Page 19 of The Tea Witch's Promise

"Do you like me, Brew?" I knew it was direct, but life was too short to waste on unfounded worries. My heart pounded as I waited for his response, and I hadn't realised just how much it actually mattered to me.

A lopsided grin tugged the corner of his mouth up. "Of course, I like you."

"Not like a friend. I'm asking if you have feelings for me."

"I know what you're asking." A gust of wind made his curls dance. "The answer is yes, Katheryn."

He said it so simply and yet with such intent, it made my heart pound like it wanted to burst right out of my chest. How could he admit something like that so casually? Did it not worry him?

I looked up in his blue eyes, searching for answers. They were bright and he looked unburdened. How long had he been feeling this way that a confession was taking weight off of his shoulders?

He took a step forward, his smile kind and intimate. And very different from the way he looked at other people. How had I not noticed this before?

"Does that surprise you?" His voice was a low murmur, and I could sense a little promise there. Perhaps because I hadn't run away from him. If anything, I was leaning in.

I swallowed hard. "Does Oliver know?"

He snorted. "Do I still have all my teeth?"

"I think he's more of a scratching-eyes-out person," I murmured.

"Mmm, if he could set Howie on me, he would for this. But no, Oliver doesn't know. I wasn't going to ruin our friendship over something that I didn't think would ever happen."

My breath caught in my throat. The way he was wording things seemed deliberate, as if he was testing out whether that was something that was going to change.

"How long have you felt this way?" Maybe I should have gone with a different question, but this was the one I really wanted the answer to.

Brew tapped his chin. "How long have we known each other?"

Now he was asking complicated questions. I counted back the years since Oliver and I had first come to the farm, back when our parents were still alive and well.

"Eighteen years or so?" I guessed. "I was six, you were eight. Oliver declared you his mortal enemy in the morning and you were best friends before the sun went down."

Brew chuckled at the memory. "Then I've felt this way for eighteen years minus one day."

"You're not going to convince me it was love at first sight." Thathadto just be a line.

"Maybe not love, but I definitely felt something." He scratched the back of his head and offered me a hesitant smile. "Don't overthink it, Katie. I don't expect you to reciprocate. I don't expect anything at all. I simply like you."

Strange how he was the one consoling me when I wasn't the one who'd spent the past eighteen years repressing feelings and having them rejected at every turn.

"I have to get to the infirmary," he said. "I'll see you soon, Katie." He lingered for a moment, almost as if he wanted to say goodbye in a very different way. Or he wanted me to say anything.

But everything was so confusing that I didn't knowwhatto say. So I just let him leave and tried not to dwell on how painful it was to watch him walk away.

Chapter11

Brew

I sippedfrom my cup of weak tea, relieved when it restored some of the depleted magic in me. It had been a long day which wouldn't have been as much of an issue if we weren't rationing tea. I hoped the merchants would visit soon or that we could strike a beneficial alliance with Grower's Cove. While I could survive just fine without tea, a life without the magic that was second nature to me seemed somewhat bleak. And that was without considering the effect it would have on the infirmary.

And therefore on life at Purple Oak.

Everyone at the infirmary was trained in basic medical aid, but none of that could compete with what we could achieve with magic.

A knock sounded on the door and Hayley popped her head around the door. "Hey, how are you? That last patient looked like it took a lot out of you."

"It did," I confirmed, holding back a groan when I got up from my seat. "But I'll be fine. No need to do your thing."