Chapter 14 Entering My Red Era

Wren

Celeste drove us in a black Cadillac SUV out to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. I'd never been there before, but I'd often heard about the famous street where the ultra rich went to shop for designer brands.

"I know some cheap places in the Garment District," I offered. There was no reason for us to waste money to impress Kenny.

"We're meeting Stella here," Brandy replied as Celeste pulled into a parking garage and parked in a spot. She remained seated in the driver's seat, her head swiveling in all directions. Fiona was sitting next to her in the front passenger seat, and she didn't move to take her seatbelt off either.

"Here she comes," Celeste announced as she looked in the side mirror.

I turned to see a tall Black woman striding confidently toward us in a long black leather coat and black turtleneck sweater. Her natural afro-style hair blew in the wind as she adjusted the oversized golden bag on her shoulder. She looked like she could fit in easily in New York City, a little overdressed for a Sunday afternoon in California.

She hopped in next to me, and I scooted to the middle closer to Brandy. "Hi, girl. I'm Stella." The scent of flowers filled the back seat of the car.

The familiar nerves of meeting someone new sent a shiver through my skin, but she seemed friendly, and the other women were very nice, so I had no reason to fear her. "Hi, I'm Wren."

We shook hands and she greeted Brandy, Celeste, and Fiona.

"Fill me in. What did I miss while I was getting my beauty sleep?"

Oh boy. I wasn't sure if I could go over it all again. Luckily, Brandy spoke first. "She's got a weird magician guy who's causing her trouble, and she has to go to a red, white, and black only formal magic show at his mansion in Brentwood on Valentine's Day."

"Oh, nice." She tilted her chin down and looked me straight in the eye. "And what did Magnum do to you?"

"Nothing." I laughed. Why did she assume he'd done something?

"Last I heard he was off the rails saying paranoid stuff, and you all were gonna check on him." She looked to Fiona.

Fiona nodded. "That's why I'm here, but he seemed stable when I saw him this morning."

They were all worried about Magnum's erratic behavior the past few days, but it was really my fault he was acting suspicious. "He's fine," I said. "He was right to be paranoid. The guy, Kenny, blew up my bakery, and Magnum was there in time to get me out."

"And how do you know Mag?" Stella asked.

"Well, that's kinda a long story." She'd missed everything earlier when Mag made it easy for me by summarizing and leaving out the parts that embarrassed me.

"Spill." She placed a manicured hand on mine.

"I was dating his brother," I admitted .

"Ooh. Mag has a brother?"

"Yes. Two I think, but this one is named Gavin."

"Okay?"

"And Kenny was threatening to make me marry him to pay off my debt, so I said I was marrying Gavin to dissuade him, but Gavin didn't show at the courthouse and Mag was there and he stood in for his brother."

I was talking fast to try to get through it quickly, but she held up her hands. "Hold up, hold up. What do you mean he stood in?"

"He pretended to be Gavin," I admitted.

"Okay, because I was gonna say Magnum would never just step up and marry his brother's girl or any girl. That boy is terrified of marriage."

This was news to me, but the dam had broken and the words just tumbled out. "Well, he didn't seem scared. He just said he'd stand in and sign Gavin's name, but then Kenny saw him and now he thinks Magnum is Gavin, and he sent a note to my bakery with a bomb that he expected us both at the magic show, but I'm dead scared to go because I have to pretend to be married to Magnum, and it's dangerous, and I hate attention on me, and I'm so out of my comfort zone, and it's all completely impossible."

I took a big breath in, and Stella gave my hands a comforting squeeze. The way her eyes warmed made me want to just tell her everything, so I did. "And I can't possibly shop on Rodeo Drive because we were always poor, and it just feels wrong, and I can't imagine I'll be comfortable in a designer dress anyway, but I appreciate all of you trying to help since I'm basically a stranger. "

She nodded quickly. "Okay, okay. I hear you. Don't worry. Stella is here now. Your girls are here for you. We got your back." Her head was moving a lot to emphasize her words, and I had to smile at how animated and real she was.

The other women mumbled in the affirmative. "I was raised poor too," Brandy said quietly. "I'm still not comfortable with a lot of the stuff Steel buys, but the truth is that guys like him can afford it and they like making us happy, but if this doesn't make you happy, then we can totally skip it."

Stella hugged me and her hair brushed my face. "How about this? Since we're here, we'll try one store. Just one store and see if there's anything that works for you. If not, we'll head somewhere else. Some outlet stores up here or back down south."

That didn't sound so awful. "I can do one store. Maybe two..."

"That's the spirit. Let's go. We'll hold your hand." Stella gave my hand another squeeze. "Embrace the gift that's being offered to you. It's crazy and different, but it's happening, and it may be the most important time of your life, so you don't want to look back on it and say I was too scared to enjoy it, right?"

"Right."

"Remember that two opposing emotions can coexist." Fiona chimed in from the front seat. "You can be terrified and ecstatic at the same time. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Then when you tell the story, you can stay, I was scared, but it was a blast."

That was true. I'd finally have a story to tell after this. Hopefully, it was a happy one, but whatever happened, it would be epic. "I'm so used to my life being uneventful that I don't know how to handle this, but you're right, it could be amazing and scary at the same time." When I went back to the daily grind at the bakery, I'd have this special time as a memory. Magnum sure was a huge force in my life that I would never forget. Meeting his team was like falling into an action movie.

"Exactly," Fiona continued like she was reading my thoughts. "And I totally identify with not wanting to be the center of attention. Hypnotherapy can be really great for that."

I'd heard of hypnotherapy, but I'd never known anyone who'd actually tried it. "You do that?" I asked her.

"I do, and I think it could help you, but there's time for that later. Right now we've been tasked with shopping for a red, white, or black dress that makes you look fabulous, so let's go." She winked, and it was awkwardly cute. I got the feeling she didn't really want to shop on Rodeo either, but she was playing along.

"Wait," Celeste said her first words since Stella had entered the car. She slid out like a snake and stalked like a panther around the outside of the car, her eyes scanning the entire parking garage.

She nodded slightly, and we all climbed out.

Stella linked her arm in mine and started walking toward the exit stairs. "I'm thinking red. Definitely red."

"I usually just wear black and white."

"Oh, I know you do, honey. You're about to enter your red era. Valentine's Day calls for the most epic of reds with lipstick to match. "

The tingles of fear tried to creep up again again, but this time I was also aware of the joy around me. Stella and Brandy were smiling. Fiona seemed confident in my ability, and Celeste was obviously very capable of protecting us while we went about our task.