an example of what i think romanticizing the mafia is when the MC is kidnapped and “sold” to the mafia boss and she falls in love with him (??sorry what??) OR when the MC’s mom or dad is killed by the mafia men, they find her as “collateral damage” and take her to the boss and also again falls in love with him (sis-).
I think romanticizing mafia is when we treat those criminals (yes they are criminals, bad bad criminals) as people with actual good hearts and if they didn’t have their “emotional baggage” they wouldn’t murder innocent ppl (in some stories they kind of put the whole of police force in bad light…which is not good). They also take being kidnapped and “sold”, which are some major traumatic experiences just as a way for the MC and LI to meet.
back to your story (which the whole topic was about lol sorry for the above passage)
i don’t think you are necessarily romanticizing the mafia. If the MC falls in love with a guy who HAD been a part of the mafia in the past…then I don’t think this is romanticizing the mafia, no.