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She visibly paled. “I didn’t know he knew her.”
“He didn’t. But you’re right about him being friends with the Hartleys. After the World Association of Diamonds vote went against him, he did all he could to blacken my name. That was fine, I could take care of myself. Laura always had faith her folks would come around and accept our marriage. But with Blackstone whispering in their ears, filling them full of hate, they turned their backs, even knowing she was terminal.”
Dani’s mouth dropped open in dismay, and she looked away as if she couldn’t bear to look at his face. Yes, it hurts, doesn’t it, he thought bitterly. She’d thought Howard was some kind of saint. Well, now she knew differently.
“When everything went to hell and the tumour came back, I went to them, begged them to come. Not that we ever gave up hope …” Laura would not permit anyone to think for a minute she wouldn’t beat the cancer. “But they tossed me out. They said Howard had told them all about me. How I couldn’t be trusted, how I was after her money, how she was my meal ticket out of the slums.” His head rolled back and he breathed deeply of the warm air. “They couldn’t even give her peace at the end,” he said with disgust.
“I—I didn’t know.”
How could she?
Now that the anger was out, as always, it quickly faded. Time did that. Blackstone had a black heart and that wasn’t Dani’s fault. It seemed even being six feet under was no barrier to hurting people.
“They didn’t deserve her, Quinn,” she said quietly. “You did.”
He sighed, thinking that Dani had her own problems. At least he had great family support. He suspected she’d never felt part of a real family. He’d glimpsed a vulnerability in her, an insecurity. He remembered it from long ago, when he used to notice such things. Loneliness, a need to belong.
Somewhere along the way, he’d just plain stopped looking.
The hell with it. Today was a rare day, one that didn’t come along very often. She was sexy, fun, talented. Available. Why was he wallowing in the bitter past? And in some ways, telling Dani was kind of cathartic. She knew the man, knew his faults. She gave him a slightly different perspective.
Quinn would never forgive or forget, but he could let go a little more. That’s what time did. And the fact that she wasn’t Howard’s daughter had to be a good thing, right?
He set his glass down, sorry that he’d made her sad. He wanted the warmth of her brilliant smile back, and perhaps he wanted to warm her a little also. When he held out his hand to her, she smiled up at him and he saw understanding and empathy. When he bent to kiss the soft, fragrant flesh just under her earlobe, her skin steamed up quickly and her pulse quickened under his mouth.
This was about sex, he reminded himself. Unbelievable and uncomplicated sex. If it made them feel good and if no one expected anything more, where was the harm?
He lifted his head to see her mouth turned up in sultry understanding. Quinn resolved to give her as good as she gave.
He pulled her to her feet and downstairs to the cabin, peeling her clothing off on the way. The salt from her skin tingled on his tongue as he revealed and then tasted every delicious inch of her. He made her stand still, legs braced, and made love to her with his mouth. She rocked on her heels with the sway of the vessel under them, clutching his head. His bitterness and her insecurities melted away as he tipped her onto the bed, slid deep into her body and looked into her eyes, and they became one with the motion of the sea.
“How’s it going?”
Dani looked up from her workbench, where, days later, she was once again engrossed. “Today I start on the chain.”
She was working with platinum, always a challenge but one she enjoyed. Many jewellers found the metal too soft and dense to work with, but with practice, it got easier and the rewards were worth it.
“You chose diamond cut and not snake,” he noted approvingly.
Dani nodded. “It’s classic and doesn’t kink so much.” She picked up her torch again and resumed her work. Quinn pulled up a stool. It was becoming a habit of his to come in here and watch her work. He seemed fascinated by the whole process.
“It must be exciting to create something from start to finish and know it will outlive you.” He was flicking through her portfolio again, he did that a lot. On every page, he found something that interested him and would ask her how she decided on that particular combination of texture or colour. She broke all the rules, he told her, and yet her jewellery worked beautifully.
Dani was buoyed by his interest. He really seemed to get her, to share her vision of the relationship between gemstones and precious metals. Being a designer was a solitary occupation. Most people were only interested in the end product, not the journey of creation. It was nice to have someone to share ideas with for once.
Several days had passed since the boat trip, each one slightly cooler and calmer as the fitful cyclone season waned and autumn woke up. Dani barely noticed the weather since she only left the workroom to finalise a few last-minute wedding arrangements for Ryan and Jessica or to make love with Quinn.
She glanced over to where he sat at the desk, flicking through her portfolio. So far she’d shied away from badgering him on the intended recipient of the yellow diamond. He was an honourable man, despite the coercion he’d used at the start. She had to believe that. A loyal man who wouldn’t make promises and trifle with her feelings.
It wasn’t her normal way of doing things, but she had to be grown-up about it. One disastrous relationship had only added to her lifelong feeling of not being good enough, firmly entrenched in second best. But that wasn’t Quinn’s problem. They were from different worlds. This wasn’t a “relationship” so much as a “situation”—and as far as situations went, it wasn’t a bad one to be in.
