My Mafia Madness 3

Chapter 26 - Stealing Alexa Away

Alexa smiled with absolute delight as she and Dante stepped inside of the beautifully decorated lobby of Beekman Hotel, amidst all the other party guests there in attendance that evening.

The sound of the Christmas carols being played in the background gave the atmosphere a more holiday-like feel, that and the tens of thousands of fairy lights currently on display all around them.

The place looked beyond incredible! Like a fantasy world.

Dante would make a quick stop here and there to shake hands with various dignitaries and personalities in attendance as they slowly made their way into the main ball room, while Alexa gazed around in disbelief.

She felt like a child seeing Disneyland for the first time ever.

It was all so exciting.

As Dante was busy chatting with the Mayor of New York, Alexa stood off to his side in silence.

The entire scene around her, although lavish and luxurious, was not the kind of thing she was used to and before too long, she was beginning to feel somewhat bored.

“Wow, now this is a party!” came a familiar voice from behind her.

The voice caused Alexa’s eyes to widen and her to immediately spin around, coming face to face with her best friend Willow who was smiling back at her.

“Oh my god, Will!” Alexa cried out, wrapping her arms around her best friend and pulling her in for a quick hug.

As they pulled apart, both women were now beyond thrilled to see one another there. To at last find someone that they could actually converse with.

“I didn’t know you were coming.” Alexa admitted happily.

“Surprise.” the red head announced with a smirk.

“Where’s Roberto?” Alexa queried, glancing around for a moment.

“Oh, he’s around here somewhere. Probably doing the same thing your man’s doing right now, chatting up the wealthies…”

Willow replied, holding out a glass of chilled orange juice for her friend to take.

“Thought you could use this.”

“Thank you so much.”

Reaching out her hand, Alexa took the glass and took a long sip of it, as if parched for some reason.

It shocked Willow somewhat as she lifted both of her eyebrows in response.

“Geez, you thirsty or something?”

Swallowing the chilled liquid, Alexa smiled before giving her reply.

“No sorry, just… a little bored.” she admitted.

Alexa focused on keeping her voice at but a whisper as she and Willow made sure to lean in and whisper their conversation to one another.

The last thing Dante needed was bad press about his fiancé not enjoying herself at his own company’s event.

“Well, the fun’s here now.” Willow announced, wrapping her arm around Alexa’s and proceeding to step in.

“Don’t worry girl, I’ve got you covered.” she added with a wink.

Willow being the brazen kind of person that she was, didn’t care that Dante was a cold-blooded killer, or that he was speaking with the New York City Mayor right now.

She just wanted to show her bestie a good time while they were at this outrageous party.

“Will, what are you-”

Alexa tried questioning her friend’s intentions but was cut off when Willow placed her free hand onto Dante’s arm and spoke, interrupting them as she did so.

“-Excuse me, Mr. Romano…”

Dante turned as soon as she had touched his arm, seemingly somewhat surprised by seeing Willow standing there beside them suddenly.

But as surprised as he was, he masked it well and kept a smile pasted on his dashing face as he gave her his response.

“Ah, Miss Coulton. Always a pleasure to see you.” the Don remarked.

“Shouldn’t you be with my brother right now?”

Dante’s question seemed to almost hint that Willow should be elsewhere, but as strong-willed as she was, she ignored the hint and spoke with a dashing smile of her own.

“Oh, you know Roberto. He’s somewhere caught in a conversation. Probably hasn’t even noticed that I’m gone…”

Willow spoke, glancing at the mayor and smiling out of respect.

“Actually, I was wondering whether you’d allow me to steal away your beautiful bride-to-be for a few minutes? I thought I could find her something to eat.”

Dante although smiling right now, was still rather tense.

It was obvious that he was quite uncomfortable with her leaving his side that evening. And the truth was, it would be extremely dangerous for them to go off on their own.

But Willow was persistent and an absolute master of getting what she wanted.

Besides, it wasn’t like Dante could simply turn around and say ‘no’ to her in front of the mayor.

It would have made him look far too overprotective in the politician’s eyes and the Don couldn’t have any sort of bad image right now.

Willow was indeed a master at her own game.

“Of course, Miss Coulton. How very kind of you to offer.” the Don finally spoke, his voice calm and yet laced with hidden warning as he reached out and grasped at Alexa’s free wrist.

He stared her in the eye as he spoke his next command.

“Don’t go too far, amore mio.”

Noticing just how serious he was right now, Alexa smiled and leaned in, pressing her lips to his cheek and giving him a gentle peck before she left with Willow, the two women weaving in through the vibrant crowd of guests.

The very moment that they had left, Dante turned to meet Nicola’s eyes and a silent command had been given within the fraction of a second.

‘Follow her!’

With a nod of understanding in his Capo’s direction, the underboss began manoeuvring his way through the guests, signalling for Luca, Dexter and Carmen to follow along as well.

It appeared that their target for the evening had suddenly changed.

-

From the exact moment that she had been freed from standing there and playing the good little future wife, Alexa let out a long exhale and relaxed as she and Willow headed towards the buffet table.

It was covered in a variety of different types of expensive finger foods and mini cuisines. And Alexa was grateful to finally get something into her stomach.

