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He took their fingerprints for comparison then proceeded to dust the photographs for prints while they cleaned the ink from their hands.
Adelia watched Oliver’s long slender fingers work meticulously to collect the prints he found. He had strong hands, the kind that could easily open a stuck lid on a jar for you. Her eyes traveled from his hands—noticeably absent of a wedding ring—along the sleeves that covered his forearms and up to his biceps and shoulders. She hadn’t noticed when he’d been there the other night just how physically fit this man was. Her eyes took a journey up his thick neck, along his freshly-shaven face, to his perfect lips. She wondered what those lips would feel like against hers, and her cheeks warmed, surprised by her sudden attraction to him. The hints of grey peeking through his dark brown sideburns caught her attention, making her wonder how old he was.
Her gaze lifted to his, and her stomach flipped when she discovered him looking at her. He’d obviously been watching long enough to know she was checking him out.
Their gazes held for what felt like forever, and Skylar let out a giggle as she moved into the kitchen and offered Oliver something to drink.
“I’m all right,” he answered, his eyes still fixed on Adelia’s. “I’m going to take these back to the station with me.” He held up the envelope.
Adelia nodded.
“In the meantime,” he said as he removed the rubber gloves, “I’m going to talk to Gus about installing some more cameras around the property, and hopefully we can catch this person in the act.”
“You think they’ll come back again?” Adelia asked.
“They’ll surely reach out in some way to give you instructions for payment.”
“Oh, right. What should I do?”
“Don’t do anything. I’ll get you through this.”
She held out her hand to him. “Thank you.”
He reached out and placed his palm against hers. Those long fingers curled around her hand as he gave her a firm shake. “My pleasure.”
Her stomach flipped. Did he have to use the word pleasure? Their hands were still connected, and his eyes traveled over her face for the briefest instant, causing her to swallow hard.
“Thanks for your help, Oliver,” Skylar said.
He gave her a nod and finally let Adelia’s hand slip from his. “I’ll be in touch.”
The moment he was out the door, Adelia felt like she could breathe again.
“What was that?” Skylar asked with a laugh. “You two were in some kind of trance.”
Adelia, who was now out of said trance, snorted. “We were not.”
“There were some serious sparks there. I could practically see them bouncing between you two.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Well, Oliver is great. I would definitely approve if you were into him.”
“How old is he?”
Skylar shrugged. “Older than Sebastian, I think. Maybe late thirties. I’m awful at guessing people’s ages.”
“I saw grey in his hair. He could be forty.”
“So. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, if you’re into older guys.”
She thought about Sebastian, the eldest Schultz sibling. When they were teenagers, she’d considered what it might be like to date him. They were always flirting with each other, and she didn’t have the kind of sibling-like relationship with him that she had with Gus and Skylar. But life never brought them together in that way, which was for the best. He belonged with Genevieve.
Sebastian was only five years older, though. She wasn’t sure about dating someone ten years or more older than her.
“It might be better to marry someone older,” Skylar said, “considering all the losers you’ve dated have been younger than you.”