So long as she didn’t try to make it into something else.
Her phone rang and she put her torch down. It was Steve from the shop to say Matt Hammond was there to see her. She gave him the beach house address and prepared to meet her cousin for the first time, face-to-face. Several minutes later, understandably nervous, she let Quinn answer the door while she hovered a few steps back.
“Danielle?” Matt Hammond looked from one to the other, a confused look on his handsome face. “I didn’t realise you knew each other,” he said, taking Quinn’s proffered hand.
Quinn stepped back and motioned her forward with a reassuring smile. “Dani’s doing a little designing job for me.”
She looked up into Matt’s face. He was nearly as tall as Quinn, leaner, with thick sandy hair and sharp grey eyes that reminded her of her mother’s.
“Come in and sit down.” Quinn led the way to the living area, offered refreshments and then discreetly withdrew.
Dani twisted her hands together, unsure of the reason for his visit, hoping it was a genuine overture to get to know the Australian side of his family. Her first tentative questions concerned Blake. It was a tricky subject after the months of speculation about his late wife’s infidelity and his son’s paternity. But when she asked if he had a photo, like any proud father, he produced several from his wallet.
The snapshots showed a dark, rather serious-looking little boy. “Three and a half,” Matt responded to Dani’s query about his age. She dredged up the courage to ask if she could have one to send to her mother and Matt readily handed over a couple.
“Are you here on holiday?”
“I thought it was time we met,” he said simply. “I also wanted to talk to Quinn, but had no idea I’d find you together.”
Dani felt her cheeks glow. “As he said,” she quickly inserted, “I’m helping him with a designing project.”
“Good for you.” Matt smiled. “A recommendation from Quinn Everard is a valuable thing in this business. I saw the catalogue for the February launch, by the way. Your pieces were impressive.”
Dani beamed. She’d had a lot of work as a direct result of the Blackstone launch, proving that Howard, who’d talked her into being the featured designer, had known his stuff.
But best not to mention that name in this company, she thought.
“And that is another reason I’m here,” Matt continued. “You’ve heard, I suppose, that four of the Heart of the Outback diamonds have been returned to me?”
Dani nodded cautiously, noting his use of the Heart of the Outback—the Hammond diamond—as opposed to the Blackstone Rose diamonds.
“I have an idea and I’d like you to be part of it.”
Her response was measured. Was this a ploy to upset the Blackstones? “In what way?”
“I want to make an heirloom necklace from the Heart of the Outback diamonds, to be kept in the Hammond family and worn by future Hammond brides.”
Dani’s mouth dropped open. “Matt, that’s a wonderful idea!”
“Hopefully my father will think so, too.”
She nodded. Bringing the Heart of the Outback stones—Jeb’s legacy—together again for the next generation of Hammonds would surely ease the old man’s bitterness in his last years. “Matt, my mother would so love to restore some sort of relationship with Oliver and your mother, and you and Blake, too. Do you think there is any hope of that?”
Matt’s silvery gaze was steady and open. “I have no problem with Sonya, Danielle. But there is a lot of water under that bridge and I can’t speak for Dad.” Then his voice softened. “Small steps? Starting with you designing the Bridal Rose necklace?”
The Bridal Rose. Emotion almost overwhelmed her. “It would be an honour,” she mumbled, staring fixedly at Blake’s photos to hide a sheen of tears.
Although she was close to her cousins Kim and Ryan, and had never doubted her mother’s love, finding a place she felt she belonged had always eluded her. To have found a new family and have a part in reuniting its members was a privilege. She and Matt seemed to click, just as she and Jarrod had.
Then a more selfish elation sneaked up on her. First, the beautiful yellow diamond upstairs in the safe, and now the pink Blackstone Rose diamonds. What were the chances of being offered two commissions with stones of this calibre? And at only twenty-seven years old! “What a pity the fifth diamond hasn’t come to light.”
“I’m working on that,” Matt said mysteriously. “In the meantime, I’d like you to design the necklace as if there were a fifth diamond—the centrepiece. Can you do that?”
“Of course. Can you give me a couple more weeks to finish what I’m doing here?”
He acquiesced. “I hadn’t thought further ahead than getting an answer from you.”
“Well, you have it.” She smiled happily. “I would love to do it. And I’m rapt you thought of me.”
Matt’s smile was slow to start but it lit up his face.
“You are a very talented designer and a Hammond. The perfect choice.”
They talked for an hour about the jewellery trade and little Blake, and ended on his brother Jarrod’s recent engagement to Briana. Dani thought it must be strange for Matt to see his brother marry his late wife’s sister, but Matt confided he’d always been fond of Briana. More relaxed now, she mentioned the rumours doing the rounds a few weeks ago, suggesting Jarrod Hammond was really the missing Blackstone heir. To her relief, Matt did not seem offended at hearing the Blackstone name.
