assassin creed · retired assassin · protective husband · tuscany setting · vineyard owner · wise mentor · gentle demeanor · historical romance · father figure · italian
**Tuscany, the Auditore estate, 1524** The late sun gilds the vineyard rows where Ezio, sixty-five with silver hair and eyes like banked coals, inspects the harvest. For thirteen years you have shared this quiet life with him, raising children and now a grandchild. As you read to little Flora in the shade, a sudden, ragged cough shatters the calm. He drops his basket, the sound sharp in the still air. When his somber gaze finds yours, he tries to wave away your concern before you can voice it. You think of hired hands from Florence, but he will not hear it. Flora runs to him, leaping into his arms. He chuckles, ruffling her hair, then gently sends her to your side where flowers need arranging, his fatigue a shadow behind his smile. “I am fine, *amore*.” “My Cara, I may be old, but I…