SYDNEY’S SCENE

      The decades-old feud between Australia’s richest gem dealers, the Blackstones and the Hammonds, is about to heat up. The last will and testament of Howard Blackstone, chairman of Blackstone Diamonds, will reportedly be read at the family’s Vaucluse mansion after today’s funeral services. Coming as no surprise, rumours are rampant among the Sydney elite that Howard has blackballed the Hammond side of the family in his new will.

      Who else will walk away with nothing? And who will become the new CEO of Blackstone Diamonds?

      The main contenders are Ryan Blackstone, son of the late billionaire businessman, and Ric Perrini, the big man’s fair-haired son-in-law.

      “Everyone knows there’s no love lost between those two,” says one industry insider.

      Those same insiders are split on who will become the new leader.

      Of late, the Blackstone scion has been spending all his time at the Pitt Street offices, rededicating himself to the business. Much to the chagrin of Sydney’s single girls, he’s been absent from the social scene and has not been linked with any woman, taking all-work-and-no-play Ryan off the most eligible list. But if he loses the chairmanship, the green-eyed hunk will need lots of consoling. So, ladies of Sydney, take heed…

      Vows & a Vengeful Groom

      BRONWYN JAMESON

      Pride & a Pregnancy Secret

      TESSA RADLEY

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      VOWS & A VENGEFUL GROOM

      by

      Bronwyn Jameson

       BRONWYN JAMESON

      spent much of her childhood with her head buried in a book. As a teenager she discovered romance novels, and it was only a matter of time before she turned her love of reading them into a love of writing them. Bronwyn shares an idyllic piece of the Australian farming heartland with her husband and three sons, a thousand sheep, a dozen horses, assorted wildlife and one kelpie dog. She still chooses to spend her limited downtime with a good book. Bronwyn loves to hear from readers. Write to her at [email protected].

      Dear Reader,

      It is my great pleasure and privilege to introduce a new Desire continuity series, DIAMONDS DOWN UNDER. A series set in Australia and New Zealand was suggested in early 2006, and the idea of developing a six-book continuity with my friends and fellow Down-Under Desireables excited and thrilled – and occasionally overwhelmed – me. Over the ensuing twelve months thousands of e-mails blazed back and forth across the Tasman as we brainstormed and fine-tuned the underlying premise, the locations, the characters, the conflicts and storylines.

      We chose diamonds as the heart of our series for their connection to wealth and glamour, to romance and commitment…and for the cold, hard qualities beneath the surface sparkle. Everything is not how it first appears. We started with a rare pink diamond known as the Heart of the Outback, a stone which built one man’s wealth and rent a family in two.

      For thirty years the Hammonds and the Blackstones have remained at odds, and creating causes of all that simmering animosity was almost as much fun as researching the glamorous homes, boutiques, jets, cars, clothes and jewellery. I hope you enjoy the roller coaster of passion, drama, secrets and scandal that commences in Vows & a Vengeful Groom.

      Cheers from Down Under,

       Bronwyn Jameson

      You can share the fruits of our research at the series website www.diamonds-downunder.com, which features behind-the-books information, character profiles, missing scenes and chances to win dazzling prizes.

      One

      Kimberley Blackstone’s long stride—and the Louis Vuitton suitcase she towed in her wake—gathered momentum as she left customs at Auckland’s international airport and headed toward the exit. Despite the handicap of her three-inch heels, she hit the Arrivals hall at a near jog, her focus on grabbing the first taxi in the rank outside, her mind making the transition from laid-back holiday mode to all that awaited her at House of Hammond on her first workday after the Christmas-New Year’s break.

      She didn’t notice the waiting horde of media until it was too late. Flashbulbs exploded around her like a New Year’s light show. She skidded to a halt, so abruptly her trailing suitcase rammed into her legs.

      Surely, this had to be a case of mistaken identity. Kimberley hadn’t been on the paparazzi hit list for close to a decade, not since she’d estranged herself from her billionaire father and his headline-hungry diamond business.

      But, no, it was her name they called. Her face the focus of a swarm of lenses that circled like avid hornets. Her heart started to pound with fear-fuelled adrenaline.

      What did they want?

      What the hell was going on?

      With a rising sense of bewilderment she scanned the crowd for a clue and her gaze fastened on a tall, leonine figure forcing his way to the front. A tall, familiar figure. She stared in stunned recognition and their gazes collided across the sea of heads before the cameras erupted with another barrage of flashes, this time right in her exposed face.

      Blinded by the flashbulbs—and by the shock of that momentary eye-meet—Kimberley didn’t realise his intent until he’d forged his way to her side, possibly by the sheer strength of his personality. She felt his arm wrap around her shoulder, pulling her into the protective shelter of his body, allowing her no time to object, no chance to lift her hands to ward him off.

      In the space of a hastily drawn breath, she found herself plastered knee-to-nose against six feet of hard-bodied male.

      Ric Perrini.

      Her lover for ten torrid weeks, her husband for ten tumultuous days.

      Her ex for ten tranquil years.

      After all this time, he should not have felt