Page 80 of A Witch in Notting Hill

Fine. If he wanted the truth, I could give him that. And if he chose not to believe it, well, that was on him.

“It was a spell,” I said with a sigh, trying not to notice the flick of his eyes toward the ceiling. “A simple one we used to do as kids. A little rusty, but it still works,” I said, trying to lighten the mood, which was a mistake.

“I don’t understand,” he said eventually, blowing out a measured breath.

“Are you trying to?” Silence. “Why can’t you?”

“Why can’t I believe?”

“Why can’t youtry?” I said. “Would that really be so hard? To consider that my experience is real?” I didn’t expect my chin to wobble, but saying it out loud made me realize how frustrated I’d become.

“It’s not that I don’t think it’s real for you,” he said, and the words carved themselves into my chest. “It’s just...” He ran both hands through his hair, undoubtedly looking for the right words to communicate whatever had been so stuck in his throat. “I used to. Sort of. As I kid, I was more open to thinking that kind of thing. But over time, as I grew up, it just... it stopped making sense. I started to see the logical explanation for everything I might have once thought was magic, and then eventually I couldn’t believe I’d ever thought magic was real at all.”

So it was possible. If Oliver believed once, couldn’t he do it again?

“And you don’t think you could ever change your mind? I mean, you changed it once before. Would it really be so hard to change it back?”

“Yes,” he said through his teeth. Like he didn’t want to say it. Like he might not have even believed it. “Because now I have the facts.”

“And me using a spell to shut off the water wasn’t fact enough for you?”

“You saw how it abruptly turned on,” he said, his voice softer than a minute ago, like he was letting me down gently. “It could have turned off the same way.”

“But I’m telling you it didn’t.”

Another deep breath. “It’s hard, Willow. To go back on everything I’ve known. Things work a certain way. There are laws and rules that make the world make sense. And I just don’t see how magic fits into that.”

I didn’t say anything for a while. Just tried to get my breathing under control. Tried not to cry. Tried not to believe he was like everyone else. “Right,” I said eventually, because I was at a loss for anything else. “Well, now that I’ve recovered from this morning and the water is off, I’m sure you’re dying to get home, so—”

“Willow—”

“No, no, it’s fine, really.” We were both still soaking wet, and I was ushering him to the door.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right alone here?” he asked from the doorway, his concern written all over his face.

“She’s hardly alone,” Vera called from the other room.

“I’ll be fine,” I said, ignoring her. It probably sounded like nothing more than a meow to Oliver. I needed him out of my flat, and I didn’t have time to explain any more magic to someone determined not to understand it.

“Do call me if you need anything, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I mean it, Willow.”

“Okay.”

He nodded once, then disappeared out the door and down the stairs. I tried not to clock the reluctant set of his shoulders or thefrustrated hand he raked through his damp hair, but I wasn’t blind. And he wasn’t the only one struggling.

When I turned back into the flat, Vera was sitting in the doorway.

“Don’t,” I said.

“I won’t, but only because you’ve had a hell of a morning.” She retreated into the flat, climbing onto the couch and settling on a stack of pillows in the corner. “But this isn’t sustainable, Willow. You’re going to have to sort it out one way or another. I can see how much you like each other and how much the magic is getting in the way.”

“I thought you said I’d had a hell of a morning?”

“Trust me, there’s a lot more I’d like to say. But for right now, all I’ll say is you need to consider the next act of this story. It’s going to be here before you know it. But I know you know that. So let’s drop it and have a relaxing rest of the day. What do you say?”