Free Out Of The Smoke by Becca Jameson

in ages. Tugged at his heart as well as his groin. He wanted her. Bad. But until she trusted him, there was no way he would lay even one hand on her.
    Hell, every time he even inadvertently touched her, she flinched. Someone had hurt her. Someone had laid more than a hand on her. She didn’t trust easily.
    “Let’s go inside. I know the owner of this shop. She’ll get you all set up.” Alan hurried from the car and rounded the front to get Liz’s door before she could even blink. If he was nothing else, at least he was a gentleman. She needed that right now.
    “Thank you. For everything.” Liz grasped his arm lightly with her own, obviously forgetting her personal rule not to touch anyone for one moment. “I just want you to know I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m not wanted by the police or anything.”
    “I believe you.” Alan grabbed her hand and led her into the boutique his sister owned. Liz didn’t need to know that right now. She just needed someone to care about her for one evening. He wanted to see her hold her head higher and add a twinkle to her eye.
    “ Alan .” Renae stood behind the counter when they walked in. No one was in the store at the moment, which gave him some relief. “What are you doing here?” Her face lit up, probably because he’d barely seen her outside of obligatory family functions lately in his haste to get his home office set up.
    Alan gently pushed Liz in front of him, and opened his eyes wide with a brisk shake of his head from behind her back. He hoped his sister would catch on and not give away their relationship.
    Luckily, she seemed to get the picture. “This is Liz. She needs some clothes and I told her you were the woman who could make it happen.”
    “Absolutely.” Renae looked at Liz, and Alan breathed a sigh of relief that she gave no indication whatsoever that there was anything out of the ordinary here. “Are you about a six?”
    “Yes,” Liz began. “I don’t want to put you out. I can look around myself.”
    “Don’t be silly. I don’t have anything to do right now. To tell you the truth I was growing quite bored. Hardly anyone has come in. I’m just glad for the distraction.” Renae to the rescue.
    Her warm smile was so genuine. He knew she meant the words. Renae had always been such a sweet soul. Sometimes so sweet that Alan worried about her. But she was an educated sophisticated woman with a business degree and a head for design. He was very proud of everything she’d accomplished in her thirty years. Just two years younger than him, they’d been very close as children.
    Renae swept Liz to the back of the store and continued to talk to her about what sorts of clothes she liked and what she had in mind. Barely a word was uttered by Liz, but he had confidence the two would hit it off.
    What the hell are you thinking? You don’t own her . Alan sat in a chair by the counter. He knew Renae put the seats around the store for just that reason. Husbands, boyfriends, brothers, fathers—in short, men who waited on women while they shopped. The more comfortable you made them, the longer they would hold out without complaining, and the more money they would spend.
    A magazine on a little table next to him caught his eye and made him chuckle under his breath. Of course . Nearly all the magazines were aimed at men, not women. It wasn’t the women who would be sitting around in the store waiting.
    After thirty minutes of pretending to be incredibly interested in some sports article, Alan glanced up to see Liz standing before him. She took his breath away.
    She looked amazing in a black skirt that hit just above her knees and a beige knit sweater that showed off her curves to perfection. Whatever the commercials spouted about what the right bra could do for you, they were right, because the lush chest Alan knew had been hidden beneath her plain shirts the two times he’d seen her was now displayed to perfection. He was at a loss for words and hadn’t