My Mafia Madness 4

Chapter 16 - It's Who You Know

By now it was 1:55am and understandably still dark outside.

Alexa had pretty much counted on every single clothing store in Toronto being closed at such an early time in the morning, as… well, it just made sense for that to be the case.

No clothing store could possibly be open at this time in the morning…

Right?

What she hadn’t counted on however, was just how influential and apparently well-connected a man like Dante Romano really was.

After all, she was going on a shopping spree with a daringly dangerous billionaire!

All it took was one quick phone call to the former owner of Nordstrum who was by now retired, Mr. Bruce Nordstrum and everything somehow managed to sort itself out.

Before they knew it an entire team of retail assistants had come in to meet them, opening their local store especially for Dante and his fiancé.

It was as if they had somehow pulled a scene right out of the movie, Pretty Woman!

As the store’s lights were switched on and the workers rushed around preparing for their special VIP customers, both Alexa and Willow stood staring at the massive variety of different clothing and accessories on display.

Jackets, bags, hats, shoes, skirts, dresses, lingerie and more.

Neither woman could believe what was going on right now. It was entirely far too surreal for either of them to comprehend and even far more exciting.

Stepping up beside Alexa, Dante spoke to her with a gentle smile as he gestured ahead with a subtle nod of his head.

“The store is all yours, bella…” he announced proudly.

“You and Willow, go nuts. Buy whatever you want. My treat.”

Wide-eyed and still in a form of shock, both Alexa and Willow turned to look at one another with massive grins spread wide across their faces at such incredible news.

“This is totally insane.” Alexa proclaimed, grabbing Willow’s hand and squeezing it excitedly.

“Come on, before he changes his mind.” Willow added as she tugged her bestie along behind her.

The two darted off hand in hand and giggling like schoolgirls as they made their way down the nearest isle of clothing to begin their incredible shopping spree.

Now left to stand and watch, Dante and his brother Roberto seemed less excited than their partners were about this late-night shopping trip.

Roberto held his tiny nephew in against his muscular chest, though it was currently up covered by his dark navy Armani suit and shiny silver tie.

He watched as both Alexa and Willow disappeared into the rows and rows of designer clothing, both women giggling hysterically as they began scouring through the massive variety of options displayed before them.

Roberto turned his head off to the side and spoke to his older brother in a whispered voice as he kept his eyes fixated on the women busily browsing in front of them.

“Any ideas on how long this is gonna take?”

Dante shrugged his shoulders.

“No clue. But knowing our women, I’m guessing it could be a while.” the Don admitted drearily as he lifted his left arm up to reveal the time displayed on his black and gold trimmed Rolex.

2:23am.

“So, what’s the plan?”

Roberto continued his line of questioning as he began jiggling the sleeping baby held in his arms, back and forth.

“I have Carmen and Max out gathering supplies for Alessandro until I can have the rest of his things sent to the manor in the morning. They should be back here in about ten, fifteen minutes.” Dante explained before slouching down into the nearest arm chair with a long sigh.

Roberto followed his brother’s lead and did the same.

“Once the women are finished here, we’ll all travel out to the family manor. I have a skype meeting at nine with Romano Enterprises and I need to organise some things here in Toronto sooner rather than later.”

“Anything I can help out with?” Roberto asked, lifting his brow with intrigue.

Dante’s head lowered as he rubbed the back of his neck wearily.

“I’m afraid not… but thanks for the offer.”

A moment of silence forced itself between the two as Roberto suddenly felt the need to begin a whole new series of questioning altogether.

In truth, the taller Romano brother had been extremely eager to learn more about this mysterious surprise that his eldest brother had in store for Alexa.

It seemed like whatever it was, it was going to be big!

How could he tell, you may ask…

Easy…

Dante was clearly on edge right now. And Dante Romano was only ever on edge when something big was about to happen.

Something of extreme importance to him.

Something he was nervous about.

And Dante Romano was rarely ever nervous!

Putting two and two together, Roberto had figured out that whatever this surprise was, it was the whole reason that they had come here to Toronto in the first place.

And now, the need to learn more about whatever this was, was becoming far more than he could take.

It was really beginning to get to him now.

Like an itch that he just couldn’t seem to scratch.

Without thinking it through, he opened his mouth and just asked.

“So…”

Roberto began his next query, though he purposely seemed to be dragging it out, for fear of how his brother may react.

Noticing this, Dante turned to face his brother in question.

“What?” the Don asked drearily.

“Are you still gonna… you know…” Roberto urged gesturing towards where both Alexa and Willow were moving off to try on their first lot of clothes in the changing rooms.

Not following what his brother was trying to tell him, Dante’s emerald-green eyes narrowed into slits.

“I’m tired, Roberto.” the Don admitted with a sigh.

“Just get to the point, would you?”

“You know… you and Alexa… the whole reason we came here-”

Like a flash of lightning, Dante had caught on now and his expression immediately hardened as he stood up, towering over his brother in a very intimidating manner.

The Don’s eyes were now blazing with authority as he glared down at Roberto in warning.

“-That’s enough.” he spoke sternly to his brother.

Confused by Dante’s reaction, Roberto frowned up at him as he continued to cradle his sleeping nephew in his strong arms.

