Vows & a Vengeful Groom / Pride & a Pregnancy Secret: Vows & a Vengeful Groom

Vows & a Vengeful Groomby Bronwyn Jameson

SYDNEY’S SCENE

In the decades-old feud between the world’s richest gem dealers, nothing, apparently, is taboo. For the Hammonds and Blackstones, all’s fair in love and business – and has been since Howard “King of Diamonds” Blackstone allegedly schemed to wrest control of old man Jebediah Hammond’s diamond mines and Oliver Hammond allegedly stole the world’s most recognisable necklace, the Blackstone Rose.

But yesterday’s gossip pales in comparison to today’s forty-carat gem: millionairess and daughter non grata Kimberley Blackstone was on the arm of Blackstone’s leader, Ric Perrini. The same Kimberley Blackstone who’d defected to the rival House of Hammond jewellers in New Zealand ten years ago.

According to an industry insider Kimberley was seen entering the Blackstone estate on the gold coast of Vaucluse – a place she reportedly described as off-limits mere months ago. Rumour has it Sydney’s No. 1 player, Perrini, keeps a room there, too.

“If Perrini has any say,” says one source, “they won’t be separated for long.”

Pride & a Pregnancy SecretTessa Radley

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…

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.