Page 76 of A Witch in Notting Hill

“I wasn’t timing her,” I snapped. “She said to trust her and let her do her thing and I just... I figured she’d come up for air when she needed to.”

“She knew what she was doing. Give her a second,” Minho said.

“She’s blue,” I said. “Is she blue? She’s fucking blue. Come on, Willow.”

“Hey.” Lola put her hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off. “She’s—”

Before Lola could finish her sentence, Willow took a gasping breath. A watery, rasping breath that tumbled into a hacking cough before she could even open her eyes.

“Bloody hell.” I sighed, holding her closer to me despite the coughing. “You’re awake. You’re alive.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, her voice hoarse. “I feel like I’m dead.”

“What happened in there?”

“How should I know?” She forced a laugh, and I’d never been so relieved to hear a single sound in my entire life. “I must have passed out. It must have been the cold. I can usually hold my breath for a long time, but I’m not usually swimming in ponds in freezing weather.” She shuddered, and Minho appeared back at my side holding a pile of towels.

“Here.” I wrapped the towels haphazardly around her body, trying to get her as warm as possible as fast as possible. Color was just barely coming back into her cheeks, but her lips were pale and I hated the way her teeth slammed together. “Min, can you get a tea on? D’you have that pot thing?”

“One step ahead of you.”

“I’m fine,” Willow wheezed. “You don’t have to go through the trouble. Really. If I can just get back to the flat, I can take care of myself just fine.”

“We know youcan,” I said. “Doesn’t mean you should.”

“Oliver, I’m serious.”

“And you think I’m not?”

We stared at each other in a vaguely uncomfortable silence, the others looking on like they were watching a boxing match.Try me, Willow.

Eventually, she dropped her head against my chest, and I finally relaxed. “This is all so embarrassing,” she mumbled, muffled by my sweater.

“What, would you rather be dead than embarrassed?” She coughed again, hard, when she tried to laugh, and the sound rattled around my chest, too. “Easy,” I said.

“God, Willow, that was scary,” Lola said, squatting next to us. “Are you sure you’re all right? Do you want someone to come back to the flat with you? Any of us would be happy to.”

“No—oh god, that’s so generous,” Willow started. “Thank you, but I could never—”

“I’ll do it,” I said before I even knew I was speaking. “I’ll come stay with you.” For a second, no one moved, and I wondered if I’d made a fool of myself. Who did I think I was, offering to stay in her flat with her? She was adamant she’d be able to take care of herself, and surely she had someone else she could—

“You would?”

“Without question.” Apparently, speaking without thinking was my own superpower. “Say the word.”

“He’s a great nurse,” Minho said. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to thank him or slap him. “Takes great care of you when you’re drunk. Or in this case, when you’ve almost drowned in Hampstead Heath.”

“Min’s right,” Lola said. “Once when I had surgery, he brought me ice cream in bed for a week.”

“You had your wisdom teeth out. Hardly qualifies as surgery,” I said, suddenly embarrassed by their effusive praise.

“Had you mentioned ice cream, I might have agreed a lot sooner.” Willow smiled. It was tired, but it wasn’t lacking any of her usual charm.

“I don’t want to impose, but I do think you need looking after. And I’d like to be the one to do it, if you’d let me.”

She glanced at the cat, and I tried not to notice. Were they communicating something? Did it matter?

“Only if you’re sure.”