“Do not mention this again. Do you understand?” Dante ordered his brother using a surprisingly calm tone.

And just like that, the Don turned and marched off to head outside for a cigarette.

As Roberto watched him exit through the doorway, he pursed his lips together tightly and looked down at the sleeping child in his arms.

“Oh yeah, daddy’s definitely hiding something.”

He spoke to the baby softly while leaning back into the chair.

“What have you got up your sleeve this time, big bro?”

-

As Willow began shuffling through racks of clothing one item at a time, Alexa scanned the clothing from where she stood, searching for particular items that would keep her warm.

Everything looked so expensive and luxurious.

It was a little overwhelming for someone like her. Someone who had never shopped in a place like this before in her entire life.

She was far too afraid to look at any of the price tags, for fear of fainting right there on the spot!

Strangely, even now that she was technically engaged to marry a billionaire, Alexa felt somewhat out of place here. Not to mention the forced marriage she had been coaxed into more recently...

She made a mental note to herself, promising that she would tell Dante about it as soon as they got a moment together in private.

Alexa couldn’t stand keeping something like this from him.

It was eating away at her, even though it wasn’t her fault. She wanted to be totally honest with him.

After all, she loved him dearly.

“Look, let’s just grab some things and then go, ok?” Alexa spoke nervously.

Willow then pulled out a gorgeous golden blouse with black patterns over it.

She held it up and smiled proudly.

“Oooh… this looks super cute. And super expensive!” the red head cooed happily.

“Lex, what do you think?”

Turning her attention to the blouse in question, Alexa’s expression showed her lack of interest as she took a quick glance at it before speaking.

“Yeah, it’s… nice.”

Willow frowned at her friend’s analysis. Or lack thereof.

“Nice? Seriously? That’s all I get?”

Shrugging, Alexa looked around the store as if in search of something or someone. She just couldn’t seem to focus her thoughts on the incredibly fancy clothing around her.

“Hey, where did Carmen and Max go?” she asked out of sudden curiosity.

“I can’t see them anywhere. They’re not waiting for us outside, are they? It’s freezing out there.”

Willow chuckled before she spoke her response.

“Relax, they’re not outside. From what I heard Dante gave them baby shopping duty.”

“What? Really?” Alexa asked, sounding surprised as she turned back to face her friend.

“Mm-hm… your man sent them off to gather clothing and accessories for your son. Even gave them a list of things they need to bring back with them.”

As she spoke, Willow went on while browsing the next rack of clothing.

“I think I heard him say that they were meant to meet up with us when they were done, but that was a while ago now so… who knows.”

Reaching out, Willow found a vibrant looking trench coat made of smooth purple velvet and with a black fur collar sweeping around the neckline.

Intrigued, she grabbed it and lifted it up by the coat hanger to get a better look.

“Oh, this is totally you Lex.”

Willow made her announcement happily, a brilliant smile adding to her excitement as she turned to see her friend’s expression change almost instantaneously.

“Holy shit.” Alexa cursed to herself as she stepped in closer towards the trench coat and reached out her hand to feel the soft material it was made from.

“I know, right?” Willow added.

“And it’s your favourite colour, so that’s a bonus.”

“It is stunning…”

Alexa complimented, running her fingers through the soft, black fur around the collar.

“How much is it?”

Scoffing, Willow frowned at her bestie.

“Who cares. Your man wants to spoil you, so let him spoil you already!”

With that, Willow marched the coat across towards the checkout where she spoke with one of the staff standing behind the counter.

While Willow was busy, Alexa decided to take a quick look in the lingerie section of the store, just to see if anything stood out to her.

Strangely enough, several options had caught her attention within the matter of a few minutes and locating them in her size, she folded them over her arm while heading over to the checkout to join her friend there.

Placing them up on the counter, she was suddenly washed over with a wave of embarrassment as the staff member behind the counter took them and began scanning them and preparing them for bagging.

Grinning from ear to ear, Willow folded her arms over her chest smugly.

“I see you found the lingerie easily enough.” she mused.

“But you do know we came here to find you something a little... warmer, right?”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Alexa rolled her eyes, turning away from Willow.

“What? I couldn't help myself. Besides, Dante loves the colour red on me.”

“Does he now?” Willow queried, still grinning.

“Will there be anything else, ma’am?” the store clerk asked from where she stood behind the counter.

Willow took this as her chance to take charge of the situation. Alexa clearly wasn't taking charge or even showing any interest in searching for warmer clothing.

“Yes, my friend here is in desperate need of a winter wardrobe.”

The clerk nodded with a smile.

“Of course. It can get quite cold here this time of year. Let me show you both our selection of winter wear and accessories… this way, please...”

With her arm outstretched as a gesture for them to follow along after her, the clerk waltzed on towards the far corner of the store to assist them.

“Come on...” Willow remarked, grabbing her friend’s arm and pulling her along as they followed the clerk.

“The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can have ourselves a nice, warm bath and then get some sleep.”

Alexa giggled at her bestie.

“Mmmm… I always love the way you think, Will.”

“Well, I can’t exactly drink now, can I?” the red head reminded with an obviously overdone pout on her lips as she rubbed her belly knowingly.

“Aw, don’t worry.”

Alexa assured her with a side hug.

“I promise that I’ll have one for the both of us.”