Page 26 of Never Too Late
‘No, I leave him with Cesare and Donatella. It’s so convenient having them living close by.’
‘It must be nice to be near your family.’ She saw him glance towards the other end of the table, but he made no comment.
They chatted over dinner, which was a magnificent mixed grill comprising everything from Donatella’s fabulous homemade burgers to lamb chops, coils of spicy sausage and huge chunks of steak accompanied by a mountain of fries and sumptuous mixed salads. For those who weren’t fans of so much meat, there were slices of aubergine, pecorino cheese and courgettes, all grilled on the barbecue as well. Steph tried some of each and found them delicious.
By the end of the meal her opinion of Robert had risen. In spite of his lurid reputation there was no denying that he was bright as well as good-looking. He also sounded remarkably grounded and free from the pretentious attitude of his older brother. Nevertheless, she reminded herself, he was best avoided, not that there was any reason to believe that he had any great interest in her anyway. He did at least appear more communicative now that they were getting to know each other, but she couldn’t sense anything more than friendly interest.
She had an unexpectedly pleasant evening chatting to him on one side of her, and to Sky on the other, and when eleven o’clock arrived she was feeling very relaxed. When the party broke up, she thanked Keith and Faye for the invitation and thanked her dinner companions for their company. It had been a good day. She wandered back down to her room and collapsed into bed. After all the fresh air she should have dropped straight off to sleep, but the thought of the email she had received from the hospital dispelled the memory of what had been an exciting day and replaced it with a cold nagging fear deep down inside.
Chapter 12
Robert’s concert on Sunday turned into a group outing for the family. Not all the family, as Denver and Willow abstained, as did Ethan, which came as no surprise to Steph. Classical music, along with history and art, had never been among his interests. Cesare drove all three band members and their wives to Florence in the minibus, along with Tom and Sky who were going to get on a train to Milan to catch their flight back to Manchester. Because Steph was unsure how much longer she would be staying in Italy, she travelled to Florence by train early that morning so that she could take a quick look at the sights. Cesare arranged that he would pick her up from Florence main station at two o’clock when he came to drop Sky and Tom off in time for the Milan train. Cesare would then take the remainder of them to the concert in Fiesole on the outskirts of the city.
Florence was heaving with people when Steph emerged from the station. It was another beautiful September day and crowds of tourists filled the streets, admiring and photographing the wonders of one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Making her way past Renaissance palazzi, medieval churches and designer shops, and heading towards the duomo, she reflected on Sky’s final words to her just before she had set off. They had hugged goodbye and Steph had wished her all the best for her wedding day, knowing she would miss her. They had formed a close bond in a short space of time, but it was what Sky had said that was still resonating inside her head.
‘Take good care of Rob. I can see that he likes you, and I think the two of you could be good together.’
Steph had been flabbergasted, but she felt she had to express her reservations. ‘I can’t say I’ve noticed any great attraction on his part, but I’ll be quite honest, Sky, I’m not sure he’s the kind of man I want to get mixed up with. I’m sorry if that sounds rude and I take your point that it takes two to tango, but the fact remains that he has got a bit of a reputation.’
‘I know what you mean – theplayboy virtuosoand all that – but like I said before, deep down he’s a good guy, and I’m not just saying that because he’s my brother. He’s been a bit of a lost soul for the past few years, but he’s changing, I can feel it. There’s something about the way he looks at you that tells me this time it’s different.’
As Steph squeezed between a group of Chinese tourists and a troop of Boy Scouts who sounded as though they were from somewhere in Eastern Europe, the thought that Robert might like her was still uppermost in her head. She was amazed that Sky thought there might be anything there. Steph wasn’t the most experienced of people in matters of the heart, but she felt sure she could read greater affection in the eyes of his Labrador than in those of the man himself. Could his sister be right?
And if she was, so what?
Even if he was somehow a changed man as his sister had indicated, his dubious reputation with women, the disparity between their backgrounds and the itinerant lifestyle imposed on him by his career would make it hard to sustain a relationship. Add to that the uncertainty of her future from a professional point of view, and it all became terribly complicated. And of course, there was also the lurking fear of a cancer diagnosis that made her future even more uncertain, but she made a valiant effort to keep that submerged for now. As her mum had told her when she had phoned to pass on the news about Tuesday’s biopsy, there was no point in worrying about something over which she had no control.
Easier said than done.
She stopped as she reached the Piazza del Duomo and stood there, eyes ranging over the ornate marble façade of the cathedral with its pillars, arches, statues and decorative lines of different coloured marble, but barely registering the beauty of the scene. She had no idea whether Sky might be right and her brother really did like her, but it made no difference. Nothing could or should happen between them and that was that. Whether he was still a womaniser or not, he had his life and she had hers. And by keeping him at arm’s length she would save herself the heartache of ultimate separation.
