said absently, big fingers flying over the keyboard of his phone. “I told everyone 3 p.m.”

“Right. Them too.” Fuck.

“Why do you call Charlie kitten, by the way?” Matty asked, stuffing his phone in his pocket and shooting Dustin a curious glance.

“Oh, it just seemed to fit him.” Dustin strolled toward the bathroom and Charlie’s eyes widened at the sight of his back.

Matty let out a hoot. “Oh, now I see why.”

Dustin’s back was covered with pink scratches. They hadn’t broken the skin but apparently, they were deep enough to linger because it had been two days. Charlie had a vague memory of Dustin on top of him and the way he’d dug into Dustin’s back right when he hit that sweet spot.

“Maybe you should call him Tiger,” Matty said slyly, with a wink to Charlie.

“Huh?” Dustin turned to look at them. “What are you talking about?”

Charlie smiled sweetly. “It looks like I left my mark on you on our wedding night, shnookums.”

There was a full-length mirror a few feet away and Dustin walked over, turning his back to it, and looking over his shoulder.

When he was done inspecting the damage, he wet his lips, smirking at Charlie. “Hmm. Looks like you did, Tiger.”

* * *

Dustin carried a tray of food downstairs to the pool area later that afternoon and surveyed the space.

Maybe the upstairs was kind of hideous but he fucking loved the lower level of his house. The lot was sloped, so the front entrance to the home was on the second floor, but one side of the basement was on ground level and opened into the back yard.

There was a workout area, some table games, a golf simulator with a mini putting green, a roomy sauna, and an indoor pool, complete with a slide. Most of the space was open, or divided by huge sheets of glass, so it was light and bright and the perfect entertaining space for the team.

It was what had sold him on the place immediately.

“So, Charlie seems nice,” Matty said as he ambled over. He’d come from the pool area already dressed in swim trunks—probably one of the many pairs he kept here—and reached for a broccoli floret, dunking it in some dip.

“I don’t know that nice is how I’d describe him,” Dustin admitted with a little grin. “But I’m pretty fond of him.”

Matty grinned back. “Obviously, or you wouldn’t have married him.” He popped the food in his mouth and chewed.

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