You're my reason

{16}

It's been a few days since the incident in the kitchen, everyone in the house staying to themselves about the emotions between Marco and Emma. Valentina is the only one not to notice the tension between everyone at the dinner table.

"Emmie when do I get to go to Rosa's again?" Valentina asks while stuffing her face with lasagna, the girl is quite the charmer.

"What I'm not good enough company shorty?" Ace chuckles, stuffing his face in the same manner as the little girl. Marco smiles at the three year olds request to see his mother, he hasn't has the chance to see her himself with his workload catching up on him and his debacle with Emma.

"Uh no you're not." Valentina answers with an innocent smile on her adorable face, everyone at the table laughs before Emma answers her.

"Well I have a hunch that you'll see her when I take you there tomorrow, sunflower." Marco frowns at this. Did she have plans tomorrow? What was she doing? God dude! Stop being a whiny bitch! She's probably just going for a visit. Marco thinks to himself.

"Want me to drop you two off there?" Ace asks casually. Marco clenches his jaw at the easy-going nature between the two. Since when were they besties? Marco's inner dialog yet again pops up. Emma shrugs before taking her plate to the sink to start the cleanup, Marco takes his chance to talk to her and follows, not missing the wink from Ace.

A awkward tension fills the air as Emma rolls her sleeves up and runs soapy water, Marco is quick to fall into small talk as he takes his place besides her with a tea towel.

"So what are you doing tomorrow amorè?" He asks, his accent deepening at the nickname. Emma can't help but notice that his voice goes deeper and richer when he talks in his native tongue, she pursues her lips when she gets a huge breath of his smell, the comforting scent almost making her want to cry.

"I'm going into LeClassico tomorrow." She says, not even looking at him since she knows that he will argue with her.

"Why?" He says and stops to stare at the side of her face. He notices how beautiful she looks like this, in a simple checkered flannel and blue jeans that do wonders to her figure, her chocolate curls up in a messy bun sitting on top of her head. He wishes she could be his officially but she seems to have detached herself from him over the last few days.

"Because you made me manager and I haven't been into the store in almost a month, besides I can't keep using you like this. I need to get a place for Val and I." She almost whispers the last part, the words nervously tumbling out of her mouth. Marco stares at her stunned, why did she want to leave? Why cant he just tell her how he feels?

"Emma, you know that I want you to be here. I dont want you to feel like a burden-" His emotional speech is interrupted by a crying Valentina bursting into the kitchen with a distressed Malia and Hope running after her, Emma is quick to scoop the girl into her arms and tries to shush her while throwing a glare at the two girls.

"Before I welcome you two home you better tell me what you did." Emma says in her protective big sister tone, Marco almost chuckles at how cute she looks with an angry scowl on her face but he does not want to face her wrath himself so he stays silent.

"Well we tried to surprise her but it, uh, kinda scared her." Malia trailed off with a sheepish smile, Emma sighed before telling them that she was going to put Valentina down to sleep before leaving to go upstairs.

(Hours later)

Everyone is disbanded into their own little groups. Marco and Ace up in the study on the top floor of the mansion settling last minute things for working and arguing with stubborn old businessmen, Emma and Malia are downstairs in the lounge watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier and giggling like school girls at Sebastian Stan and Chris Evans, Hope and Angelo were off somewhere together.