Seconds later Antonio’s assistant, Trina, entered the winery. She wore a sleeveless dress despite the cold, her flushed face framed with thick blonde tendrils that had escaped from her ponytail. Her face glistened with sweat as she wiped a plump hand across her forehead. “All Jose wants to do is drive the business into the ground. I’ve never heard of somebody sabotaging their own business.”
“It’s okay, Trina,” Antonio reassured her. “I already told them how Jose’s always pressuring me to sell.”
Trina gazed adoringly at Antonio. “Without your hard work there wouldn’t even be a winery. It’s none of my business, but I’m going to say it anyway. Your brother acts entitled and ungrateful.”
“It’s definitely your business, Trina. You’ve worked at the winery almost as long as I have. I couldn’t do it without you. In fact, I wouldn’t blame you if you decided not to stick around. You can do so much better than this.” Antonio waved his arm around the room.
Trina threw her hands up in the air. “What else would I do? I’m as invested as you are, emotionally at least. I love this place.”
Aunt Pearl scowled and cursed under her breath. “Just as invested…hah! She’s after his money!”
Trina frowned. “What?”
“Never mind.” I placed an arm on Aunt Pearl’s bony shoulder and steered her out of earshot. “Trina is a major reason this place is still going. She’s more than a dedicated employee; she really cares about the winery and Antonio.”
“Hah! It’s all an act. That lovesick hussy wants to get her hands on the Lombard fortune. I bet that gold digger’s already planning the wedding!”
I rolled my eyes. “What gold is there to dig? From what Antonio’s saying, the winery’s almost bankrupt.”
“I bet Trina sabotaged the business just so she can rescue him. She wants to save him from himself.” Aunt Pearl grinned evilly. “He’s totally obsessed with his wine and Trina’s totally obsessed with him. No wonder they’re both single.”
“Aunt Pearl, don’t interfere with—”
“Look at her, Cen. She’d do anything for him, and poor Antonio is completely oblivious.”
“Trina’s not—”
“Maybe you’re right,” Aunt Pearl said a little too cheerfully.
“Why are you suddenly agreeing with me?”
Aunt Pearl smiled. “There’s a first for everything, Cen. I’ve been working on myself, trying to be more agreeable. Earl says it’s good to see all sides of a problem.”
“Earl’s right. Everybody deserves happiness too, even you and Earl.” In my opinion, Aunt Pearl’s boyfriend was the best thing that ever happened to her. Other than their rhyming names, they were a textbook case of opposites attract. His easygoing nature calmed Aunt Pearl and transformed her into a more agreeable person. He found her antics hilarious. I secretly loved how he kept her in check.
“Hmm…maybe you’re right. Antonio and Trina could be a good match, but we’re never going to find out because Antonio’s never going to act on it. I can fix that in a jiffy.” Aunt Pearl waved her arms and muttered under her breath:
Queen of hearts,
Let these two souls tangle,
Send love darts,
Let promises dangle,
Caressed and carried by the wind
A loving future is now pinned.
The Attraction Spell!
Aunt Pearl clasped her hands together. “Ooh…this should be fun!”
I shuddered, hoping the results were better this time. I remembered all too well when Aunt Pearl had placed the same attraction spell on me and a Las Vegas mobster. That hadn’t gone well. Thankfully, disaster was averted when the spell was unintentionally broken by breaking glass.
Smashing Mom’s bottles was out of the question because Antonio needed every last one of them to bottle his wine. Besides, anything I undid would be redone seconds later by Aunt Pearl.
“Aunt Pearl, reverse your spell! You can’t play with people’s lives. They aren’t chess pieces in a game.”
“Oh, but they are. It’s called the ‘game of L-O-V-E’, Cen. You said they deserved happiness, so I made them happy. Trina’s thrilled that Antonio has finally noticed her. Look, even Antonio’s smiling.”
It was true. Antonio wore a contented expression and Trina beamed with happiness.
Antonio stared at Trina as if seeing her for the very first time. His faced was flushed, his gloom and doom now replaced by happiness.
Trina flushed. “This wine isn’t going to bottle itself.”
Antonio’s voice was suddenly husky. “No. It won’t.”
Their eyes locked as they stared dreamily at one another.
The wine definitely wasn’t going to bottle itself, if it got bottled at all.
Aunt Pearl said, “Everybody take a break. I’ll take care of the bottling. Just sit back, relax, and don’t worry about a thing.”
Aunt Pearl barely lifted a finger at her housekeeping job for the Westwick Corners Inn. I couldn’t imagine her managing all the work when she had nothing to gain from it. Unless, of course, she did have something to gain.
“Remove your spell or I will.” Technically I couldn’t remove another witch’s spell, but I could layer another spell on top of hers to cancel it out. That could get messy and I considered it a last resort.
I was kind of torn. If Trina and Antonio made each other happy, who was I to interfere? On the other hand, we had a batch of wine to bottle, and I doubted Aunt Pearl would keep her word and finish the job. In the unlikely event that she did, somebody—meaning me—would have to undo the layers of spells.
Aunt Pearl interrupted my thoughts. “You don’t think Antonio and Trina deserve a little romance? How is it any different than your crazy obsession for the sheriff?”
“He has a name, Aunt Pearl. We’re not crazy, and we’re not under anyone’s spell, either.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You have no way of knowing that. How do you know I didn’t put an attraction spell on you and him? I did, you know.”
“You wouldn’t do that because you don’t even like Tyler.” As sheriff, Tyler was also Aunt Pearl’s sworn enemy. She assumed she was above the law, and Tyler let her know that
