How I wished I could take back that statement. Now was certainly not the time to get into my life. This was Ryan Steel, a man I hardly knew.

And the best-looking man I had ever laid my eyes on.

God, it was true what the gossipers said. Ryan was the most handsome of all the Steel brothers. Having seen only Talon and Jonah before now, I’d had a hard time imagining that anyone could be better looking than those two.

But Ryan was. Where Jonah and Talon were rugged and handsome with dark hair, dark eyes, a couple days’ worth of stubble on their cheeks, Ryan Steel was Greek god gorgeous. He had a sculpted jawline, a chin with just the right amount of prominence, a perfect Grecian nose, and lips… Was it possible for a man’s lips to be beautiful? It was now. His were full, and pink, and… Dare I think it? Kissable.

Kissing was something I knew nothing about. Hell, I knew nothing about men, period. Men didn’t pay much attention to me, which was how I preferred it. I was often mistaken for a lesbian, no doubt because of the way I dressed in mostly masculine clothing. I rarely wore makeup, and I pulled my long hair back in a tight bun most of the time. I’d considered cutting it off more than once, but I couldn’t. It was my one link to my mother. She’d had long, lustrous hair, though lighter than mine.

Being a lesbian might’ve made my life easier. But no, I was attracted to men. I just didn’t act on it. I kept myself under the radar, tried to keep myself from being attractive. The truth was, I was scared shitless of men.

I had often thought about going to therapy. I was smart enough to know that my fear of men stemmed from being attacked at the age of fifteen by my own father. But I was so consumed by my work and my fear of delving inside myself that I’d never bothered to get any help.

My new friend, Melanie Carmichael, was a renowned psychotherapist. She was currently on a leave of absence because of my cousin’s suicide and my shithead uncle’s malpractice suit against her, but I was hoping that maybe she and I could do a little talking during vacation.

That was selfish of me. This was her wedding. I couldn’t saddle her with my problems. Nope, there’d be no free therapy for me during this trip. In fact, there’d be no free therapy for me at all. Once Melanie went back to her practice, I’d pay her. I had insurance.

I always paid my own way. Had since I was fifteen. Until now.

I looked around at the wide comfortable seat I sat in, the leg room, the menu of fine spirits…

This wasn’t paying my way.

“Earth to Ruby.”

I turned my head toward Ryan. I’d nearly forgotten he had asked me a question. What was it again? Right. I’d said that I’d been crossed before, and he’d asked what I meant.

“Nothing,” I said.

Nothing. So far from the truth. But I wouldn’t saddle any of the Steels or their brides with my issues. Not now. Perhaps not ever. Already I was having second thoughts about seeing Melanie for therapy.

Was it possible for me to relax during this vacation?

I had to try. I had to.

“Nothing?” Ryan said.

“Yes. Nothing.”

“You said you’d been crossed before. That’s not nothing.”

I sighed. “You know who I am. Who my father is. You know my whole story.”

He nodded. “I wouldn’t say I know your whole story. Tell me about you.”

Why in the world would this western god be interested in me? “It’s a long, boring tale.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” He called the flight attendant and then perused the wines available on the menu. “Not a great selection…”

The flight attendant approached. “Yes, sir?”

“Two glasses of the Sioux Valley Meritage red, please.”

“Right away.”

He turned to me. “Not great, but passable.”

“I don’t usually drink before five.”

“We’re in the air! It’s five o’clock somewhere. Besides, this is vacation.”

I turned to him and smiled. Or tried to. “Right. Vacation. Which means I don’t want to talk about how I’ve been crossed. I’d much rather talk about something a little less…intense.”

He laughed. “I hear that. Good enough for me.”

The flight attendant returned with our wine. “Thanks, sweetheart,” Ryan said.

Something niggled in my stomach. I wasn’t sure what it was, except that Ryan calling the attractive blond stewardess “sweetheart” kind of hit me the wrong way.

The very wrong way.

Get over yourself, Ruby. Someone like Ryan Steel would never look twice at you. And even if he did? You wouldn’t know what to do with him.

My lot in life was to stay single. To take care of myself. I’d been doing it for seventeen years. I didn’t need to change my way of life now.

Truthfully, I was scared to change. Scared of men. Scared of feeling anything for a man.

Ryan interrupted my thoughts. “So what do you want to talk about?”

Good question. He was a winemaker, and I was interested in wine. “Wine?”

“I do know something about that.”

He swirled the wine around and then stuck his nose into the glass and inhaled. His nose was so far in I thought he might have wine dripping from it when he pulled it out. But he didn’t.

“Nice nose.”

I touched my nose. “Huh?”

He laughed. “I mean the nose of the wine. Its fragrance. But your nose is nice too.”

Oh. My. God. Embarrassment swept through me. What a moron I was. And here I’d thought I knew a few things about wine. “Of course.”

“What do you smell on the nose?”

I stuck my nose into the glass.

“Swirl it around first,” he said. “To release the aroma.”

“Sure. Right.” I swirled the wine and then sniffed it. “I don’t know. Red plum, I think. Maybe a little vanilla?”

“Good! I got those too. Also some tobacco. A little shitake mushroom.”

Shitake mushroom? Was he serious? “Okay.”

“You don’t seem to believe me.”

“I’m not even sure what shitake mushrooms smell like. Do mushrooms even have a smell? I mean, outside of soup.”

“It’s kind of a savory, funky odor. Go ahead and taste. Tell me what you think.”

“Okay.” I swirled the wine in the glass again, took a sip, trickled it along my tongue, and swallowed. “Definitely plum, but some earthy tones too. It’s kind of dry on my tongue. I don’t mean not sweet.”

“Those are the tannins. Common in Bordeaux blends.” He took a sip. “I taste the plum and the earth. A little vanilla, a little chocolate. A lot of tannin. I like tannin, but this is a little much.” He took another sip. “Not a bad blend, but overrated based on the awards it’s received. In my opinion, anyway.”

I took another sip. I liked it. “What are the grapes in this blend?”

“I’m not exactly sure. It’s a Meritage, so it’s made with Bordeaux grapes. Mostly cabernet sauvignon, I’d say. Some merlot and malbec as well. But I’m getting mostly cab.”

The flight attendant returned. “We’ll be serving dinner soon. We have two choices today. Boeuf bourguignon aux champignons or chicken cacciatore.”

“The lady and I will have the beef,” Ryan said.

Why was he ordering for me? “I’d prefer the chicken,” I said. “I’m not really a beef person.”

“Not a beef person?” Ryan clutched his heart. “When I’m part owner of the greatest beef ranch in the world?”

“I thought you were the winemaker.”

“I am. But beef is the biggest part of our enterprise.” He held up two fingers to the flight attendant while still looking at me. “Two chickens.”

She smiled and hurried away, while my skin warmed me in a cocoon. He was looking at me. Me. Instead of the pretty stewardess.

“I’m used to prime beef,” he continued, smiling, “and I doubt the airline has access to that.”

I returned his smile. How could I not? Ryan Steel wasn’t just gorgeous. He was a damned nice guy. I liked him.

God help me.