She had been fighting back waves of nausea for the past half an hour due to her anxiety and stress of mucking things up for Dante this evening.

A cheese and tomato baby quiche was the first thing she had sighted and picked up between her slender fingers.

As she took a bite, her saliva glands almost exploded with excitement, and she let out a soft moan.

“Mmmm...”

“Wow, did you just moan?” Willow asked with a giggle.

“Mmm…” Alexa made the sound as she chewed her food and then swallowed.

“Oh god, that’s so good!” she admitted, taking another bite.

“Does he starve you or something?” Willow asked, picking up a small plate and looking through the selection of foods displayed before them.

Swallowing again, Alexa shook her head as she spoke.

“Of course not. I just had a long day and didn’t really get to eat that much. I think the baby’s pissed at me for it, actually.”

The two shared a laugh together before Willow popped a grape into her mouth and began to chew.

The pair looked around at the luxurious scene playing out before them, wondering how on earth they had managed to find themselves here.

“Did you ever think we’d end up like this?”

Alexa surprised Willow with her question, the red head quickly turning to look at her best friend with a raised brow in question.

“What do you mean, exactly?”

Alexa shrugged her shoulders, glancing down at her bulging belly and resting her hand on top of it lovingly with a smile.

“I don’t know, this… all of it, it just feels so… surreal.” she admitted.

“Don’t you ever stop and wonder to yourself how we even got here in the first place?”

“Na, I was totally born for this sort of lifestyle.” Willow teased with a grin.

“Will, I’m serious!” Alexa interjected, nudging her bestie.

“I mean, not that long ago I was just some guy’s personal assistant working my ass off for a man who didn’t even really know that I existed… and then along comes this smoking hot man who makes me turn into jelly with nothing but a glance…”

“If he’s anything like his brother in bed, I totally understand you, girl.” Willow mused.

“Those Romano men… they’re insatiable!”

Once more, the two shared a brief laugh with one another before Alexa felt a gentle tap on her left shoulder and turned her head to come face to face with the one responsible for it.

Her eyes widened in surprise upon seeing him there that evening.

“Nicholas?”

“I thought it was you, but I had to be sure...”

Nicholas announced with a dashing smile of his own before he turned his head and met eyes with Willow.

“And who is this?”

Alexa, still in disbelief that she would run into him here, of all places, shook her head to rid herself of the sudden daze she now found herself in and stuttered before she tried replying.

Luckily, Willow stepped in to save her from looking too foolish, holding her hand out as she introduced herself with great confidence.

“Willow Coulton.”

Nicholas grasped at her hand, and she gave him a firm squeeze as they shook hands.

“A good grip, I see. One’s handshake can say a lot about them.” he announced knowingly, still with his debonair smile showing.

And Willow chuckled before they released one another’s hands.

“And what does my handshake say about me?” she queried, out of curiosity.

Nicholas could see that the red head was testing him. Sizing him up, as a best friend would do.

And he would oblige with her overprotectiveness, playing along with her little game.

“You’re strong-willed. Confident, but with some insecurities you choose to mask. You’re loyal and fight for the ones you care about… sound about right?”

Willow’s brows slowly rose higher and higher the more he spoke.

“Wow, that’s Willow to a tea!” Alexa admitted, pursing her lips together in an attempt to prevent herself from smiling.

Rolling her eyes, Willow scoffed.

“I’m sorry, I forget your name...”

“Nicholas Valentino.” he introduced himself formally, standing tall and proud.

“I am the owner and CEO of Northside Ventures.”

“Never heard of it.” Willow shot back.

Instantly realising that her friend was acting quite cold towards the man responsible for saving her life back at the concert, Alexa moved in to quickly redirect the conversation and prevent Willow from making a scene.

“So, Nicholas, what are you doing here this evening?” she asked, turning to face him.

“I wasn’t aware that you worked for Romano Enterprises.”

Nicholas gave a short laugh in response.

“Actually, I work alongside the company. I have a minor partnership with one of the branches here in the states.” he went on to explain.

“As a matter of fact, our two companies have come out quite successful this year, with talk of a proposed merger somewhere in the near future. I guess I have your fiancé to thank for that.”

Alexa smiled proudly.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Willow’s eyes were suspiciously fixated on this stranger who was clearly trying to make a move on her best friend as their conversation continued.

Her engaged and pregnant best friend.

Unsure as to why, Willow clearly wasn’t getting a good feeling from this guy and she felt a great unease just being here in his presence.

There was something slippery about him.

Deciding it was time to try and break things up, Willow stepped in and spoke, interrupting them mid-conversation.

“-Hey, Lex. Sorry to interrupt you guys, but could you come with me to the restroom? I uh... I need your help with something.”

Alexa seemed confused by her friend’s abnormal request as she looked from Nicholas to Willow for a moment in silence before she gave her hesitant reply.

“Er… ok.”

With that, Willow grabbed her friend by the arm and began leading her across towards the hall leading into the public toilets.

The entire way, Alexa seemed baffled by her friend’s strange and frantic actions.

Embarrassed even.

And as they walked away, Nicholas’ eyes narrowed as they followed them until they had stepped out of his sights entirely.

He could tell that this friend of Alexa’s would be a problem.

One he may have to eventually eradicate.