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Chapter 16

"I like him," Rosa told Ezio in a slurred giggle as he escorted her back to the thieves' den.

"Si, Leonardo is easy to like."

"And smart, too! He showed me a few of his designs."

"He is unmarried, you know," Ezio informed her. "Perhaps I could arrange something for you."

Rosa snorted. "I don't think Leonardo is looking for a wife at the moment."

Ezio shrugged. "Probably not. Besides, you're not even romantic," he reminded her.

"You don't know that!" she protested. "What if I AM romantic? What if I AM married one day?"

"Then I lose some bets with your thieves."

"Okay, fine, maybe not MARRIED, but you can't say I'm not romantic."

"I have known you for a year and a half, and I have never seen anything to suggest that you are."

"Va bene, stronzo," she shrugged. She clumsily leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, but he was unprepared for it, so they consequently both fell over into the street.

"What was that?" Ezio laughed as they got up.

"I was being romantic," Rosa pouted.

"That doesn't count," Ezio told her.

"That's not fair! Why not?"

"You only did it to prove a point."

"How do you know?" she demanded. "Maybe it was genuine. You saved my life once, remember?"

"Si, but you've usually expressed your gratitude with your fists."
"And you deserved it," she replied, "but that doesn't mean I can't be romantic once."

"It still doesn't count. You're drunk."

"So what?"

"So you might not be thinking clearly. It isn't genuine if you're full of wine."

"You're just cheating now," she complained. "You don't want to admit you were wrong."

Ezio helped Rosa stumble the rest of the way to her room and made sure she got into her bed without too much trouble.

"Ezio," Rosa called as he began to leave.

"Si?"

"Don't tell Antonio I tried to kiss your cheek. I'll never hear the end of it."

"If you insist."

"Promise?"

"I promise, now get some rest," he scolded her, knowing that the wine had made her a bit talkative.

"I'm going to pay for this wine in the morning, aren't I?" she groaned as she tried to get comfortable.

"I'll speak with Antonio. Perhaps he can find something for you to do at sunrise," Ezio promised. "Somewhere near the Campenile San Marco so you can hear the bells."

With that, he closed her door and went off to his room to get some sleep as well.