Page 59 of A Witch in Notting Hill

Her vulnerability with me was the highest compliment.

For someone like Willow, someone always in the public eye, someone hiding out here from anyone who might recognize her, desperate not to be seen, to let her guard down, letting me take care of her even for the short ferry ride felt like nothing short of a miracle.

When we got back to the city and made plans to find the Wharram Percy Pendulum in a few weeks when the four of us next shared a free weekend day, I found myself disappointed I wouldn’t see her in between. Strangely satisfied by the quest and already wishing there was more of it. Even if it was meaningless. That didn’t mean everything that was happening along the way was, too.

But it wasn’t like I could ask to see her before we looked for the pendulum. I could flirt with her, sure, but I couldn’t go asking her out. Especially when Min was out of town for two weeks for a work thing and Lo had a wedding next weekend and I couldn’t even make it a group thing. So we parted ways at Notting Hill Gate, and I started the countdown to the bloody Wharram Percy Pendulum search.

As expected, six weeks without Willow felt like three years. I was distracted in the shop, giving shit recommendations and losing track of inventory, and I couldn’t seem to get my head back on straight. Nor was I trying terribly hard, which was equally concerning.

But when the day came that we planned to meet and the bells above the door announced her arrival to the shop, everything slotted into place.

“Hi,” she said, a slow smile spreading across her face. Was she equally happy to see me?

“Hi.” I leaned my forearms on the counter, desperate to be closer to her. “You look well. How’ve you been?”

“Fine, thanks.” Another perfect smile. “Eager to get the show on the road today. I’ve just been cooped up in the flat for the past few weeks.”

“You’re always welcome to hang out here, you know.” This was news to me, too, even as the worlds tumbled out of my mouth. Might as well double down. “There’s quite a nice lounge space in the back, perfect for reading or whatever. Out of view of the customers. And you can always come in when we’re closed to... browse.”

Had Lola or Min been here to hear me offer this, they would have wound me up for weeks. They knew I wasn’t keen on any more social interaction than was necessary, and I hardly evenlet them in the lounge. And opening and closing times, with my headphones and my cleaning routines and the silence in the shop, were sacred. Until now.

“That would be really nice,” she said, sounding equally surprised. “But I couldn’t possibly impose.”

“Hardly an imposition when there’s an invitation, yeah?”

“You make a good point there, Hadley.”

“So I’ve been told.”

She leaned on the counter across from me, and had Lola and Min not walked in exactly then, there was no telling what might have come out of my mouth next.

“Are we ready to get this party started?” Lola asked, throwing her arms in the air and doing a weird little shimmy.

“If you call looking for an old pendulum a party, then I guess,” I said.

“Everything’s a party if you have the right attitude.”

“I’m not sure I have the right attitude.”

“We know,” she said. “Willow does, though. Right, Willow?”

“I guess so?” She laughed, and even Lola seemed charmed.

“I’ll take it,” Lo said. “What’s the plan?”

“So, the pendulum was originally found in Wharram Percy, obviously,” I said, “but thankfully it’s in the city now, so we don’t have to make another trip into the countryside. At least not today. I made a few calls last week and it seems to be in the East London Museum Obscura, so I reckon we go have a look?”

“Can you, er, cast a spell if it’s in a museum?” Min asked.

“So long as it’s hanging freely, should be fine,” Willow said. “And so long as nobody’s looking.”

“You can’t cast a spell if anyone’s looking?” Lola asked.

“Definitely not,” Willow said. “It’s, uh, it’s an old family thing. Can’t prove the existence of magic with magic, either. My grandmother didn’t want me to have to prove myself to anyone when I was a kid, so she made it nearly impossible to do magicif someone was watching, especially if I was trying to make a point, or if anyone was looking for evidence, et cetera, et cetera. Blessing then, but a curse now.” All three of us stared at her, slack-jawed to varying degrees.

“So how are you supposed to do the last item on the list?” Lola asked. “How can you convince anyone magic exists when you can’t actually show them magic exists?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Willow sighed. “Trying to just take it one thing at a time.”