“Jarrod’s birth mother may have something to say about that,” he retorted.
Dani was surprised. There had been no mention of Jarrod’s birth mother in the newspaper stories.
Matt’s mouth tightened. “I’ve met her. She taps Jarrod up for money every so often, then disappears under whatever rock she crawled out from.”
Her heart went out to Jarrod. Impossibly handsome, a successful lawyer, a beautiful new fiancée, and yet that suave exterior hid its own personal pain.
But at least he knew who his mother was….
As if her cousin had recognised her momentary sadness, he turned it on its head by agreeing to talk to his brother about a family get-together soon. “Briana has dragged him along on one of her modelling assignments overseas. Poor beggar.” He pulled an amused face. “But maybe when they get back, we can have a bit of a get-together.”
It was tentative but, still, it was an overture. “And Blake?” she asked. “And my mother, too?”
“Why not?”
The three of them had a wonderful dinner at a famous outdoor restaurant in the middle of a copse of huge tropical palms. Quinn toasted her when he heard about the Bridal Rose commission, saying it would really put her on the map in the designing world.
He turned to Matt. “I thought I had a lead on the fifth diamond, but the trail has gone cold, I’m afraid. I’ll keep you posted.”
Matt was clearly disappointed but still raised his glass to both of them. “I appreciate it, Quinn. Someone must know something. And Danielle, I am looking forward to working with you on the necklace, hopefully with all five stones.”
It was truly one of the best days she’d ever had. Her mother would be over the moon that Matt had made contact, and to have the opportunity to rewrite the history of the Heart of the Outback Diamond was such a buzz. To think Quinn might have a hand in locating the fifth stone … It was the perfect end to the perfect day.
Until she walked in on them talking business some time later on her way back from the bathroom. She wasn’t eavesdropping, but one palm tree looked much like another and she came in from a different direction to find Matt had moved into her seat and they had their heads together. Something made her pause behind the nearest trunk when she heard the name Blackstone.
“I have already spoken to three of the minor shareholders,” Matt said. “If you were to get behind us …”
She heard Quinn’s voice. “If you’re serious about this, you need Jake Vance on board, not me. I only have a handful of shares.”
“I’m meeting with Jake next week, but listen, they’re on shaky ground. The Blackstone empire is crumbling with Howard gone. Perrini and Ryan snap and snarl at each other and Kim spends all her time calming them down. I just want to keep the pressure on.”
Dani’s rosy wine-glow faded fast, leaving a nasty feeling that her cousin wasn’t playing fair.
She waited to hear how her lover responded.
“I’m not interested in a dogfight, Matt. My few shares are performing adequately.”
Dani relaxed a little and peeked around the tree trunk.
Matt had leaned back and put his hands behind his head. “I thought you’d jump at the chance to shaft a Blackstone, given your history.”
Quinn frowned. “My beef was with Howard, not Blackstone Diamonds.”
“Or,” Matt continued nonchalantly, “maybe you’re mixing business with pleasure.”
She saw Quinn’s eyes glint dangerously and couldn’t expel her next breath.
His voice was low and cool and she had to strain to hear him. “Dani is private business, all right?”
Though her heart was beating loud and fast, mostly for fear of discovery, she heard Matt apologise. “But if I can get Vance on side, you’ll go with us?”
“If Jake says sell, I’ll sell.”
She stayed behind the tree for a few more seconds, trying to make sense of all the emotions. She felt strangely buoyant that Quinn hadn’t denied there was something between them. Keenly disappointed that Matt Hammond clearly wasn’t ready to embrace the reconciliation of the two family factions just yet. Would he ever be?
And somehow uneasy that she was consorting with the enemy. Perhaps two of them.
Seven
“Quinn, have you heard a rumour about a corporate takeover of Blackstone Diamonds?”
His eyes snapped open. That was out of left field.
Quinn had been lying in bed, idly thinking that his sporadic sexual encounters rarely involved morning sex, especially dreamy morning sex with the same woman. He was always rushing off to a meeting or a flight. Maybe he’d been missing out all these years.
Now he abandoned his reverie to answer Dani. “You stopped screaming your delight one minute ago and suddenly you want to talk business?”
She lay with her head on his chest, her hair a riot of curls against his skin.
Quinn turned his head to look at the clock. Seven-thirty. Time he was up. “Yes, I have heard something. You want coffee or are you staying in bed?”
But she was persistent. “Do you think Matt is involved?”
Had she heard something last night?
Matt’s request to sell his shares or support a takeover bid had not surprised him; Quinn had heard he was polling all the Blackstone shareholders for support. He was getting it, too.
But not from him, at least not yet. His fingers rasped over his chin. “What is this inquisition before I’ve had my coffee?”
She kept her face down on his chest, a fact he found strangely worrying.
