Wild and Wonderful by Janet Dailey Page B

out her problem. Jett was attracted to her. That was an indisputable fact. He had made his decision on a purely business basis, but what if she appealed to him on a personal level? How much influence did she have? Could she persuade him to reconsider?
    When the barrage of silent questions stopped, a calmness settled over her. She had to find out. For the sake of her father, she had to try. With a course of action chosen, Glenna moved to carry it out.
    The hotel corridor was empty when she ventured into it. She walked swiftly to the door of Jett's suite and knocked lightly on it. Only at that second did she consider the possibility that he might not be alone—or that he might not even be there. The turning of the latch eliminated the last. When Jett opened the door a glance past him found no one else in the sitting room.
    He stood in the opening, one hand holding the door and the other resting on the frame. Under the steadiness of his gaze, Glenna couldn't find her voice. Taking his time, he let his gaze travel over the draping fabric of her robe as it outlined the jutting curves of her breasts and hips. In a strictly defensive reaction to his visual assault, her hand moved to finger the satin ribbon that secured the front of her robe.
    Without saying a word Jett opened the door wider and moved out of the way. Her hesitation was brief before she glided past him into the sitting room. She pivoted around to face him when she heard the click of the door latch. He was wearing the same pale gray striped shirt he'd had on this afternoon, hut the sleeves were rolled up to expose his tanned forearms.
    "It occurred to me that you might come to see me." Instead of walking to her, he went to a table strewn with papers that he'd obviously been working on, and half sat on the edge.
    "Then you know why I'm here." Her voice came out husky.
    There was a pack of cigarettes amid the stacks of papers. Jett removed one from the pack and lighted it. "You came to see if you couldn't persuade me to reconsider your father's proposal." He sounded so distant that Glenna unconsciously moved closer to him.
    "Is it so much to ask, Jett?" she questioned. "My father has everything at stake. His whole life's work."
    "A good gambler keeps an ace up his sleeve. I wondered if your father was going to play his ace of hearts." He studied her through the smoke screen of his burning cigarette.
    "Ace of hearts? Are you referring to me?" Glenna frowned, confused by his attitude. "My father doesn't know I'm here."
    "He didn't send you?" An eyebrow was arched in question.
    "He's in his room, sleeping. He has no idea that I'm here. If he knew—" When she imagined her father's reaction, she averted her glance from Jett. "He wouldn't approve."
    "Then this was all your idea," Jett concluded.
    "Yes." She watched as he reached across the table for a half-filled ashtray. With one hip on the edge of the table and his other leg braced in front of him, he held the ashtray in the palm of his hand, the forearm resting on his thigh. She couldn't help noticing how his relaxed stance stretched the material of his slacks tautly across the hard columns of his legs.
    "I don't think you understand how serious dad's situation is. It isn't just the mine he's going to lose, but his home, everything he's worked for all his life. In his condition, he can't start all over."
    "I know he'll be lucky to end up with the clothes on his back." Jett took a drag of his cigarette, squinting at her through the smoke that swirled up to burn his eyes. "That's one of the things I learned when I ran a check on him. And I admired the way he underplayed how much he stood to lose, as if he had something tucked away while he was betting his last dollar. He's a proud man with a lot of class."
    "You wouldn't say that if you had seen him after you left this afternoon." Glenna laced her fingers together in front of her, twisting them as she tried not to remember how he'd looked. "You broke him. I've never seen him