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Her nerves though were all over the place because Leo was due back that very evening and she was stressed out at the thought of seeing him again because he had been so polite and distant when he phoned. In addition, he had mentioned dining with Marina, who was also in London, and Grace had had to battle an innate streak of jealousy and tell herself that she was relaxed about his friendship with his former fiancée. But even so, Grace feared comparisons being made and knew it would always hurt that Leo should believe that Marina would have made him the ideal wife.
Josefina popped her head out of the French windows that led out to the terrace. ‘Signora Zikos? Visitor. Meester Robert,’ she pronounced, utilising her tiny English vocabulary.
Her brow pleating in surprise, for she didn’t recognise the name, Grace stood up and stared at the man walking towards her, a chord of recognition striking her so hard that she froze and her eyes widened. The man was in his forties and of medium height with red hair as bright as her own. She had studied his photos on Facebook on several occasions and she knew who he was even though she couldn’t quite credit that he could be in Italy to visit her.
‘You’re...’ Grace began breathlessly.
‘Tony Roberts, your father. I wanted to phone and warn you that I was coming but Leo was convinced it would be better if I simply surprised you,’ he explained tautly. ‘I hope he was right on that score...’
‘Leo? You’ve met Leo?’ Grace exclaimed, inviting the older man to sit down at the table she had vacated.
‘He came to see me at the surgery last week and told me that you’d only recently found out what happened between your mother and I. By the way, I’m very sorry for your loss,’ he told her with quiet sympathy. ‘I wasn’t sure this was the best time for me to meet you but your husband thought it might cheer you up.’
‘My loss?’ Grace repeated uncertainly, her brow indenting as she struggled to work out how such a misunderstanding could have taken place. ‘But I didn’t have a miscarriage...I’m still pregnant.’
Her father gave her a perplexed look, clearly confused.
‘Did Leo tell you I had miscarried?’ Grace asked abruptly and when he nodded, everything fell into place for Grace and she finally realised that she had totally misinterpreted Leo’s silence about her health and threatened miscarriage. Evidently, her text had gone astray and, having failed to receive it, Leo had assumed the worst and had then tactfully avoided any reference to pregnancy or babies. ‘My goodness,’ she whispered in shock, appalled to appreciate that Leo had been walking round London in ignorance of the reality that he was still going to be a father.
She explained the misunderstanding to her own father while trying to come to terms with the knowledge that, even divided as they currently were, Leo had still sought out her father and gone to see him for what could only be for her benefit.
‘Are you saying that your husband still doesn’t know that you didn’t lose the baby?’ he commented in consternation. ‘You should go and phone him right now!’
‘Leo’s due back tonight and I’d prefer to tell him face to face,’ Grace admitted with an abstracted smile, hoping that he would believe it was the very best news. ‘I gather it was Leo who persuaded you to come to Italy and meet me?’
‘I needed very little persuasion. I have waited over twenty years for this opportunity,’ Tony Roberts pointed out with a wry smile. ‘I assumed that you would hate me because your mother did. I didn’t even know Keira had a brother in London. I never met any of her family because she didn’t get on with them. I also had no idea that your mother had died when you were eleven. Had I known I would have asked if you could come and live with me instead of your aunt and uncle.’
Josefina brought out a tray of coffee and biscuits and Grace chatted to her father, satisfying her curiosity about his side of the family tree and asking about his three children and his wife. Tony had been so excited about the chance to meet his long-lost daughter that he had gone straight to his partners in the surgery where he worked and requested time off to fly straight out to Italy for the weekend. Grace was doubly touched, overwhelmed by her father’s eagerness to meet her and stunned by the effort Leo had gone to on her behalf. Leo cared about her happiness, she realised, warmth filling her heart. Only a man who cared about her would have taken the trouble to set up such a meeting.