She didn’t have time to visit the interior of the duomo, so she moved on through the busy streets to Piazza della Signoria and fought her way close enough to the massive statue of David to take a few photos. From there she walked on further weaving with difficulty through the crowds to the Ponte Vecchio, where she bought a little necklace for her mum. By this time it was already lunchtime, and she was getting peckish. She was relieved to find a table outside agelateriawhere she could sit under a parasol and enjoy a bowl of strawberry, peach and white chocolate ice cream. She sent a few photos to her mother and before long it was time to set off for the station to meet Cesare.
She was still thinking about the biopsy and Robert as she waited by the station at two o’clock. Cesare arrived barely a few minutes late to offload Sky and Tom so they could catch their train and Steph took their place in the minibus. Sky added further coals to the fire by whispering in Steph’s ear as they hugged one last time, ‘You and Rob: I can see it happening. You’ve got my phone number. Please keep me posted.’
Fiesole lies on a hill, just a handful of kilometres outside Florence. As the car climbed the winding road out of the city, Cesare told them to look back behind them, and the views over Florence were indeed stunning with its mass of red roofs punctuated by spires, towers and the unmistakable cupola of the duomo standing out above all else. When they got to Fiesole, they found it was a charming little town with an open-air market in the main square selling all sorts of lovely looking handcrafted objects. The Roman amphitheatre was impressive, far bigger than Steph had been expecting. Surrounded by beautifully kept grounds and facing away from Florence into the Tuscan countryside, it had been remarkably well preserved, and they found themselves sitting on the two-thousand-year-old stone seats among a thousand other people.
Despite the concert being sold out, Rob had got them seats right in the middle near the front. They sat looking directly onto the stage and, beyond that, there were just olive groves and the Tuscan hills. The seats were completely exposed to the afternoon sun and Steph was glad she had heeded Cesare’s advice to bring sun cream. Beside her, the three surviving members of Royalty wore baseball caps and the inevitable dark glasses, and nobody appeared to recognise them or, if they did, they were too polite to say anything. As a souvenir, Steph bought herself a T-shirt with Robert’s face on it, advertising the concert. At least she would have something to remember him by when she returned to England.
The concert featured Robert – Rob Sinclair as he appeared on the programme – accompanied by the Florence Chamber Orchestra, and they started with the same Tchaikovsky violin concerto that Steph had heard him practising back on the coast. He was wearing a formal dark tuxedo, complete with bow tie, and he looked good, although he must have been boiling, even though the stage was shaded by a canopy. The combination of the historic setting, the spectacular views, the wonderful weather and his faultless playing resulted in an unforgettable experience. When the concert finished after numerous encores, and the audience began to leave the arena, Steph felt sure people must have found it a perfect and moving experience. She certainly had.
She and the others went down to the front where their backstage passes allowed them through to the restricted area where they found Robert minus his jacket and tie, mopping his face with a towel. His mother went across to give him a hug.
‘Robbie, darling, that was simply lovely. You played perfectly.’
He gave her a grin. ‘Thanks, I thought it went pretty well. Pity about that aircraft partway through the second movement, but that’s the trouble with playing outdoors.’ When his eyes landed on Steph he gave her a little smile and a wave before returning to drying himself off. When his face emerged from the towel, he was approached by an enthusiastic admirer who addressed him in Italian and he slipped seamlessly into the language.
A waiter came around with glasses of Prosecco and soft drinks, but after all the sun this afternoon Steph helped herself to a big glass of water and swallowed half of it in one go. Over the next half hour, she made sure to give Robert space and she chatted to Cesare, who was effusive in his praise for the performance. At last Keith waved to Cesare and turned to Robert.
‘Rob, we’re off back to the villa. Very well done again. You can’t imagine how proud we are of you.’
Robert gave him a broad smile in return, hugged his mother and was just waving goodbye to them all when he sneezed. It was only as he pulled out a tissue and blew his nose that he suddenly gave a heartfelt groan and crouched down, running his hands over the grass at his feet. Steph was the last of the group and she turned back to offer help.
‘What’s happened? Have you dropped something?’
He glanced up. ‘My damn contact lens. The left one’s been uncomfortable all day and it must have come out when I sneezed. Now I’ve gone and lost it.’
Steph crouched down alongside him and started running her fingers across the grass as well. ‘What does it feel like?’ She had no experience of contacts. ‘Is it glass? Will it be expensive to replace?’
