1
THESE SHOESwould be the death of her. Or at least cause the demise of a few toes. Kenya Stewart sighed, admiring the way the heels reflected the light in the room. Yep, the splurge was worth it. But getting out on the dance floor? Not so much.
Kenya grimaced, gripping her dessert plate as if that would somehow keep her from what she was being pressured to do. She was a highly skilled event manager, an above-average athlete, and a pretty exceptional maid of honor at the moment, but none of those skills had anything to do with joining her entire family on the dance floor.
“Even Celise is out there.” Her youngest sister, Salome, brushed against her shoulder as she passed by.
“You too?”
Her sister raised an eyebrow and continued to the middle of the room. This could not be. The aloof middle sister and now the wallflower of the family would venture where she feared to go? Perish the thought.I can’t go downlike that.
Kenya shoved another cream-filled puff into her mouth and looked around for reinforcements. Maybe something needed to be adjusted or packed up. Maybe Miss Chukwu had another tray to bring out. Her eyes drifted over the beautifully adorned tables.Nothing needed to be replenished or refilled. The setup team had done their jobs to perfection. The guests were in various stages of chatter, laughter, and, ugh, dancing. The floor continued to fill with family and friends celebrating what could be called one of the most talked-about weddings of the year. It wasn’t every day that Hope Springs, Alabama, got to host the wedding of a well-known actor. And that actor was marrying Adanne Stewart, Kenya’s very own cousin. To top it off, because of this wedding and some upcoming strategic meetings, she was quickly on her way to a promotion.
Kenya Stewart, creative director at Rose-Hued Events Management.
Yes, that had a nice ring to it. With the former director moving on to a bigger city, Kenya was the perfect person to take over that role. No more grunt jobs or tedious paperwork. She could travel and experience all the inspiration her heart desired. It would make all the misunderstandings and her mediocre choices of the past make sense.
But maybe getting out on the dance floor with the rest of her family didn’t make much sense, especially considering her choice of footwear. She glanced down at the iridescent pumps she’d purchased on a work trip several months ago, with the narrow toe and the iconic red sole. She loved how the dangerously slender five-inch heels lengthened her petite frame. But would they somehow turn her into a person who could actually dance?
Her pocket buzzed. She dug into the folds of her dress and pulled out her phone. Despite putting it on silent, there were still a few people whose notifications she allowed through. Dedra was one of them.
“Kenya Stewart, please tell me you’re about to step through the doors any minute now.”
“Depends on what doors you are referring to.” Kenya chuckled. Dedra Caldwell, her friend and formidable admin assistant, was not one to get easily ruffled. So why was she speaking to her likea mama whose child had been out way past when the streetlights turned on?
Kenya pressed the phone harder to her ear, drowning out the music in the background as best she could. Maybe sneaking to a quieter spot in the building would be better, but that would take maneuvering through a slew of obstacles. She would not make it three seconds without getting greeted by someone else, and in these shoes—whew, honey! She might as well stay seated. At least this phone call was a good excuse not to enter the dance floor quite yet.
“Luciano’s Steakhouse doors!” Dedra’s whisper was fierce.
“Why would I be anywhere near there today?” Kenya leaned back against one of the gold-resin Chiavari chairs that had been sourced from all over North Alabama.
“Kenya, you should be very near here because you are fifteen minutes late to your dinner meeting with the Bellon Group. Remember how you talked about charming the socks off of them? The potential for a very big opportunity for Huntsville and a very big check for all of us?” Her voice had tipped toward hysterics.
“That dinner isn’t until Friday, August twenty-second.”
“August twenty-second?!” Dedra repeated in disbelief.
“Yessss,” Kenya said slowly. She smoothed out a bunched-up section of her dress and settled deeper into the chair, smiling toward the center of the room. The joyous celebration didn’t match the tremor in her friend’s voice. “Today is Saturday, August sixteenth, silly. My cousin Adanne’s wedding.”
“Kenya, that can’t be true because I have the dinner on my calendar for 6:00 p.m. today. It is now 6:16, and if Evelyn taps her pen on the table one more time, I swear she is going to break it. And I can’t hide in this bathroom stall forever talking to you!”
Kenya straightened, swallowing against the rising dread in her throat. This didn’t sound like a joke or a simple mistake anymore. She stood up, scanning the crowd for an easy exit. Light poured out from the kitchen. She headed in that direction, holding thereceiver against her lips. “Give me a few seconds to find some quiet.”
“Kenya, you don’t have time for that! You need to get in your car!” Dedra’s voice rose above the rumble of the crowd and the music that pulsed in Kenya’s chest, tightening her throat. As soon as she got to the kitchen, she placed Dedra on speaker mode.
“Start from the beginning. How can that dinner be now, when my cousin’s wedding has been on my calendar for weeks?”
Dedra exhaled. “All I know is that you told me to schedule for six o’clock on the sixteenth.”
“The date sounds right. But I was referring to the wedding. And that started at 4:00 p.m.”
The sound of the pad of Dedra’s finger echoed through the phone. “You specifically wrote, ‘Please put Bellson on sixteen at six.’ And because I know your propensity to misspell everything, I figured you were talking about the Bellon Group and put the dinner today, at six!”
“Yes, I said to place the bells—meaningthe wedding bells—on the sixteenth at sixteen hundred.”
Dedra groaned. “You also forgot that the company’s name is the Bellon Investment Group.”
The truth started to sink in.Oh no,Lord,itcan’t be.
