Silent Engagement

Royce and Coco made it back to town so they dropped by the house for Royce to discuss business and Coco to show off her ring. I asked Coco if they had faced Taryn yet and she remarked that they were staying at her parents' house til Taryn cooled down from her supposed divorce tantrum. No one really believed she was going to go through with it as she loved being Mrs. Jago Vanderhaven far too much to put her position aside. What had really aggravated more was her was the loss of her best friend Liselle.

Gervais had assigned himself the role of comforter and was driving Tiah wild by turning up at the house each morning to comfort Taryn and denounce his sister. Coco said Gervais had pulled the plug and their business was down the drain, Royce was depressed as he would have to go into the winery and Jojo would probably have to work at the restaurant which would thrill Chantal. Jojo had been preoccupied from the minute he got back yesterday but I didn’t want to press him as he might ask what had happened to me and then I would have had to tell him about Gervais. I really didn’t want to get into a big drama about Gervais while I was still sorting out what I was going to do with my life but this information helped me to understand what was going through his mind.

Coco was shining as marriage suited her and when she found out that Jojo was practically living here she gave me a know-it-all-smile as if she never had a doubt about us. I told her that the wedding was back on with Braith and Jazz back to running everyone ragged with their ever changing suggestions, well her ever changing ones and his “Yes dear” agreements. Zizi’s new single was doing well on the charts and she had ended her short liaison with Osric after the Jago/Nadia affair as it was too much for her to deal with the sordid affairs of those about her. She currently was not speaking to any of the men in her life and would amuse herself by calling me now and then for the latest gossip. I could see Coco wanted to ask me something and I knew it was probably about what had broken Simon and me up but I was not about to allow anyone in the world into this private matter. When she finally worked Simon into the conversation I told her how Jazz and Jojo had ambushed me at her house and how I realised Jojo was the one for me and Coco was too wrapped in her new life as Mrs. Royce Vanderhaven to pry too deeply in to my explanations so I was happy to leave it this way.

After they left I got hold of Jojo for a little talk about his business and he was reluctant to go into details but it appeared without the capital Gervais had promised he and Royce could not continue this meant both of them returning to the family businesses. I took his hand in mine and looked at him carefully as I knew that I had never stopped being in love with him from the first time we kissed and we had to talk about stuff as we were not aimless kids anymore. He had a business, I had to organise my life as I held his hand I asked a question, one I didn’t want to but felt it had to be asked.

I asked Jojo where he saw our relationship going which caused him to sit back and stared out at the terrace in a way that scared me. We had gone along so fast, so quickly and I didn’t want to get into this discussion but had no choice for I here was the time that I had to make decisions about my future. Jojo stood up and I waited for the axe to fall, here was where he was going to tell me this was all just for fun and he didn’t mean any of it but he didn’t say that at all, instead he said that if his business was not in such a mess that he would be where Braith is now.

I could feel my face flush with such happiness that pangs of guilt stabbed at me for I was in mourning and had no right to have the happiest moments in my life, yet here I was having them. I told Jojo that his business did not have to go down the drain for I could supply some of the capital he needed and maybe he and Royce could still pull it off. Jojo shook his head no, going all proud guy on me, saying he was not about to sponge off his girlfriend. I told him then he could set up all the papers making me a silent partner and he had to do it because this was the only way I could get him to be the same position as Braith. He smiled despite himself and gave me a hug saying he would talk to Royce in the morning. As we went up to bed it suddenly occurred to me that somehow without either of us saying the words, we had become engaged.

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