Page 108 of A Witch in Notting Hill

“Could do it all day,” I said. At this point, there was no use in being anything but honest.

“Then it’s a good job it’s the longest day of the year.”

Holy shit.It was morning. Which meant it was the solstice.

I was out of bed and throwing my clothes on before I could even get my head on straight, crashing into the dresser as I shoved my legs into my jeans. No panties. Those were long gone. All day I’d feel the reminder of the night before in more ways than one.

But I needed to focus.

Everything I’d done in the past six months led up to this day, and I couldn’t afford to lose it to a daydream.

“Slow down,” Oliver said, sitting up and pushing his hair from his eyes. I couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t risk a second of distraction. Couldn’t risk my magic failing me today. “Willow, hey.”

He reached out and grabbed my wrist, spinning me to face him. “You’re okay. You know what you’re doing. You’ve prepared for this, you’ve done everything you needed to do. You’re ready.”

“Have I?” I asked. We both knew what I was really asking.Did you mean what you said last night? Have Iactuallyconvinced a skeptic magic is real? Have I proven myself?

“Sit down,” he said.

“I don’t have time.”

“Please.” His eyes were so soft I had no choice but to listen. I sat, letting him hold my hands in his lap. “I meant what I said last night. Every word.”

“You just changed your mind about magic? Real magic? After all this time?”

“I was looking at it all wrong.” He shook his head, like he was ashamed of himself. “I wasn’t open-minded, and it took a little communing with the dead of my own to see that. But I need you to know I get it now. And most importantly, I believe in you.”

He was so straightforward it was hard to believe any of this was real.

“Why are you looking at me like you don’t believe me?” he asked.

“Because it seems too good to be true,” I said. “You just... changed your mind.”

“Youchanged my mind.”

I couldn’t do this now. My mind was becoming cloudier by the minute, and I needed as clear a head as possible for the spell. Today wasn’t about me. Or Oliver. It was about Vera. And the more he talked, the more I could feel myself teeteringon the edge of a very dangerous cliff. If he believed in me, if he knew magic was real, and that was no longer standing as a barrier between us... did that mean a future could actually be possible?

I knew better than to get my hopes up, and I had to remind myself to stay grounded like a mantra. I couldn’t stay here. I had to get home to Vera before my magic spiraled completely out of control.

“I have to go,” I said.

“Willow, come on.”

“I’m not saying we aren’t going to talk about this. I’m just saying we aren’t going to talk about this right now.” That familiar, foreboding tingling returned to my toes, and I knew exactly what happened next. Some catastrophic reminder of why I couldn’t have this, couldn’t make this work, and I didn’t have time for that today.

“I’ll come with you,” he said, throwing off the covers and pulling on a nearby sweater. “For support.”

“I have to do this on my own,” I said, grateful we were no longer looking at each other. It was all too much, and I couldn’t bear to add his disappointment to the lump of emotions stuck in my throat.

This moment felt dangerously close to the moment I kicked him out of my flat, the moment we said painful goodbyes after an otherwise perfect night together, and I had no interest in reliving it. But if I prolonged this at all, let my emotions get in the way and let my feelings for him bubble to the surface, I didn’t stand a chance of completing the spell.

“I’m sorry,” I said, turning to look at him only when I had my hand on the doorknob. Hating that this was the second time we were ending a night this way.

“I don’t want to keep doing this, Willow.”

“I know,” I said, feeling a shock through my fingers as I pulled open the door. “Neither do I.”

“So let’s stop.”