Page 46 of The Husband Game

“Yeah, but it wasn’t his fault. I was the one who—”

Dustin waved it off. “Nah, you’re fine. I don’t care. I trust my guys, and you’re welcome to chat with them about me. I have no secrets. Well, other than this huge one about our marriage, anyway. But you’re in on that.” He winked.

“Why are you telling me all this anyway?” Charlie asked. “I mean, it’s fine. We should get to know each other if we’re going to pull this off, but I’m a little confused.”

“I want you to know what to expect. I’m under a lot of pressure. I don’t”—he rubbed a hand over his face again—“I don’t want you to feel like I’m using you.”

“I agreed to let you use me,” Charlie said lightly.

Dustin did his best to ignore the way those words made him feel. “Yeah but … ugh, I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore. I feel like I pushed really hard to have you go along with this plan and now I can’t stop thinking about all of the ways I’ve probably disrupted your life. I want to find a way this will work for both of us.”

“I appreciate that.”

“But the truth is, I’m going to have to ask you for one more thing.”

Charlie stilled, pulling his full lower lip between his teeth. “What’s that?”

“Part of why I bought this house is for the team. Because it’s the perfect place to get people together. Barbecues, pool parties, team events, it’s—it’s because I’m trying to make us even more cohesive. Team bonding and all that. I need the guys to feel like I’m always there for them, no matter what.”

“Ahh. You don’t want to stop all that?”

“Yeah.” Dustin scrubbed at his face, his stubble rasping a little in the quiet night air. “But I know that’s going to impact you. You’re living in a stranger’s house and he’s asking you to sleep in the same bed as him and let other strangers show up unannounced.”

“Definitely not something I’m used to.” Charlie’s voice was dry.

“Right. And I get that. I just don’t know how to balance what I need to do for the team without making you miserable. This situation is weird, but I want to make it as easy for both of us as possible. And I really, really don’t want you to be miserable, Charlie.”

Charlie gave him a faint smile. “I know you don’t. And I don’t want to fight with you constantly either. I know I’ve been kinda sharp in the past few days. All of these changes were making me feel really off-kilter.”

He was twisting his rings again and he fell silent, looking down at them.

“It’s understandable,” Dustin assured him. “And I can try to do more outside the house while we’re in the off-season. We golf a lot. We go out on Matty’s boat. It doesn’t always have to be here.”

“Sure, that’s good,” Charlie said slowly. “But you mentioned rookies and trades staying here too.”

“Yeah.” Dustin winced. “I mean, I don’t know if there’s anyone who is going to need a place to stay this season, and Matty would definitely be willing to take guys in too, but it’s always been a standing offer …”

“I guess we’ll deal with it if or when it comes up.”

“Okay.” Dustin licked his lips. “Matty’s going to be tough though. He’s here a lot. He lives in the neighborhood so he wanders over to use the gym and the driving range, but I can remind him we’re newlyweds and would like at least a little privacy. For what it’s worth, Matty means well. He’s … lonely. His divorce was really tough and he’s alone in a house as big as this one and pretty miserable about it. He’s thinking of moving into a smaller place, actually, but I’m worried he’ll be even more isolated when he does.”

Charlie sighed. “Well now I feel like an asshole for telling you to keep him away.”

“No, you’re not an asshole.”

“Oh, honey, if you think that, then you definitely don’t know me yet.” Charlie winked.

Dustin let out a little laugh and glanced down at the bottle in his hand. “You seem pretty great to me, but it must be the beer talking.”

“Must be.” A little smile played at Charlie’s lips for a moment before it disappeared. “Okay, how about this? We’ll share a bedroom to keep up appearances. You tell the guys coming into our bedroom is off limits, and I’ll try to get used to the idea of people showing up whenever they want in the rest of the house.”

“That seems more than fair,” Dustin let out a sigh of relief. “And I promise, I won’t get handsy at night. I’m not gonna pressure you for sex.”

Charlie nodded. “It’ll keep things from getting complicated.”

“Whatever you think is best.”

Was he going to be sexually frustrated until this was over? Abso-fucking-lutely. But he was a big boy. He’d survive.

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