Page 70 of The Husband Game

“It’s great you can recognize that. Do you keep a diary of what you eat?”

“I can’t,” he said automatically. “I spiral into really bad patterns. It’s what I did when I was restricting. So tracking it, even with the goal of eating more, makes me anxious.”

“Have you ever tried simply marking the meals where you feel positive about food? You don’t have to mark when you feel negative about it, if that’s too triggering for you. You can simply take note of what feels good and report back how many meals were positive for you. It might help you find a pattern of what helps support those positive experiences, so you can do more of that.”

“Oh.” Charlie considered the idea. “I could try that, yeah.”

“Excellent. I’ll make a note to follow up with you next week.”

“Great.” Charlie smiled, relieved.

He liked Bridget and he felt like she understood where he was at and what he was still working on.

She smiled warmly back at him.

“I heard you say you didn’t feel things have been ideal lately. But I see signs of the many positive ways you are handling the stress you’ve been under. It’s about making small, daily choices to support the future you want. I truly believe you have all of the tools to manage this disorder, Charlie.”

* * *

“Here’s your tea, kitten,” Dustin said with a smile as he slid a travel mug toward Charlie.

He looked pretty this morning in a soft green tailored suit with a flowery top. All ready for his first day of work.

Hard to believe they’d already been married for almost five weeks.

“Thanks.” Charlie’s voice was soft.

They’d fallen into a pretty easy routine lately. They were figuring out each other’s quirks and routines. Dustin now knew not to open the bedroom curtains before Charlie was up and out of bed and Charlie knew Dustin was particular about the way his clothes were organized in the walk-in closet.

At dinner last night, Charlie listened intently while Dustin talked about the morning’s training and a round of golf he’d played with Matty, Dominic, and Jonah over the weekend, then talked excitedly about his volunteer work with Elena.

After, they had gone through a list of potential interviews Wade had sent over and picked the ones they wanted to do together. They’d talked more about the house remodel and what Charlie hoped to do with it.

It had felt nice to work with Charlie together on something. He had seemed open and relaxed and they’d laughed together quite a few times as they tried to figure it all out.

It was new and odd for Dustin.

Dustin was a “fall hard and fast” sort of guy, where a few great dates and fantastic sex always left him feeling heart-eyed.

But the luster had always fallen off equally quickly, so he tended to be a serial dater. His longest relationship had lasted a grand total of three and a half months.

He’d occasionally taken women as his plus-one to the showy, public events he attended around Toronto, but he’d never really let a relationship deepen. After a few months, the excitement fizzled and he felt like they were going through the motions.

He sent text messages because he knew he should. He made plans because they were expected. But he was just as happy to be on the road and hanging out with the boys as he was to come back to Toronto to see the person he was with.

No one he’d dated had been someone he’d wanted to share a life with. He’d never wanted to move in with them.

He’d cared about them, for a while at least, but he’d never really felt like he wanted to see their face first thing in the morning or right before he fell asleep.

He’d never wanted to watch his bathroom vanity be taken over by beauty products or hear about changes they wanted to make to his house.

But he liked those signs of Charlie’s life intertwining with his. And he’d never anticipated that.

“Hey, how’s everything going with you?” Charlie asked, leaning against the counter. “Any news on the code of conduct?”

“Ugh. No.” Dustin grimaced. “In fact, I got a lovely message about it yesterday from someone I considered a friend.”

“When you say lovely I assume it was anything but?”

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