Page 100 of Twisted Shot
She rests her cheek against his chest again, listening to the steady thump of his heart beneath her ear. She feels held, and not just physically. He’s looking at her like she’s something precious, something worth seeing clearly.
A quiet ache blooms in her chest. She doesn’t want the night to end. This soft, strange, perfect moment in time—like they’ve slipped out of reality and into their own little universe.
Her heart squeezes, sharp and sudden. She has to go back to Toronto tomorrow.
She traces an idle circle on Theo’s chest, her fingers skimming across the light dusting of hair there.
“Can I ask you something?” she murmurs.
Theo shifts slightly to look at her. “Yeah. Of course.”
“It’s just…” She bites her lip. “You’ve barely stuttered since we got here.”
His expression doesn’t change, but something in his body stills, like a string pulled taut.
She rushes to clarify. “Not that I expected you to. Or that it matters. It doesn’t. I just—noticed. And I was wondering if…”
She trails off, suddenly worried she’s said the wrong thing.
Theo studies her for a moment, then exhales, the tension melting from his shoulders. “No, it’s okay. You can ask.”
He adjusts so they’re lying face to face, one arm under his pillow, the other curled around her waist. “I stutter mostly when I’m nervous. Or uncomfortable. Big crowds, loud places, people talking over each other—anytime there’s too much going onaround me. But when I’m home with people I trust? I can go hours without stuttering at all.”
“So…this feels like home to you?” she whispers.
He nods, eyes steady on hers.
She reaches up to brush his hair off his forehead.
“What’s it like?” she asks quietly. “When it happens?”
He pauses again, thoughtful. “It’s like my body gets hijacked. Like someone else is in control. I know what I want to say. I know exactly what I mean. But it’s like…the words get stuck in a hallway with a dozen locked doors.”
“That sounds awful.”
He makes a soft, bitter sound.“Yeah. It’s the worst with my family, actually.”
She blinks, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“They don’t really get it. They try to fix it instead of listening. Or they interrupt. Finish my sentences. Make jokes.”
He shrugs, but it looks more like surrender than dismissal.
“That sucks,” she says simply. “I’m sorry.”
Mila swallows hard, dreading what she has to tell him next.
“So, I uh…dealt with Conrad earlier,” she starts.
Theo straightens immediately. “Did he bother you? I shouldn’t have let you talk to him.”
The words tumble out as she rushes to reassure him. “No, Theo, it’s okay. I deal with assholes like him all the time. It was fine. We had a very constructive chat.”
She bites her lip. “But, I need to tell you… the condition for him to rescind all his other bids was to keep one. And he kept the round of golf with you and Jake. I’m sorry.”
He groans.
“Don’t worry,” she says, leaning in to peck a kiss on his cheek. “I already have plans to…rearrange that outcome.”
