And just as expensive, Jarrod mused rather cynically, noting with satisfaction the exact moment she saw him looking at her. Her eyelids flickered just a bit before she looked away, but only someone with an internal radar for this woman would pick up on it.

Someone like him.

"If anyone can show just cause...." the celebrant continued.

Much to his displeasure, his internal radar was constantly tuned on Briana. It had been that way from the moment he'd set eyes on her at his brother's marriage to her sister four years ago. It had been on high ever since, even though he knew Briana had a serious flaw. An expensive serious flaw. She liked money, and plenty of it, and went through it like it was going out of fashion, according to her now-dead sister, Marise.

Of course, being attuned to Briana didn't help when everywhere he turned she was there in front of him... up on billboards...on the television... in glossy magazines. Nor was it easy knowing they lived in the same city in another part of the country. Thankfully with her jet-setting around the world as a supermodel, and him with his law practice, Melbourne was big enough for the two of them not to run into each other.

"Ric, do you take Kimberley for your lawful wedded wife, to live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honour, comfort and...."

But now, seeing Briana in the flesh again - her oh-so-delicious flesh - reminded him why he'd inveigled an invitation to the Blackstone Jewellery launch here in Sydney last Friday and flown up from Melbourne. And why he was glad he'd accepted Kim's invitation today. Being a Hammond at a Blackstone wedding was never going to be easy, but with Briana here, the day suddenly seemed full of sensual possibilities, despite the presence of millionaire Jake Vance, who once again partnered her.

"Kimberley, do you take Ric for your lawful wedded husband, to live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honour, comfort and...."

Jarrod's mouth tightened as he looked at the man sitting beside Briana. The pair had been photographed together in the Melbourne papers at the St Valentine's Day races a few weeks ago. And again last Friday at the jewellery launch. Were the two of them lovers? Probably, he decided, not pleased by the burst of irrational jealousy he felt at the thought of her in the other man's bed.

"May this ring be blessed so that he who gives it..." the woman continued.

Dammit, was he being a glutton for punishment by going after her? Hadn't he already made his decision to bed her? A decision based on wanting to find out all he could about her sister for his brother's sake. He'd seen Matt only two weeks ago and had been shocked at how worn and bitter he'd become. Jarrod and Matt may be adopted but they were closer than blood brothers, and he'd do everything in his power to make sure Matt found some inner peace - no matter what it took.

Or whom.

But he couldn't blame his brother for being bitter when his wife, Marise, had died from injuries received in a plane crash almost two months ago, along with Howard Blackstone and four others. It had conjured up a myriad of questions. Questions that no one had any answers to, except maybe Briana Davenport.

"Wear it as a symbol of love and commitment..."

Surely Briana knew why her sister had been on Howard's plane before it crashed. And she knew if her own sister was having an affair with Howard, the enemy of the Hammond family ever since his greed parted the two family factions many years ago. She just wasn't saying.

And then there'd been the shock of Marise having been named as a beneficiary in Howard's will. A seven sum figure and the Blackstone jewellery collection was a considerable inheritance for a young mistress. And that begged the question as to whether Blake was really Howard's son and not Matt's. Blake certainly had the same dark hair as Howard, unlike Matt's sandy blonde head. It made Jarrod sick to the stomach to think about it.

"You may now seal the promises you have made with each other with a kiss."

Dammit, the Blackstones had caused enough pain for his family. His parents would be devastated if they found out that Blake was not their grandson, but their great-nephew instead. Not that it would make any difference to the way they felt about the child. They'd proven that by adopting him and Matt all those years ago. As for Matt and how he would feel about Blake not being his own....

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Ricardo Perrini."

Just then, as if his angry thoughts had drawn Briana's blue eyes back to him, Jarrod held her gaze amongst the clapping and the cheers, and let her know with a look what he had decided. She was the woman he wanted.

She was the woman he would have.

"We are gathered here today in the face of this company to join together Kimberley Blackstone and Ricardo Perrini in matrimony...."

Jarrod Hammond heard the words of the female marriage celebrant but his eyes were drawn not to the bride, but to the woman sitting opposite him in the horseshoe circle surrounding his cousin Kim and her soon-to-be husband, Ric Perrini.

Adrenaline kicked in as he leaned back in his chair and let his gaze rake over Briana Davenport, the Australian supermodel who was the "Face" of Blackstone Diamonds. Through the massive yacht's large windows behind her, the late afternoon sun highlighted the most glorious harbour in the world and created a picture perfect backdrop for her beauty.

Framed by the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, and dressed in a silky, pale-blue pantsuit that flowed as she moved, she was elegance and sophistication. The epitome of glamour. A crowning glory for the diamond company she symbolized. He could see why Howard Blackstone had chosen her to represent his business.