Page 45 of The Husband Game

The couples had probably wanted some alone time but single guys like Dom and Matty usually stayed later.

Of course, maybe they’d assumed he and Charlie would want some alone time too.

Dustin hadn’t quite wrapped his head around the idea he was no longer a single man.

He turned to look at Charlie.

He was curled up with his legs tucked under him, staring at the nearby pool with a half-smile on his face. He was tucked into a small bundle Dustin wanted to pull into his arms.

Charlie had been quite the social butterfly today, flitting about the party and chatting with people. He appeared comfortable and at ease with Dustin’s team and their families and Dustin had nearly lost his mind with the pool stunt.

He’d never forget the image of Charlie in those delicious candy-colored briefs gone nearly transparent from the water. But Dustin had no one to blame but himself. He’d started it.

He liked that Charlie gave back as good as he got though.

“Thank you,” Dustin said, unsure of how to broach the topic of what he knew they needed to discuss.

Charlie turned his head, looking puzzled. “For what?”

“For being such a good sport about this party being sprung on you.”

‘’Like I said, your team is nice.”

“They really are.” Dustin took a deep breath. “We should probably discuss some stuff though.”

“Having second thoughts about being married to me?” Charlie’s voice was light, almost teasing, but it was too dark for Dustin to really see his eyes.

“Uh, no.” Dustin rubbed a towel through his still-damp hair, then combed it down with his fingers. “Not at all what I was thinking. I wanted to discuss the … people wandering in and out of my—our—house thing.”

“Oh.” Charlie shifted so he faced Dustin. “That’s definitely not something I’m used to. I mean, Taylor and I are pretty casual, but we shared a teeny-tiny apartment and we still gave each other privacy when we had company over. Or at least we, uh, tried.”

“Right. I get that.” Dustin winced. “I—I feel like I should apologize. The more I think about it, the more I realize this whole ‘staying married and moving to Toronto with me’ situation was sprung on you under the worst circumstances with no real time to make the decision. I wish we’d been able to do that differently. You’ve gotta feel like your life is totally out of your control right now.”

Charlie nodded. “It’s going to be an adjustment.”

“But I want to do better. My life is …” Dustin raked a hand through his hair, probably messing it up again. “My life is hockey. It has been for as long as I can remember.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Charlie said. “I’ve spent enough time around Jamie to have some idea of what you’re dealing with.”

“Some idea, sure,” Dustin agreed. “But Jamie isn’t team captain. And no shade to him because he’s a great guy and a great hockey player, but there isn’t the same level of scrutiny for him. Chicago, Evanston … they’re different markets than Toronto. Those teams might have half a dozen reporters to deal with after a game. I easily have triple that. Plus I’ve got signings, interviews, various charity events … it’s a lot. I want you to be prepared for what’s coming.”

“Okay.” A little frown furrowed Charlie’s brow and Dustin resisted the urge to reach over and smooth it away with his thumb.

“There’s a lot riding on this upcoming season. We won the Cup two years ago, and then we lost to Evanston last year. We’ve got some great pieces on our team but we can’t seem to figure out how to make it all gel on the ice. I think we’ve spent too long relying on our star players and not really figuring out how to work as a team. With Noah Boucher gone, Macky—uh, Anton Makarov—has stepped into his role as our starting goaltender really well, but he can’t carry the whole team.”

“Okay …” Charlie said slowly.

Dustin rubbed his hands across his face. “I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I haven’t always been the leader I need to be. I completely missed what was going on with Gabriel Theriault. With his dad’s CTE diagnosis and what he was struggling with.”

“I’ve heard him talk about this team,” Charlie said softly. “I don’t think he blames you.”

“I know. He’s told me as much too. I should have been better though. When Boucher was here, he was … he was the one who knew how to keep the guys going. The one who inspired them. And since he’s been gone, I feel like I haven’t been enough. I—I have to do better this coming season.”

“I understand that.” Charlie’s tone was kind. “And I, uh, sort of knew about the Boucher thing.”

Dustin shot him a quizzical glance and Charlie offered him a sheepish look in return. “One of your teammates mentioned it.”

Dustin chuckled. “Let me guess, Nico?”

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