Chapter 15

Brew

I finished wiping down the surfaces of my examination room and took a moment to refresh myself from the cup of tea sitting waiting for me. I hoped nothing too serious was going to come through my door today because I was close to the end of my rations.

Jasmine and Grey had better be successful with their negotiations with Grower's Cove. We needed a steadier supply of tea coming into Purple Oak, and the infirmary in particular.

I stepped into the waiting room to see my next patient and found Oliver waiting in one of the seats. Nerves tingled through me as I approached my best friend, something I hadn't felt since I accidentally broke one of his toys when I was twelve.

"Hey, Oliver," I said, glad that my voice wasn't shaking. "More bird trouble?"

He held up his arms which were covered in scratches. "I'm going to figure it out one of these days."

I patted him on the back. "I'm sure you will. Let me take care of that for now." I wanted to suggest that he used a falconer's glove, at least until Howie gained a little more control over his talons. It was kind of irresponsible for him to be using up so many resources because he couldn't get on with his owl.

But considering I needed to fess up about my feelings for his sister, I chose to keep my mouth shut.

I led him into my treatment room and he hopped up onto the bed without being asked. I looked at my teapot and debated whether I needed more for what was ahead of me, but I decided against it.

I took a deep breath and considered the best way to approach this. My nerves were making my hands shake despite the tea I'd already drunk, and they weren't helped by the fact I had no idea how Oliver was going to react. He was normally even-tempered, but he was protective over Katie, and for good reason.

At least we were already in the infirmary if he decided to take it out on my face.

I sat down in front of him and put my hands on his arms. Magic pulled through my veins, filling me with a warm glow that only ever came from the healing magic of tea. I directed it to his wounds and a green glow started to form there. I'd done it a few times by now so I didn't need to hum the song that included the right rhythm. Which meant that it was now time for me to do what I needed to and confess.

"Oliver..." I kept my eyes on his arms, just to make sure I didn't make any mistakes. "I need to tell you something."

"That sounds serious," he said.

I took a deep breath. "It is." I searched for the right words, not sure how to broach this subject. I could always blurt it out but that didn't seem like the most tactful approach. "I've fallen in love," I said eventually.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, well, I never thought I'd hear you say that," Oliver said, his voice tinted with amusement. "Go on, my friend. Tell me more. Who captured the heart of the most eligible bachelor Rooibos Brewster?"

This was torture.

"Katie," I said, unable to look at him.

Oliver chuckled. "Katie who?"

"Katie," I repeated, finally looking up at him. "Fields."

His smile fell away and he stared at me, too stunned to speak. After a while, he cleared his throat and nodded. "I see."

I focused on healing his wounds while I waited for him to say more. I had no doubt that it was coming. I had siblings, and even though I knew Oliver was a great guy, I'd still have questions I wanted to ask if I discovered he was in love with Jasmine or Earl.

"Have you told her?" he asked slowly. "Does she feel the same?"

I swallowed hard. "I think so? I hope so. Before you get mad, I promise I did my best to stay away from her." I took a shaky breath. "I never meant to pursue her. I thought she wasn't interested in me at all but when I found out she was, I couldn't help myself."

"Hmm."

I closed my eyes and tried not to worry too much about losing my best friend over this. Oliver was a good guy, and he knew that I was too. He wasn't about to cut me off just because I'd fallen for Katie.

"The heart wants what the heart wants, that sort of thing?" Oliver asked cautiously.

"Yes!" I let go of his arms, my magic and energy entirely depleted. "I don't know how this happened or why she even likes me but I'm kind of over the moon and I really hope you're happy for us."

Oliver sat in silence for a bit and I could tell his mind was breaking. After a while, he just nodded. "I mean, it's not my place to tell either of you what you can or can't do. I just hope you're not going to have wandering eyes or hands."

"I've not looked at another woman in years," I said, only realising what I'd just admitted.

He frowned. "Just how long have you been pining for my sister?"

I sighed. "Years. It's been hard."

"As your friend, I feel for you. As Katie's brother, I'm not impressed." Oliver pulled a disappointed face that made him look like his grandfather. "I guess you can't control who you fall in love with."

Ah. Of course. He was having trouble with that himself. Though I wasn't supposed to know about that because he had no idea I was in the room when he'd told Katie.

I clapped him on his back, hoping to shift the attention away from me. "Right, I heard you were interested in someone."

Oliver narrowed his eyes at me. "How do you know that? Did Katie tell you?"

I let out an unusually high squeak. Probably should have thought this though. "Yes, she did."

As much as I liked being honest and telling the truth, I didn't think Oliver needed to know that I'd been hiding in Katie's room. I didn't want to get my eyes scratched out even if nothing happened between us beyond a couple of heated kisses.

Oliver gave me a weird look but didn't say anything. "So what made you go for Katie even though you know you shouldn't?"

"She let me and I hoped you'd forgive me eventually," I replied honestly. It wasn't exactly a good plan but that was the one I had.

He gave me a pensive look. "What about the families? My grandpa can't be the only one who harps on about balance."

I groaned. "No, Mum talks about it a lot as well. I hadn't thought that far ahead and it's not like they can force us apart. I'll love who I want to love."

"You're really in love with my sister?" he checked.

I got up from my seat, pretending I needed to tend to the kettle and tea. It was far too early to talk about things like love but that didn't mean my heart wasn't heading that way.

"It's too early for that," I said while I cleaned my cup. "We're having our first official date tonight."

Oliver hummed. "I think I'll wish you good luck then but I don't want to hear how it goes."

"Fair." I pointed at him. "If you ever want to date one of my siblings, I give you my blessing. As long as they're willing."

He chuckled. "Thanks but I've got my eye on someone else."

"Yeah, what was their name again?" I asked, realising that with everything going on, I hadn't even asked.

Oliver hopped off the bed and gave me a grin. "I didn't say."

"You're not going to tell me?"

"You harboured secret feelings for my sister for years," he responded.

"Fair enough." There was a part of me that wanted to ask him if it was Hana, but I knew better than to push my luck. I stepped out of his way and took off my imaginary hat. "Good day to you, sir."

For the first time since Oliver got here, he smiled. He took a few paces, turned around and nodded. "Be good to her."

"I will," I promised.

"You'd better, or I'll set my attack owl on you."

I chuckled dryly. "I wouldn't want to mess with Howie, I've seen the damage he can cause."

"Just remember that," he said in what I was reasonably certain was supposed to be a menacing tone.

I nodded and said my goodbyes to him, relieved over how the confession could have gone. It really could have been worse. But the most important thing was that now Katie and I could enjoy our date completely guilt-free.