The Business Arrangement | Mafia Romance 18+

Chapter Twenty: The Finale (part 1)

POV: Maya

"Do you know who the bridesmaids will be yet?" Gertrude asks. She tries to wink, but it looks more like she has something stuck in her eye.

"Obviously, you three," I laugh, "I mean, assuming you can come to the wedding."

She furrows her brows in confusion. "Course I can. Why wouldn't I?"

Shit.

Here I am, trying to be considerate of mafia politics, only to somehow misunderstand the basic principles.

"Well," I hesitate, trying to figure out how to phrase my question. "I mean, don't you have a history with a Capo?"

"Sure," Gertrude shrugs, "But that was ages ago. Why?"

"Are you...allowed to associate with the Irish Mob, then?" I ask hesitantly. "I just mean, if you have a history with the Mafia, I don't want to get you in trouble with Angelo."

"Angelo can go to hell," she sighs. "It's not like he has to give me permission for every little thing."

"Oh."

In truth, I didn't realize she had that much freedom.

"Not like Sofia, I mean," Gertrude whispers, seemingly catching my unspoken question. "No one in my family was ever Made, so I'm technically an outsider. Course, I do like to attend all these fancy events, but still. I'm just a guest, not anything more."

I sneak a glance back towards Sofia and Malik, who are still beside the bar. Based on the way the crowd is pressing in around them, she probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Not that she's letting her distaste show.

What must her home life be like for her to be so composed at times like this?

If I were forced to kiss some random man in front of an audience, I would be mortified. But Sofia looks calmed and collected, a docile housewife behind a mask of stone. Course, my time with Henry has taught me to recognize the signs of a front, so I know it can't be how she really feels. It's still alarming, though, to see her look so unbothered at a time like this.

Besides, from what I can tell, she downright hates Malik.

That is, as much as you can hate someone you don't know. Her father hasn't let her out of the house in weeks. I'm not even sure Malik has been able to spend time with her. And definitely not alone. According to Henry, Angelo has been the only one routinely meeting with him. Whatever his intention, it definitely hasn't made Sofia warm up to Malik. If anything, it's just made her more determined to stay as far away from him as possible. Every time she brings up moving to Memphis, I can tell she's dreading it.

Dreading him.

So, in our group chat, we all tend to mention Memphis, and the engagement, as little as possible.

"So, that's a yes to being a bridesmaid?" I ask Gertrude.

Her face lights up in a grin. "Of course! Do I get to bring a date?"

Beside me, Henry stiffens. It's almost imperceptible, but given that I'm holding his hand it's impossible not to notice. He's clearly worried about Gertrude bringing someone, though I'm not sure why.

"Uhh, I haven't worked out all the details yet, but...probably?" I shrug.

He relaxes slightly, but not by much. Maybe he's worried she'll invite her ex?

From what Sofia's let slip, her father's Capo, aka Gertrude's ex, is a total piece of work. He tried to control Gertrude in every way, to the point where she rebelled twice as much once she finally got out of the relationship. And he's just one of her mysteriously horrible ex boyfriends.