LITMIR.BIZ

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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.

      “I heard you,” she said in a small voice. “Last night at the restaurant. Talking about selling your shares in Blackstone.”

      Quinn’s eyes narrowed in the dim room. Scratch all those nice thoughts about waking up with the same woman. He didn’t know whether to laugh or be offended. Who the hell did she think she was? “Eavesdropping, Danielle? If you heard us, you’d know I turned him down.”

      She lifted her head and looked him right in the face. And it hit him: she was serious.

      The urge to laugh disappeared. “A company takeover,” he said, twisting his finger around a springy red curl, “is very complicated. It needs the support of the board and the requisite number of shares. I’m Little League in Blackstones, Dani.”

      That was the truth. He had very few shares himself. But he knew Matt was in for more than the Blackstones knew about—and climbing. And Quinn knew who else had a substantial portfolio.

      “But if Jake Vance asks you to sell …?”

      Quinn stilled. She had heard everything. And she was right out of line. He was not in the habit of justifying himself to anyone, let alone a woman he’d known for a week or so, even if the sex was amazing.

      He injected plenty of cool in his reply. “Yes, if he gave me a good enough reason, then I’d sell.”

      Disappointment darkened her eyes, and just the fact that he recognised that pissed him off. There was no room for emotion in business. That was the dictum that Jake Vance, corporate raider, believed in, and Quinn agreed wholeheartedly, damn it!

      “Quinn, what hurts the Blackstones hurts me, you do get that, don’t you?”

      Time to remind both of them this was just a fling. “Just because we’re sleeping together, Danielle,” he said coldly, “doesn’t give you the right to ask about my business dealings.”

      She flinched. He knew that because he felt it in his chest and stomach, which lay under her torso, in between his legs where she’d squeezed her thigh, over his shoulder where she’d draped one of her arms.

      But he held her gaze. He wouldn’t negotiate on overstepping boundaries. After a long moment, he nudged her, indicating he wanted to get up. She moved over to her side of the bed. When the hell did they get into his-and-her sides of the bed anyway?

      His refection stared balefully back in the bathroom mirror while he wondered what had suddenly happened, what had changed. One minute, he was savouring the delights of a very sexy body. The next, he was wallowing in guilt, thinking about someone else, considering someone else’s feelings. Just how deep was he getting here?

      Somewhere out on that boat, she’d stirred up some long-buried need to protect. His parents, his childhood home had always been a port in a storm, a harbour for lost and needy souls. Quinn had forgotten what it felt like, until now. Was that what Danielle saw in him? Was she searching for such a port?

      He ran the tap and splashed his face, making sure it was good and cold.

      This was supposed to be a brief fling, a bit of fun to while away the heat of the day while he was stuck up here in the middle of nowhere. Wanting her every minute of the day in the limited time they had together was acceptable. Thinking about waking up to her

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