Page 110 of A Witch in Notting Hill

“You’re prepared for this. More prepared than I’ve ever seen you be for anything, quite frankly.”Fair point.“But it’s all going to go to waste if you can’t pony up and get it done. So hop to it. I’d like to be back in my human form before the Golden Globes, if you don’t mind.”

“Right,” I said. “Ok, I guess there’s no time like the present. Are you ready?”

“Been ready for six months.”

“Right,” I said again. There was nothing left to say except the spell. So I dug deep, and I did what I had to do.

In the past six months, I’d done everything on the list and more. I’d tested the boundaries of my magic, I’d cleansed, I’d talked to Granny Annie, I’d proved the existence of magic, for god’s sake. Well, in one way or another. But I hardly thought it mattered now. What mattered was that Vera was right. Iwasready. The only thing left to do was let it rip.

I took a deep breath and said the chant as loud and proud as I could.

Time turner, turn back time.

Reverse this spell that was not mine.

Undo the damage

I have done

And take us back to square one.

And nothing happened. A light fixture swayed, a strong gust of wind rattled the windows, and Vera remained a cat.

“Are you sure you did it right?” she asked.

“How would I know? I don’t even know how I did it in the first place!”

“Take a deep breath,” she said, “then try again. Maybe you just need to warm up.”

I did as I was told, trying desperately not to let my emotions into the driver’s seat. After a long inhale and a slow, steadying exhale, I said the chant again.

I focused on every word.

I didn’t let myself think about Oliver. About his definition of magic. About how he was the last piece of the spell.

And still . . . nothing happened.

“Okay, let’s not panic,” Vera said, watching as I panicked. I was pacing the floor with both hands in my hair, mumbling the spell to myself and trying to figure out where I was going wrong. Trying to keep the tears at bay.

“I’ve done everything I was supposed to do,” I said, hearing my voice crack but unable to get it back under control. “I found the leaves and drank the gross tea, I used the damn pendulum, I nearly died in the freezing pond, I stayed up for two days, I talked to Granny, I proved magic exists to someone who didn’t believe in it—what more could I have done? I mean, seriously. What else is there?” I was becoming more unhinged with every word that came out of my mouth, but I didn’t care. I needed to know what I was missing. “Of all times for my magic not to work, why now? I’m focused, I’m prepared, I’m—”

A gentle knock on the door interrupted my rant, and Vera and I stared at each other with equally shocked expressions.

“Are you expecting company?” she asked.

“Definitely not. Are you?”

She gave me a look that said,Really?Which was fair.

“Are you going to get it?”

“Right now?” I asked. “Who the hell could it be right now?”

“Willow, it’s me.” His voice drifted through the door like smoke, and my heart squeezed in my chest. “I know you said you wanted to do this alone, but I didn’t get a chance to tell you last night what I think I’ve learned about your magic, and I think, well, I don’t know, but I think it might help.”

I’d completely forgotten about that. One kiss and every brain cell left my body, including the ones carrying the bit of information about Oliver thinking he had some insight into my magic, which he didn’t even believe in until yesterday. What the hell was going on?

“How did you know to come here right now?” I asked, still on the other side of the door.